Introduction:

      1. This is one chapter many readers of the Scripture feel justified to skip because it consists of a list of mostly unpronounceable names and places

          a. Chapters like these are important for they often contain names and places that play significant parts in history 

          b. One scholar has said that this is the most important chapter in the Bible for students of ancient history.

          c. Its accuracy is recognized by friend and foe alike since there is no other catalog of ancient nations available from any other source according to Henry Morris

     2. It is impossible to understand the movements of the peoples in the rest of Genesis without referring to this chapter. 

     3. Eight souls left the ark after the flood

         a. From Noah’s 3 sons the entire earth was populated

         b. From Noah’s 3 sons every nation was formed

     4. Shem was primarily concerned with spiritual things – receiving, preserving and teaching the knowledge of the Word of God

     5. Japheth was primarily concerned with intellectual things – expanding and teaching the knowledge of science and philosophy

     6. Ham will be concerned primarily with physical things – food, shelter, lothing, weapons, machinery, transportation

I.    JAPHETH, THE ENLARGED SON – vs 2-5

·         When Noah gave the patriarchal blessing for Japheth, he said, "God shall enlarge Japheth" (Genesis 9:27).

·         Thus he is called the "enlarged" son, and the enlargement of peoples and lands is evident in this section in Genesis 10 about Japheth.

·         Japheth is the "enlarged" son, but less is written of him than the others

·         Though the section about Japheth is the smallest of the three sections, it is the largest in terms of population of people and their places of abode.

A.  The Children of Japheth – vs 2-4  ß

1.     The children of Japheth in summary comprise the "Indo-Europeans"

2.     From Gomer came Germany

3.     Madai is the father of the Medes

4.     Javan became the father of the Greek people

5.     Tubal and Mechech found their home in Armenia and Russia

B.  The Countries of Japheth – vs 5  ß

1.     The portion of the world in which the descendants of Japheth lived includes Europe, Asia, North and South America today.

2.     They occupy more land today than any of the other two sons of Noah.

II.   HAM, THE EVIL SON – vs 6-20

·         Ham is called the "evil" son because of his actions regarding the nakedness of Noah.

A.  The Children of Ham – vs 6, 7, 13-17 ß

1.     Ham was the evil son - he looked upon Noah's nakedness

2.     The account in Genesis about the descendants of Ham is focusing mostly on those nations from Ham which were especially involved with Israel such as the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Babylonians, the Ninevites, and the Egyptians (descendants of Mizraim).

3.     The descendants of Phut do not involve these nations so are not listed.

4.     The children of Ham comprise the inhabitants of Africa, including Egypt the inhabitants of Canaan inhabitants of Nineveh /  Babylon

a)    They are the early empire builders

b)    Cush settled in Ethiopia

c)    From Mizraim came the Egyptian people

d)    Phut founded the nation of Lybia

5.     Also included as the descendants of Ham were the Philistines, the continual foe of the Israelites

6.     While descendants of Ham populated Africa, there is absolutely no grounds for making the curse upon Canaan to be black skin.

B.  The Comments About Ham – vs 8-10

·         Some special comments included in the list of the descendants.

·         There were no comments about any of Japheth's descendants, but there are comments about Ham and Shem descendants.

·         The comments in Ham's section focus upon Nimrod, a descendant of Ham through Ham's son, Cush.

1.     His coming – vs 8 ß

a)    Two main things are said about Nimrod's coming on the scene.

b)    First his name.

(1)   The name "Nimrod" means "let us revolt" (Leupold) which is synonymous with rebellion.

(2)   From “marad” to rebel

(3)   This name meaning is ominous and colors everything said about Nimrod.

c)    Second, his notoriety. "He began to be a mighty one in the earth."

(1)   This is not good fame but bad fame, hence, notoriety.

(2)   He was famous because of his evil like an Alexander, Hitler, Stalin or Mao.

(3)   From the amount of space given to him he must have been one of the giants of the world at this time

2.     His character – vs 9 ß  (Two character attributes are given.)

a)    His might. "Mighty."

(1)   He was a powerful man. “mighty” appears 3x in vs 8-9

(2)   Might is impressive to the flesh, and Nimrod gained his fame thru might

b)    His meanness. "Mighty hunter before the Lord"

(1)   The "meanness" comes from the meaning of Nimrod's name and the context.

(2)   "Hunter" does not refer to harmless hunting in a field—which would hardly impress God, but refers to his cruelty to mankind.

(3)   Barnhouse says Nimrod was "A mighty tyrant in the land... a terrible subjugator, defiant before the face of Jehovah."

3.     His cities – vs 10 ß

a)    From Nimrod came the two bloody-cruel nations of Babylon and Nineveh which especially oppressed Israel.

b)    The cruelty of these two nations is a matter of undisputed history

C.  The Countries of Ham – vs 10-11, 19 ß

1.     The countries or lands occupied by Ham's descendants are not all listed but what is listed include Babylon, Nineveh, and Palestine.

2.     We have already noted his descendants filled Africa.

3.     Henry Morris explains that the Hamites have been the great servants of mankind since….

a)    they were the original explorers and settlers of practically all parts of the world, following the dispersion at Babel.

b)    they were the 1^st cultivators of most of the basic food staples of the world such as potatoes, corn, beans, cereals, and others and they were the first domesticators of animals

c)    they developed most of the basic types of structural forms and building tools and materials.

d)    they were the 1^st to develop most of the usual fabrics for clothing and the various sewing and weaving devices.

e)    they discovered and invented a wide variety of medicines and surgical practices and instruments.

f)      they invented most of the concepts of basic practical mathematics, as well as surveying and navigation.

g)    they developed the machinery of commerce and trade – money, banks, postal systems etc.

h)    they developed paper, ink, block printing, movable type, and other materials of writing and communication.

4.     The Hamites have usually been able to go only so far with their inventions and no farther

a)    Sooner or later the Japhethites or Semites have taken over their territories and inventions

b)    Those inventions were developed and used to their own advantage

III. SHEM, THE ELECT SON – vs 21-32

·       Shem is in the line of Christ.

A.  The Children of Shem  - vs 22-24  ß

1.     In the adding of the grandsons and their descendants, only the children of Aram (Genesis 10:23) and Arphaxad (Genesis 10:24) are given, and then the line of Arphaxad is followed in considerable detail, for that is the line of Christ.

2.     This reminds us that the Bible is not primarily a history book but a book about redemption.

3.     What it says about history is true, but its main focus is redemption.

4.     The Bible can be very helpful in regards to history, but its main purpose is "His" story, that is, Christ and redemption.

5.     The descendants of Shem comprise especially the Jews but also many of the Arabs today.

B.  The Comments About Shem – vs 25

            25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

1.     The special comments in Shem's family concern a man named Peleg.

2.     The name "Peleg" means "division" (Leupold).

3.     This most interesting comment concerning Shem's family refers to the division of the earth as a result of the tower of Babel (when the languages were diversified by God), not to the continental drift—the separation of the continent of Africa from South America.

4.     We know for certain about the earth being divided by the diversity of the language (Genesis 11:1-9); but the continental drift, while most interesting to mere curiosity, has no certainty at all but is mere speculation at best; and Barnhouse calls the idea one of the "pagan myths."

C.  The Countries of Shem – vs 30

        30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

1.     This annotation about the countries of the descendants of Shem is limited to just a few people.

2.     The lands of "Mesha" and "Sephar, a mount of east" are not easily identified—some think Arabia.

3.     We learn later in Scripture, of course, that the Jews lived in Palestine where the Canaanites were first living; and we know that some of the descendants of Abraham lived in the east and south of Palestine.

4.     Today Shem's descendants fill the volatile Middle East.