1
This is the family line of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah. After the flood, sons were born to them.
2
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3
The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4
The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Dodanim.
5
From these the coastland peoples spread abroad. These were the sons of Japheth, each in his own land, with his own language, by their families, in their nations.
6
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
7
The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8
Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first to become mighty on the earth;
9
he was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
10
The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all in the land of Shinar.
11
From that land he went forth into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah
12
and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
13
Mizraim fathered the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim,
14
the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim, from whom the Philistines came.
15
Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
16
and the Jebusites, the Amorites, and the Girgashites;
17
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
18
the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites spread abroad.
19
The territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.
20
These are the sons of Ham, by their families, by their languages, in their lands, in their nations.
21
To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber and the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.
22
The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
23
The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24
Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber.
25
To Eber were born two sons; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.
26
Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
27
Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,
28
Obal, Abimael, and Sheba,
29
Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.
30
Their dwelling place extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country of the east.
31
These are the sons of Shem, by their families, by their languages, in their lands, in their nations.
32
These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations. And from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.
🌍 Summary of Genesis 10
Genesis 10 is known as the “Table of Nations”, because it gives the list of the descendants of Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and how they became the source of the nations of the earth after the flood.
- Japheth: Became the ancestor of the nations in the regions of Europe and the north.
- Ham: His descendants established great kingdoms such as Babel (Babylonia), Mizraim (Egypt), and Canaan.
- Shem: Became the ancestor of the Hebrew and Semitic peoples, including Eber, from whom the name “Hebrew” is derived.
Important figures are also mentioned, such as Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, who became a mighty hunter before God and the founder of the kingdoms of Babel and Nineveh.
This chapter emphasizes how the nations spread over the earth, each with its own language, territory, and people, leading up to the event of the Tower of Babel in the next chapter.
📖 Main Lessons
- God is the source of all nations and peoples on the earth.
- The spreading of mankind is part of God’s plan to fill the earth.
- The diversity of languages, cultures, and nations is God’s creation, not chance.
- Leadership, like Nimrod’s, can be used to build or to destroy.
- All people come from one great family — the human race.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- Humanity has a common origin, showing that all people are equal before God.
- National identity is not apart from God’s will, and must not become a cause of division.
- God’s covenant and purpose move through certain family lines, yet reach the whole world.
- The nations are meant to spread and glorify the Lord — not to be at war with one another.
