the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
Amplified Bible
Genesis 10:5
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his tongue, according to their families, into their nations.
From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
Of these were the Iles of the gentiles deuided in their landes, euery one after his tongue, and after his kinrede, in their nations.
All the people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. The people separated and went to different countries according to languages, families, and nations.
From these the coastland peoples spread. These are the sons of Japheth in their lands, each with his own language, by their families, in their nations.
of these sones the ylis of hethen men weren departid in her cuntrees, ech bi his langage and meynees, in hise naciouns.
By these were the Iles of the Gentiles diuided in their lands, euery one after his tongue: after their families, in their nations.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Of these are deuided the Iles of ye Heithen in their countrees, euery one after his speach, kynred and people.
From these the people of the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
From these came the nations of the sea-lands, with their different families and languages.
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
From these the islands of the nations were divided into their lands, each according to its language, according to their families, in their nations.
From these came the distribution of the isles of the nations, according to their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Of these were the yles of the Gentiles deuided in their landes, euery man after his tongue, and after their families in their nations.
It was from these that the people were divided into the Islands of the Gentiles and their main lands; every one after his language, after their families, in their nations.
they were the ancestors of the people who live along the coast and on the islands. These are the descendants of Japheth, living in their different tribes and countries, each group speaking its own language.
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Their descendants became the seafaring peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language, clan, and national identity.
From these the people who live beside the sea spread out into their lands, each one by his language, family, and nation.
From these the coastland peoples spread. These are the descendants of Japheth in their lands, with their own language, by their families, in their nations.
From these were the islands of the Gentiles divided in their land, each according to his tongue, in their tribes and in their nations.
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue; after their families, in their nations.
From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.
From these, were dispersed the inhabitants of the coastlands of the nations, in their lands, each man by his tongue, by their families in their nations.
By these were divided the islands of the Gentiles in their lands, every one according to his tongue and their families in their nations.
From these the coastland peoples spread out through their lands, each according to his own language by their own families, in their nations.
The coasts of the nations were divided by these in their lands each by his tongue, by their families, in their nations.
From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.
Those who lived in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. All the families grew and became different nations, each nation with its own land and its own language.
The coastland peoples spread out into their lands. These are Japheth's sons by their clans, in their nations. Each group had its own language.
By these have the isles of the nations been parted in their lands, each by his tongue, by their families, in their nations.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
am 1757, bc 2247
isles: Genesis 10:25, Psalms 72:10, Isaiah 24:15, Isaiah 40:15, Isaiah 41:5, Isaiah 42:4, Isaiah 42:10, Isaiah 49:1, Isaiah 51:5, Isaiah 59:18, Isaiah 60:9, Jeremiah 2:10, Jeremiah 25:22, Zephaniah 2:11
after his: Genesis 10:20, Genesis 11:1-9
Reciprocal: Genesis 10:31 - General Genesis 11:7 - may Genesis 11:9 - Babel Esther 10:1 - the isles Psalms 97:1 - let the multitude of isles Isaiah 11:11 - the islands Jeremiah 31:10 - declare Jeremiah 46:1 - against Daniel 11:18 - the isles
Cross-References
These are the records of the generations (descendants) of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and the sons born to them after the flood:
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD."
These are the descendants of Ham according to their constituent groups, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
Two sons were born to Eber; the name of one was Peleg (division), for [the inhabitants of] the earth were divided in his days; and his brother's name was Joktan.
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring offerings; The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
Therefore honor and glorify the LORD in the east [in the region of light], The name of the LORD, the God of Israel [honor His name], In the coastlands and islands of the [Mediterranean] Sea.
In fact, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Now look, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
The islands and coastlands have seen and they fear; The ends of the earth tremble; They have drawn near and have come.
"He will not be disheartened or crushed [in spirit]; [He will persevere] until He has established justice on the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."
Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You islands and coastlands, and those who inhabit them [sing His praise]!
Gill's Notes on the Bible
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,.... That is, by those sons of Japheth before mentioned; and by "isles" are meant, not countries surrounded with water, for the isles in this sense would not have been sufficient for the posterity of Japheth; nor can it be thought they would leave the continent, where there was room enough for them, and go into islands; and besides must have found it difficult to get there, when shipping and navigation were little known: but it is usual with the Hebrews, of whom Moses, the writer of this history, was, to call all places beyond the Mediterranean sea, or whatsoever they went to by sea, or that were upon the sea coasts, islands, as Greece, Italy, c. Moreover, the word sometimes signifies countries, as it does in Job 22:30 and so should be rendered here, as it is by some y, "the countries of the Gentiles" so called, because in the times of Moses, and at the writing of this history, those countries were inhabited by Heathens and idolaters, strangers to the true religion: and this division was not made at random, and at the pleasure of a rude company of men, but in an orderly regular manner, with the consent, and by the advice and direction of the principal men of those times; and especially it was directed by the wise providence of the most High, who divided to the nations their inheritance, and set the bounds of the people,
Deuteronomy 32:8.
everyone after his tongue, after their families, in their nations; this shows, that what is said concerning the division of countries to the sons of Japheth is by way of anticipation; and that, though thus related, was not done till after the confusion of languages, since the partition was made according to the different languages of men; those that were of the same language went and dwelt together, the several nations of them, and the several families in those nations; by which it appears that this was done by consultation, with great care and wisdom, ranging the people according to their tongues; of which nations were formed, and with them were taken the several families they consisted of.
y איי הגוים "regiones gentium", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Patrick.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Section VIII - The Nations
- Japheth
2. גמר gomer, “Gomer, completion; related: complete;” Κιμμέριοι Kimmerioi. מגוג māgôg, “Magog, Caucasian, Skyth.” מדי māday, “Madai, middle: Mede.” יון yāvān, “Javan”; Ἰάων Iaōn; “Sanskrit, Javana; Old Persian, Juna.” תבל tubāl, “Tubal”; Τιβαρηνοὶ Tibareenoi. משׁך meshek, “Meshek, drawing possession, valor”; Μόσχοι Moschoi, תירס tı̂yrās, “Tiras;” Θρᾷξ Thrax.
3. אשׁכנו 'ashkenaz, “Ashkenaz,” Ἀσκάνιος Askanios. ריפת rı̂ypat, “Riphath,” ὄρη Ῥίπαια oree Ripaia, תגרמה togarmâh “Togarmah, Thorgom, ancestor of the Armenians.”
4. אלישׁה 'elı̂yshâh, “Elishah;” Ἧλις Eelis, Ἑλλὰς Hellas, Αἰολεῖς Aioleis. תדשׁישׁ tarshı̂ysh, “Tarshish, breaking, fastness: Tartessus, Tarsus, Tyrseni.” כתים kı̂tı̂ym, “Kittim, smiters; Citienses;” Κᾶρες Kares; דדנים dodānı̂ym, “Dodanim, Dodona, Dardani.”
5. אי 'ı̂y, “meadow, land reached by water, island; related: be marked off or bounded (by a water line).” גוי gôy, “nation; related: be born;” γεγάασι gegaasi.
The fifth document relates to the generations of the sons of Noah. It presents first a genealogy of the nations, and then an account of the distribution of mankind into nations, and their dispersion over the earth. This is the last section which treats historically of the whole human race. Only in incidental, didactic, or prophetic passages do we again meet with mankind as a whole in the Old Testament.
The present chapter signalizes a new step in the development of the human race. They pass from the one family to the seventy nations. This great process covers the space of time from Noah to Abraham. During this period the race was rapidly increasing under the covenant made with Noah. From Shem to Abraham were ten generations inclusive; and, therefore, if we suppose the same rate of increase after as we have supposed before, there would be about fifteen million inhabitants when Abraham was thirty years of age. If, however, we take eight as the average of a family, and suppose eleven generations after Shem at the one hundredth year of Abraham’s life, we have about thirty million people on the earth. The average of the three sons of Noah is higher than this; for they had sixteen sons, and we may suppose as many daughters, making in all thirty-two, and, therefore, giving ten children to each household. The present chapter does not touch on the religious aspect of human affairs: it merely presents a table of the primary nations, from which all subsequent nationalities have been derived.
Genesis 10:1-2
The sons of Japheth. - Japheth is placed first, because he was, most probably, the oldest brother Genesis 9:24; Genesis 10:21, and his descendants were the most numerous and most widely spread from the birthplace of mankind. The general description of their territory is “the isles of the nations.” These were evidently maritime countries, or such as were reached by sea. These coastlands were pre-eminently, but not exclusively, the countries bordering on the north side of the Mediterranean and its connected waters. They are said to belong to the nations, because the national form of association was more early and fully developed among them than among the other branches of the race. There is, probably, a relic of Japheth in the, Ιαπετὸς Iapetos, Japetus of the Greeks, said to be the son of Uranus (heaven), and Gaea (earth), and father of Prometheus, and thus in some way connected with the origin or preservation of the human race.
Fourteen of the primitive nations spring from Japheth. Seven of these are of immediate descent.
(1) Gomer is mentioned again, in Ezekiel Ezekiel 38:6, as the ally of Gog, by which the known existence of the nation at that period is indicated. Traces of this name are perhaps found in the Κιμμέριοι Kimmerioi, (Homer, Odyssey Ezekiel 11:14; Herodotus Ezekiel 1:15; Ezekiel 4:12), who lay in the dark north, in the Krimea, the Kimbri who dwelt in north Germany, the Kymry, Cambri, and Cumbri who occupied Britain. These all belong to the race now called Keltic, the first wave of population that reached the Atlantic. Thus, the Γομαρεῖς Gomareis, of Josephus (Ant. 1:6.1) may even be identified with the Galatae. This nation seems to have lain to the north of the Euxine, and to have spread out along the southern coasts of the Baltic into France, Spain, and the British Isles.
(2) Magog is mentioned, by Ezekiel Ezekiel 38:6, as the people of which Gog was the prince. It is introduced in the Apocalypse Revelation 20:8, as a designation of the remote nations who had penetrated to the ends or corners of the earth. This indicates a continually progressing people, occupying the north of Europe and Asia, and crossing, it may be, over into America. They seem to have been settled north of the Caspian, and to have wandered north and east from that point. They are accordingly identified by Josephus (Ant. 1:6.1) with the Skyths, and include the Mongols among other Skythic tribes.
(3) Madai has given name to the Medes, who occupied the southern shore of the Caspian. From this region they penetrated southward to Hindostan.
(4) Javan is traced in the Ιάονες Iaones, Iones, who settled in the coasts of the Aegean, in Peloponnesus, Attica, and subsequently on the coast of Asia Minor, and accordingly denotes the Greeks in the language of the Old Testament Isaiah 66:19; Ezekiel 27:13; Daniel 8:21. The name Yunau is found in the cuneiform inscriptions of the times of Sargon, referring to a western people.
(5) Tubal and (6) Meshek are generally associated. (Ezekiel 27:13; Ezekiel 38:0; Ezekiel 39:0) connects them, on the one hand, with Magog, and on the other, with Javan. Josephus (Ant. 1:6.1) finds Tubal in Iberia, and Meshek in Cappadocia, tracing the name in Mazaca. Their names are seemingly detected in the Tibareni and Moschi, and their seat was probably between the Euxine and the Caspian, whence they spread themselves northward and westward. The names of the rivers Tobal and Mosqua bear a strong resemblance to these patriarchal names.
(7) Tiras is referred by Josephus to Thrace. The name is perhaps discernible in the Tyras or Dniester. The seat of the nation was east of the Euxine, whence it spread to the north. Thus, we have the original starting-points of these seven nations about the Caspian, the Euxine, and the Aegean Seas.
Genesis 10:3
Gomer has three sons, who are the founders of as many nations.
(8) Ashkenaz is supposed to have lain south of the Euxine, and to be traceable in its original name ἄξενος axenos, and in the Ascanius and Ascania of Bithynia, perhaps in Scandinavia. Part of the nation may have migrated to Germany, which is called Ashkenaz by the Jews, and where the word Sachsen (Saxon) occurs. It perhaps contains the root of the name Asia.
(9) Riphath seems to have travelled north, and left his name in the Rhipaean mountains. Josephus, however, places him in Paphlagonia, where the name Tobata occurs (Diphath) 1 Chronicles 1:6.
(10) Togarmah is said to have been settled in Armenia. By a tradition in Moses Chorenensis, Haik, the ancestor of the Armenians, is the son of Thorgom, the son of Gomer. At all events, the Black Sea might convey colonies from Gomer to Asia Minor and Armenia.
Genesis 10:4
Javan has four sons, who are the heads of nations.
(11) Elishah is noted by Ezekiel Ezekiel 27:7 as a nation whose maritime country produced purple, which agrees with the coast of Laconia or the Corinthian Gulf. The name has been variously sought in Elis, Hellas, and Aeolis. The last is due to Josephus. It is possible that Elea or Velia, in the south of Italy, may contain some reference to the name.
(12) Tarshish is conjectured by Josephus to be the people of Cilicia; which, he affirms, was anciently called Tharsus, and the capital of which was Tarsus. But whether this be the primitive seat of Tarshish or not, it is almost certain that Spain retains the name, if not in Tarraco, at least in Tartessus.
(13) Kittim is discovered, by Josephus, in Cyprus, where we meet with the town of Citium Κίτιον Kition. He adds, however, that all the islands and the greater part of the seacoasts are called Χεδίμ Chedim by the Hebrews. We may therefore presume that the Kittim spread into northern Greece, where we have a Κίτιον Kition in Macedonia, and ultimately into Italy, which is designated as “the isles of Kittim” Numbers 24:24; Isaiah 23:1; Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6; Daniel 11:30.
(14) Dodanim leaves a trace, perhaps, in Dodona, an ancient site of the Hellenes in Epirus, and perhaps in Dardania, a district of Illyricum.
Genesis 10:5
Thus, we have discovered the ancient seats of Japheth, Iapetos - , around the Caspian, the Euxine, the Aegean, and the north of the Mediterranean. From these coastlands they seem to have spread over Europe, northern, western, and southern Asia, and, both by Behring’s Straits and the Atlantic, they at length poured into America. So true is it that Japheth was enlarged, and that by them were “the isles of the nations divided.”
In their nations. - We here note the characteristics of a nation. First. It is descended from one head. Others may be occasionally grafted on the original stock by intermarriage. But there is a vital union subsisting between all the members and the head, in consequence of which the name of the head is applied to the whole body of the nation. In the case of Kittim and Dodanim we seem to have the national name thrown back upon the patriarchs, who may have themselves been called Keth and Dodan. Similar instances occur in the subsequent parts of the genealogy. Second. A nation has a country or “land” which it calls its own. In the necessary migrations of ancient tribes, the new territories appropriated by the tribe, or any part of it, were naturally called by the old name, or some name belonging to the old country. This is well illustrated by the name of Gomer, which seems to reappear in the Cimmerii, the Cimbri, the Cymri, the Cambri, and the Cumbri. Third. A nation has its own “tongue.” This constitutes at once its unity in itself and its separation from others. Many of the nations in the table may have spoken cognate tongues, or even originally the same tongue. Thus, the Kenaanite, Phoenician, and Punic nations had the same stock of languages with the Shemites. But it is a uniform law, that one nation has only one speech within itself. Fourth. A nation is composed of many “families,” clans, or tribes. These branch off from the nation in the same manner as it did from the parent stock of the race.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 10:5. Isles of the Gentiles — EUROPE, of which this is allowed to be a general epithet. Calmet supposes that it comprehends all those countries to which the Hebrews were obliged to go by sea, such as Spain, Gaul, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor.
Every one after his tongue — This refers to the time posterior to the confusion of tongues and dispersion from Babel.
