Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 1

Verses 5-54

XVII

DISTRIBUTION AND TERRITORIES OF THE NATIONS

Genesis 10:1-11:9; 1 Chronicles 1:5-54

1. Resume of previous chapter

2. Some necessary statements

3. The Japheth nations: which and where

4. The Ham nations: which and where

5. The Shem nations: which and where…

RESUME OF PREVIOUS CHAPTER
In our last chapter it was shown that Genesis 10, and to the ninth verse of the eleventh, constitute a distinct section of the book, and that while the first part gives a table of the nations we must rely on the second part to explain how they became separate nations with diverse languages. Hence in order of time much of the second part precedes much of the first part. It was shown that, instead of these two parts being independent, unrelated, and contradictory documents as claimed by destructive higher critics, each part fits into the other with dovetailed exactness and demands the other in order to a complete account of the most marvelous origins in the annals of time since the creation.

Following a chronological order, except in one point, that chapter arranged for discussion the scriptures of the two parts thus:

(1) One stock and one language (Genesis 11:6; Genesis 11:1).

(2) One trend of migration (11:2-3).

(3) The leader of the migration and settlement (10:8-10).

(4) His attempt at centralization (11:4).

(5) The defeat of the movement by confusion of tongues (11:6-7).

(6) The consequent groupings into nations according to tongues and family ties (10:5, 20, 31-32).

(7) The prior divine partition of the earth territory among these nations (10:5, 20, 25, 31-32; Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 17:26).

(8) Their dispersion (11:9) to their respective allotted territories (10:2-5; 10:6-20; 10:21-32).

(9) The secular object of the dispersion was to carry out the divine mandate, fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 11:1). And the religious object to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27).

It was also shown that this account is not merely the most ancient, but the only extant history of the origin of nations and languages, and that it furnishes the only solution of the irreconcilable differences in the few great parent languages, a problem before which human philology is not only dubious, but dumb. Therefore this one bit of inspired record is the only sure foundation of the human sciences, ethnology and philology; and the root of history, prophecy, and religion.

That chapter closed with the announcement that this chapter would consider more particularly the dispersion of the nation groups to their respective territories as set forth in the tenth chapter. This resume of the preceding chapter must be kept in mind in order to a proper understanding of the present one.

A higher critic thus testifies concerning the tenth chapter of Genesis: "This ethnographical table is not only the most ancient and reliable description of the various nations and peoples, but it has no parallel in it? attempt to exhibit all the races of the earth as related to one another. The ancients universally considered the various races of man to be divided from one another by some impassable interval. The idea that all were of one blood was unfamiliar and unaccountable to them. And it is only in recent times that science has set itself to the task of tracing the relationship which exists between each race and every other, a task which, with all the aids of philology and anthropology available in modern times, cannot be said yet to be independent of this ancient record." Will it ever be independent?

And now before entering into the details of this nation distribution let us settle and fix in our minds:

CERTAIN NECESSARY STATEMENTS
This lesson roots in the prophecy of Noah concerning his children and fruits in the book of Chronicles. The book of Chronicles gives a summary of world history from Adam to Cyrus which is continued in Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, and Esther to the times of Ahasuerus. Hence in 1 Chronicles 1:5-24, this genealogy of nations is repeated, with variations in some names, helpful to an understanding of our text, and must, therefore, be studied in connection with it.

The time period is ten generations from Shem to Abraham and in round numbers about 300 years. There might well be a population of 30,000,000 on the earth at the call of Abraham. So far as this record is a genealogy of individuals, not all, but only the most illustrious names are given, or when less illustrious, only those bearing prominently on subsequent Bible history.

When the record says that Cush, a son of Ham, begat Nimrod, it does not necessarily follow that Nimrod was a grandson of Ham in our sense of the word, but a descendant of Ham through the Cush line. Compare genealogical tables in Matthew and Luke.

This record is not merely or mainly a genealogy of individuals, but of peoples. For example we find: (a) the dual form of names: as, Mizraim; (b) the plural form: as, Ludim, Ananim, Lobahim, Naphthalim, Pathruaim, Cashhuhim, Caphtorim, Zebaim; (c) tribal or Gentile forms: as, Jebusite, Amorite, Girgashite, Hivite, Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite, Hamathite; (d) forms for groups of tribes: as, Canaanites; (e) forms for nations: as, Gomer, Magog, and Madai.

The record is not merely an ethnological table, but geographical as well. We not only have such expressions as "the isles of the Gentiles," "their countries," "their lands," with border lines occasionally marked out, but even the names of some of the peoples, which either were originally or soon came to be geographical expressions; as, the dual name, Mizraim, certainly meaning, later, upper, and lower Egypt. To these may be added Kittim, Donanim, and Philistim, which are names of countries. Rawlinson’s contention that the record is wholly ethnological is as untenable as the opposite contention of Professor Sayce, that it is wholly geographical. We may take our stand on this broad ground: Some of this record is the genealogy of individuals; more of it is genealogy of families, tribes, and nations; much of it is a table of countries embracing all the geographical world then known.

When the Almighty originally assigned these specific territories, with then well understood metes and bounds, the assignment was subject to certain modifications: (a) He reserved to himself the times and seasons and instrumentalities of a change of ownership in a given territory (Acts 17:26), nations as units being as responsible to him as individuals are. See in general all subsequent Bible history, but particularly the "burdens" of the prophets; as, Jeremiah 18:7-10; (b) some peoples would rebel against the authority of the assignment and encroach on the territories of others. Thus in the very record we find overlapping. A particular and notable illustration is the land of Palestine assigned originally to a branch of Shem’s family, but preoccupied by Canaanites, the descendants of Ham. This territory was subsequently restored by divine intervention in Joshua’s time to the descendants of the original owners.

It is impossible now, so great the lapse of time, and so many the changes in names and nations, to trace accurately on a map all the details of this original allotment of territory and the distribution of peoples. Yet it is marvelous, notwithstanding time and changes, how much and how well we can trace from this ancient record the principal nations and the countries settled by them. In general terms we may say that the north was assigned to Japheth, the south to Ham, and the middle territory to Shem. This assignment of an intermediate place to Shem was from religious reasons, as the revelation from God, both as to the Bible and the incarnation, was to come through the Shem line and could thus more speedily and effectively reach the other branches of the human family. The middle portion of Shem, in general terms, would reach from the southern part of Armenia to the Persian Gulf, and its western border would be the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. North of this, including Europe and the greater part of Asia, would be Japheth’s territory. South of this would be all of Africa, Ham’s territory. But from the causes previously cited, namely, God’s government of nations and the rebellion of some nations through unwillingness to confine themselves to their allotted territory, there was and has been much overlapping, with some intermingling and complicating so as to cause endless and insoluble perplexities. Notwithstanding these perplexities this record, even in its minutest details, is found to be exact so far as modern knowledge can verify it.

Philology, an infant and imperfect science, has discovered three parent groups of languages and peoples: Aryan, Semitic, and Turanian, corresponding to Japheth, Shem, and Ham. But the highest authorities differ about the origin of the Turanian peoples and tongues, some confidently affirming Japhethic origin, others with equal confidence the Hamitic. We will now consider the record in order.

THE JAPHETH NATIONS: WHICH AND WHERE
The generations of Japheth include seven sons and seven grandsons who became heads of nations. As we trace up their territory and subsequent history we are reminded of Noah’s prophecy, "God will enlarge Japheth and he will dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan will be the servants of them." All Europe and the greater part of Asia are settled by Japhethic nations. From him are derived both the Indo-European, and, according to many ethnologists and philologists, the Turanian races. Other ethnologists are just as confident that the nations of the Turanian languages are descended from Ham. From Gomer is the Cimmerian race, which located in Crimea around the Sea of Azov and spreads westward and reappears in the Welsh Cymry, in Cambria and Cumberland. He is the father of the Celts, whether in Gaul as found by Caesar, or in Ireland. Through his sons Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah, he peopled much of Armenia and the Carpathian Mountains. Concerning them the prophets say: "Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with thee" (Ezekiel 39:6). "They of the house of Togarmah traded for thy wares with horses and war-horses and mules" (Ezekiel 27:14). "Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpets among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the canker-worm" (Jeremiah 51:27).

Through Magog are the Scythians in Caucasus and the Russians. Ezekiel 38 should be studied in connection with the lesson in locating the nations of Japheth descended from Gomer, Magog, Tubal, and Meshech. From one of these sons apparently come the Turanian race, including the Turks, the dwellers in the Steppes of Asia, the Hungarians, the Finns and many others; the first inhabitants of Hindustan and the Mongolians. From Madai, another son of Japheth, come the Medes; from Javan, the lonians and Greeks; from Turas, the Thracians; Javan’s sons occupy Cyprus, Rhodes and other islands and coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and the coast of Spain. According to the record: "Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations" (Genesis 10:5).

Greeks, Romans, Celts, Germans, Scandinavians, Russians, Scythians, Finns, indeed all of what are now called the IndoEuropean, and perhaps the Turanian races, are descended from Japheth.

HAM NATIONS: WHICH AND WHERE
According to the psalmist, the land of Ham is Africa, or more particular, Egypt:

Israel also came into Egypt;

And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.,

And he increased his people greatly,

And made them stronger than their adversaries.

He turned their heart to hate his people,

To deal subtly with his servants.

He sent Moses his servant,

And Aaron whom he had chosen.

They set among them his signs,

And wonders in the land of Ham.

Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

And terrible things by the Red Sea.

– Psalms 105:23-27; Psalms 106:22

His descendants, however, were the first to leave the territory assigned them. His sons were Gush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. Cush in many Old Testament references is translated Ethiopia; later, Abyssinia. But commencing with Nimrod, the Cushites began to occupy the Semitic territory, and have left their impress from Nineveh all the way down the Tigris and Euphrates, and in Eastern and Southern Arabia. Mizraim is Egypt, upper and lower. His sons occupied all the Nile regions and Libya. From them came the Philistines who migrated to and occupied the lower part of the Mediterranean coast belonging to Shem. The name means "emigrants." This migration was one of the earliest and most important in history. It is mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:23; Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7. From Jeremiah 46:9, we may infer that Phut also settled in Africa. Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, on whom rested the curse of Noah, disobeyed the divine assignment of territory from the beginning and altogether. Only two sons of Canaan are specified, Sidon and Heth. The first seized upon the upper part of the Mediterranean shore, which was a lowland coast. This coast, Sidon and Tyre, through which cities the name, Phenicia, came, exercised a wide influence on the affairs of the world’s later history. From Tyre, Carthage, the ancient rival of Rome, was colonized. The great epic of Virgil assigns the beginning of the animosity between Rome and Carthage to the unhappy outcome of Dido’s love for Aeneas. Though Ham’s descendants first occupied Phenicia, they must have early lost their hold on the land, for the Phenicians of history are Semitic in language. Ham and Shem are blended in the Phenicians. Heth was the father of the Hittite, a powerful nation, who, in Abraham’s time, occupied Hebron in Palestine. (See Genesis 23:4-19; Genesis 24:3-4; Genesis 28:1-2.) The other descendants of Canaan, referred to only by tribal names, we find from the later Bible story thus distributed:

Jebusites, around Jerusalem

Amorites, coasts of the Dead Sea and lower Jordan

Girgashites, westward from the Jordan (Joshua 24:11)

Hivites, base of Mount Hermon and valleys of Lebanon, and at Shechem (Genesis 34:2; Joshua 9:7-17; Joshua 11:19)

Arkites and Sinites, near Mount Lebanon

Arvadites, on the Phenician Island, Aradus (Ezekiel 27:8-11)

Zemarites (2 Chronicles 13:4)

Hamathites, in Hamath, chief city of upper Syria, on the Orontes

The country thus occupied by Canaan was nearly all the land of Palestine, from which they were dispossessed when their iniquity was full.

SHEM NATIONS: WHICH AND WHERE
From Elam came the people just north of the Persians;

Asshur, the Assyrians;

Arphaxad, the Chaldeans;

Lud, the Lydians in Asia Minor;

Aram, the Syrians.

The author contents himself with referring to the sons of only two of these, Aram and Arphaxad. The only familiar name of Aram’s sons is Uz, who occupied Northern Arabia, the land of Job. The interest in Arphaxad’s descendants centers in Eber, the father of the Hebrew nation. The two sons of Eber are Peleg, in whose day the land was divided and from whom Abraham is descended, and Joktan, from whom descended many Arabian tribes.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the secular object of the dispersion? The religious object?

2. Show how this lesson roots m the prophecy of Noah and fruits in the book of Chronicles.

3. What is the time period from Shorn to Abraham and what might have been the population?

4. Is this record a complete genealogy of individuals? If not, what principle governed the selection of names?

5. What is the meaning of "Cush, the son of Ham, begat Nimrod" and the New Testament proof?

6. Is this merely or mainly a genealogy of individuals, and what fivefold proof?

7. Rawlinson says that this is an ethnological table; Sayce says it is a geographical table; others say it is a genealogy of individuals. Show how it is all three.

8. The assignment of territories was subject to what modifications? Give examples of each.

9. Locate in general terms the countries occupied respectively by the descendants of Shern, Ham, and Japheth.

10. Why assigned to Shem an intermediate place?

11. What has caused many insoluble perplexities?

12. Philology has discovered what three parent groups of languages and peoples and how do they correspond in general to the sons of Noah?

13. Name the principal nations descended from Japheth and locate them.

14. From Ham, and locate them.

15. From Shem, and locate them.