Bible Commentaries
Genesis 10

Verses 1-32

Genesis 10. The Table of Nations.— From P and J. To P we may assign Genesis 10:1-7; Genesis 10:20; Genesis 10:31 f. The rest belongs to J, for the most part to its secondary stratum, with some elements from R. The genealogy, as was customary among the Semites, expresses national rather than individual relationships. The true character of the lists may be seen quite clearly from many of the names, which are names of countries ( e.g. Cush, Mizraim, Ophir), or cities ( e.g. Tarshish, Zidon), or peoples ( e.g. Ludim). It is an attempt to explain the origin of the various nations, before the author proceeds to the special ancestry of Israel. It is of great importance for the Hebrew view of other peoples, alike in its extent and its limitations, and for the degrees of affinity which they believed to subsist between them. It raises problems too intricate for discussion in our space. It need hardly be said that the various races of mankind now existing cannot be traced back to a single ancestor at a period so near to us as the date to which the OT assigns Noah; nor indeed do peoples originate in the way here described.

Genesis 10:5 . Insert, “ These are the sons of Japheth” before “ in their lands” ( cf. Genesis 10:20; Genesis 10:31).

Genesis 10:8-10 . The name Nimrod has not been discovered in the cuneiform inscriptions, and the identifications proposed are most uncertain. That he was “ a mighty one in the earth” is explained by Genesis 10:10, which should follow Genesis 10:8; he was a king who founded a large empire. In Genesis 10:9 his fame is explained in another way. He was a hero of the chase, and a popular proverb is quoted, in which he figures in this character. He was “ a mighty hunter before Yahweh,” i.e. (probably) in Yahweh’ s estimation.

Genesis 10:14 . The Philistines came from Caphtor, i.e. Crete ( Amos 9:7 *, Jeremiah 47:4; cf. Deuteronomy 2:23); the parenthesis would, therefore, be in place at the end of the verse.