Shem, Ham, Japheth, and the nations
In this section of our Precept Ministries study on the book of Genesis, we will discover many fascinating insights concerning the new world Noah and his family encountered. The world we know today is much more similar to the world they faced once they got off the ark than what they were familiar with before the flood. It is a world of nations, multiple languages, and continents. Genesis 10–11 shows us how it all got started from just three men and their wives after a worldwide catastrophe. It’s going to be quite the finale to our study of this portion of Genesis before we move on to Abram and his descendants. This study will prove valuable to our research of the rest of the Bible and the various prophecies about the world's nations.
When we read Genesis 9:18–10:32, there are many key words to observe. Shem is mentioned 10 times, Japheth nine times, Ham eight times. “The account of” is only found once, but that is an essential phrase, as I pointed out earlier in our study. Theologians divide up Genesis differently. Some say it should be divided up between chapters 1–11 and 12–50. Others see it in three parts: 1–2, 3–11, 12–50. I prefer to let the Bible not only interpret itself but to outline itself. Thankfully, the book of Genesis is pretty easy to do that with. The Hebrew word “toledoth,” translated “the account of” in the NIV, is found 10 times in this book (Genesis 2:4; 6:9; 10:1, 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). Thus, Genesis has its own divisions without the need for manmade ones. “After the flood” is repeated three times, but it is a key phrase because it tells us when these events took place. “The earth” is mentioned four times. “Language” or “languages” are talked about three times. That word is important to remember because of what happened at the Tower of Babel, which we will discuss in Genesis 11. “Territories” and “nations” are both important words not only because of how they are connected but because Genesis 10–11 talks about the separation of the world’s peoples by their clans into different nations and territories after the flood. Likewise, Peleg, one of the names in Genesis 10, is important because, in his time, the earth was divided (Genesis 10:25).
Several geographical locations stand out along with the key names, words, and phrases. Japheth's sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek, and Tiras (Genesis 10:2). The tractate Yoma referred to Gomer as the ancestor of the present-day Germans. The Germans, from which most Western European nations such as the French, Spanish, and the Celtic people are descended, are said to have started from Gomer. The Bible states Gomer was a country found in the north. It stretched from the Taurus and Amanus Mountains of Asia Minor to the River Tanais. It expanded towards Europe up to the Cadiz of Spain. Magogites was a nation of people identified as the Scythians. People of Magog or the Magogites were said to be a “great and powerful” nation that lived in “extreme recesses of the north.” The Scythian dwelt in the north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, which now belongs to Russia. Scythians are a large percentage of the population in Russia today. According to the Book of Jubilees, Madai married Shem's daughter and pleaded with his three brothers-in-law to let him live on their land instead of occupying an area in Japheth’s land. They gave him a spot to dwell on with his family, and it was later on named Media. He was associated with different nations such as Mitanni, the Iranian Medes, the Kachin, the Kurd, and the Medes. Mitanni and the Medes were Indo-Aryan nations. Media was an ancient city situated in the northwest of Iran and south of Azerbaijan. The capital city of Media was Ecbatana, or the present city of Hamadan in Iran. Medes were also associated with Persians through Cyrus the Great because of his mother. Her father was a king of Media. Javan was said to be the forefather of the Greeks, most notably of the Ionians, one of the first Greek nations. The Ionians dwelt in the land of Iona. Javan was the term used in the Bible referring to Greece. Tubal is said to be the ancestor of the Italians, Spanish, and Caucasian Iberians. It was believed that Tubal and his family originated from a country in northern Asia Minor at the southeast of the Black Sea, particularly in the land where Turkey now stands. After the arrival of the Assyrian conquerors, Tubal and his people migrated to other nations. They lastly settled in the land of Siberia. Meshek is said to be the ancestor of several nations like the Mosocheni, Illyrians, Georgians, Caucasians, Muscovites, and Armenians. The two most prominent are the Mushki of Assyria and Moschoi of Greece. Meshek's nation was believed to have originated from the northeast of Asia Minor, particularly Turkey's area. Then they traveled north and settled in Rosh, modern-day Russia. The Book of Jubilees stated that Tiras inherited four huge lands along the ocean. Tiras was said to be the ancestor of the American Indians, and his people were termed the “sea people” by the Greeks. Tiras’s people worshipped him as the god of thunder named Thor. Tiras is associated with several nations, the most famous of which was the Thracians of Thrace. Thracians originated from an area in modern-day Turkey and traveled out west to Urartu and Armenia's lands. Thracians dwelt in Thrace bordered by the Dinaric Alps in the west, the Greek plateau on the south, and the Black Sea to the east. It is an area of today’s Balkan Peninsula where Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, East Greece, and West Turkey are standing. But some Tracian nations went further north up to the Carpathian Mountains and Dniester River, the land named Dacia by the Romans (Amazing Bible Timeline with World History).
Ham’s sons were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). The word “Cush” means “Black.” Cush is considered the ancestor of the dark-skinned people that occupied Ethiopia. This mostly pastoral society has suffered drought since 1969. The persistent dry weather has resulted in famine, hunger, and death. Egypt is a transcontinental country found in North Africa. Early writers usually associated ancient Libya with Put. It is located in a land of North Africa named the Maghreb. With the Libyan and Sahara Deserts covering most of the land, it is considered one of the most barren places to live. Canaan is known as the father of various nations. Canaan’s people in the seacoast of Israel before the Israelite conquest. Canaan’s eldest son, Sidon, is known as the father of the Sidonians and Phoenicians. Canaan was under a curse because of Ham’s wrongdoing (Genesis 9:22–27). The whole country to the west of Jordan and the Dead Sea was generally referred to as Canaan during Moses and Joshua's time. The Promised Land of Canaan (Israel) is a land bridge between Africa, Europe, and Asia, a perfect place for God to make his name recognized by all nations (Amazing Bible Timeline with World History). Sometimes people call Israel “Palestine” today because Roman emperor Hadrian changed Jerusalem and Judea's name in 132 A.D. to remove Jewish connection to the covenant land.
Shem’s sons were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram (Genesis 10:22). Elam is located towards the west of ancient Persia and today’s Iran. It is bordered by the Zagros Mountains on the east and north, the Persian Gulf in the south, and the Tigris River towards the west. Sometime shortly after 2300 BC., the Elamites pillaged Ur and founded an Elamite kingdom. The Elamites went on to take Babylon until Hammurabi’s time around 1700 BC. Ashur is a city on the west bank of the Tigris River (Genesis 2:14). At one time, it was the primary capital of Assyria. Assyria can be found in the north part of Mesopotamia with two rivers running through it, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and many tributaries. Arphaxad was born two years after the flood when his father Shem was 100 years old (Genesis 11:10). Arphaxad dwelt in Mesopotamia and is the forefather of Chaldeans (Amazing Bible Timeline with World History).
The sons from which these nations came were born to Shem, Ham, and Japheth after the flood. From these, the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language (Genesis 10:5, 32) after the earth was divided in the time of Peleg (Genesis 9:25). The people God scattered over the whole world came from Noah's three sons (Genesis 9:19). During this time, Cush became the father of Nimrod, a mighty hunter on the earth (Genesis 10:8). But learning everything that can be known about Nimrod and the Tower of Babel deserves at least a post of its own, if not more than one. So that is all for today. I hope this history and the connection between ancient and present-day geographical names will help you in this study and read the Bible in the future.
