The Book of Genesis

Chapter Ten

Noah’s Family

Lesson Verse: Pr 22:1

I. Lesson Introduction

A. This may seem like a boring chapter with nothing but names, but the treasures here for the student of the word of God are almost immeasurable

B. Here you have the following great truths

1. An unbroken line of people back to Adam, so to trace God’s hand in history until the Messiah (Luke can trace all of the genealogy from Jesus, through Mary back to Adam in Luke chapter 3)

2. A connection that makes Abram make historical sense with the rest of the world’s history

a. All of world history begins in 2200 BC

b. The first Dynasty in China begins 2200 BC

c. Greece, Babylon, India, Egypt, all begin around 2200 BC

3. This chapter shows where the three races came from, and how they spread out

4. It also shows the ancestors of each of the people groups

5. God doesn’t choose to bless the conqueror, but the one who has integrity – one who has a good name, like Shem did!

II. Lesson

A. The Post Flood World (10:1)

1. Eight people begin to spread out and conquer the earth

2. It turns into a dog-eat-dog world, with men conquering other men

3. The three sons will spread into three different directions

a. Shem – his name name means “Name” as in a good name to have (Pr 22:1) – he and his family heads east into Asia

b. Ham – his name means “hot” or burnt one – he and his family head south into Africa

c. Japeth – his name means Enlargement – goes north-west into Europe

B. The Sons of Japeth (10:2-5) – the Gentiles - European

1. Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

2. And the sons of Gomer – N.W. Europe

a. Ashkenaz - France

b. Riphath – British Isles

c. Togarmah. – Germany, and the Swedes

3. And the sons of Javan – N.E. coasts of the Mediterranean

a. Elishah - Greece

b. Tarshish – Southern Asia Minor

c. Kittim - Macedonia

d. Dodanim.- W. of Asia Minor

4. Several of Japeth’s sons are skipped over:

a. Magog – Russia and Siberia

b. Madai – the Medes

c. Tubal - Spain

d. Meshech - Italy

e. Tiras - Thrace

5. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

a. From a mixture of all of these come the Americans

b. Ireland would have been populated by Japeth through Gomer, and then Riphath

C. The Sons of Ham (10:6-20)

1. Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

2. And the sons of Cush – S. of Africa and Arabia

a. Seba - Arabians

b. Havilah

c. Sabtah - Ethiopia

d. Raamah

1) Sheba

2) Dedan

e. Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah;.

f. Nimrod

1) He began to be a mighty one in the earth.

a) His name means, “to rebel”

b) A world leader

c) Drew the people into one empire, ruled by himself – was directly disobeying God’s command to spread out (cf Acts 17:25-27)

d) A type of the anti-christ

e) God likes SHEPHERDS, not HUNTERS

Hunters	Shepherds
	Abraham
Ishmael	Isaac
Esau	Jacob
	David
The anti-christ	Jesus
Alexander the Great
Caesar

2) He was a mighty hunter before the LORD

a) Not a good title

b) He was a mighty hunter

(i) Hunter of men – hunted down his enemies – a conqueror

(ii) Hunter of all animals

(iii) He was like the “mighty men” of the pre-flood world (Gen 6:4)

c) “Before the Lord” means

(i) Open rebellion against God – not secret

(ii) He took a place ABOVE the Lord, ahead of the Lord

(iii) Wanted people’s worship instead of allowing people to worship and follow God

3) And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

a) He founded four cities that were controlling cities for his ever expanding empire

b) Babel was to be the capital of this world empire

c) Babel was the source of all the world’s religions against God’s (which was maintained for a while by Shem through Eber, down to Abraham

4) Out of that land went forth Asshur (another empire builder), and builded

a) Nineveh

b) Rehoboth

c) Calah

d) Resen between Nineveh and Calah

5) The List of World Empires as listed by the Bible

a) Babel under Nimrod (Gen 10)

b) Egypt under Pharaoh (Gen 12)

c) Assyria under Senacherib (2Kgs 18)

d) Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar (2Kgs 24)

e) Persia under Darius (Dan 5 and 8)

f) Greece under Alexander (Dan 8:21)

g) Rome - Babylon in Mystery form (Luke 2:1) – this empire will be back in power at the coming of the anti-christ

3. And Mizraim (Egyptians) begat:

a. Ludim

b. Anamim

c. Lehabim - Libya

d. Naphtuhim,

e. Pathrusim

f. Casluhim

1) Philistim - Philistia

g. Caphtorim Egyptian Copts

4. And Canaan begat:

a. Sidon his firstborn – the Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon

b. Heth – Hittites, who dwelt in Hebron

c. The Jebusite – founders of Jerusalem

d. the Amorite – dwelling at Heshbon

e. the Girgasite

f. The Hivite – dwelt at Gibeon

g. the Arkite, lived at Archa

h. the Sinite – dwelt in the wilderness of Sin

i. the Arvadite – dwelt in Arad

j. the Zemarite

k. the Hamathite

l. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

5. Phut – the Moors

6. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

D. The Sons of Shem (10:21-32) – Southern Asia

1. The father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

2. The children of Shem – five sons

a. Elam – Persia, or Elamites (Gen 14:1; Isa 11:11)

b. Asshur - Assyrians

c. Arphaxad - Carmania

1) Salah

a) Eber – founder of the Hebrew speaking peoples, Gen 14:13) begat two sons:

(i) Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided

(a) The people of the earth were divided by language at the time of his birth

(b) The continents had already divided while the flood was occurring

(ii) And his brother’s name was Joktan – S.E. Asia

(a) Almodad

(b) Sheleph

(d) Jerah,

(e) Hadoram

(f) Uzal

(g) Diklah,

(h) Obal

(i) Abimael

(j) Sheba – ancestor of the Hindu speaking people

(k) Ophir – the Molucca Isles, near Borneo in Indonesia

(l) Havilah - Tibet

(m) Jobab

(n) all these were the sons of Joktan

(o) And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east

d. Lud – settled Lydia in Asia Minor

e. Aram – ancestor of the Syrians

1) Uz – S.W. of Syria – the land of Job

2) Hul – N.W. of Syria

3) Gether – S.E. of Syria

4) Mash - Mesopotamia

3. These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

4. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

III. Conclusion and Applications

A. Maps of Dispersion of the Races

IV. Study Questions