Smoodock's Blog

All nations descended from Noah, according to chapter ten of the Book of Genesis. At this point in our study of Genesis, we come to the fifth ancient record, which Moses used to compile the Pentateuch (Genesis 1:1; 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1), and the records usually begin with words similar to: “Now these are the generations of…” (cp. Genesis 10:1). The generations of the sons of Noah, vis-à-vis all of their descendants, were born after the Flood.

This record differs from chapter 5 in Genesis, in that the lines of the antediluvian patriarchs were from the top down. In other words, the important and perhaps the only heir was the firstborn. He was the prince of all others, who came afterward in the genealogy of his father. Additionally, the firstborn of that firstborn prince would be the prince of all who came afterward in his father’s genealogy or the next generation of the antediluvian patriarchs. This would not be so with the sons of Noah. All of Noah’s sons would inherit, as would all of their sons. While firstborn rights would continue, the rule would be modified to include all the sons of each father, and all would inherit. Thus, all of the sons of Japheth, Ham, and Shem would inherit, and each descendant would be a prince in his own family.

The table of nations, as we find it in chapter ten of the Book of Genesis shows us that God created all the peoples of the earth. All descend from Noah and his three sons Japheth, Ham and Shem, and it seems that God had a hand in defining their natural boundaries (Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 17:25). So, nothing was done by chance, vis-à-vis one nation simply wandering about and settling in a particular area. The wanderings were guided by God, if the text is true at all.

Of the sons of Noah, Japheth is mentioned first (Genesis 10:2); Ham is mentioned second (Genesis 10:6) and Shem is mentioned last (Genesis 10:21). I believe this is the order of their births, so, if this is logical and true, Japheth would be the eldest son or Noah’s firstborn. A close study of chapter ten in the Book of Genesis would reveal that there are seventy ancient nations listed here. There is much ado concerning the identity of these nations and those that follow, but most of the conclusions are simply conjecture, and nearly nothing can be objectively verified in the text.

Fourteen of the nations listed in chapter ten of Genesis spring from Japheth, seven sons and seven grandsons, but Japheth’s grandsons who form nations, descend from only two of his sons, Gomer and Javan (Genesis 10:2-4). So, this seems to imply that none of the sons of the other five sons distinguished themselves enough to birth sons, who, themselves, became nations in their own right. Therefore, their sons and their sons’ descendants were absorbed into the nation of the patriarch, vis-à-vis the respective grandson of Noah.

Japheth’s genealogy is concluded in saying: “By these were the isles of the gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations” (Genesis 10:5). From this we can conclude that, as a rule, just as the Lord defined the boundaries of each nation (Acts 17:25), so, too, each nation has its own language. Although some languages are similar and are, no doubt, derived from a common language, each nation has its own language.

Finally, the text about Japheth’s descendants concludes with “by these were the isles of the gentiles divided in their lands…” (Genesis 10:5), but what does this mean? The “isles of the gentiles” concern lands to which the Jews had to travel by sea to visit and sell or buy their goods. All the lands beyond the Mediterranean Sea from Judah were identified as the isles of the gentiles (Jeremiah 25:22). While this may be the general direction the sons of Japheth traveled and settled, there still remains much conjecture in their individual identities.