Genesis 10:7-10

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
2. Genesis 10:7 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
3. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
4. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
5. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
6. Genesis 10:7 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
7. Genesis 10:7 sn The name Dedan is associated with ʿUla in northern Arabia.
8. Genesis 10:8 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
9. Genesis 10:9 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
10. Genesis 10:9 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne y^ehvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”
11. Genesis 10:10 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
12. Genesis 10:10 tn Or “Babylon.”
13. Genesis 10:10 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
14. Genesis 10:10 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
15. Genesis 10:10 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
16. Genesis 10:10 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.