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Genesis 10:6-20
New English Translation

6 The sons of Ham were Cush,[a] Mizraim,[b] Put,[c] and Canaan.[d] 7 The sons of Cush were Seba,[e] Havilah,[f] Sabtah,[g] Raamah,[h] and Sabteca.[i] The sons of Raamah were Sheba[j] and Dedan.[k]

8 Cush was the father of[l] Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter[m] before the Lord.[n] (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10 The primary regions[o] of his kingdom were Babel,[p] Erech,[q] Akkad,[r] and Calneh[s] in the land of Shinar.[t] 11 From that land he went[u] to Assyria,[v] where he built Nineveh,[w] Rehoboth Ir,[x] Calah,[y] 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah.[z]

13 Mizraim[aa] was the father of[ab] the Ludites,[ac] Anamites,[ad] Lehabites,[ae] Naphtuhites,[af] 14 Pathrusites,[ag] Casluhites[ah] (from whom the Philistines came),[ai] and Caphtorites.[aj]

15 Canaan was the father of[ak] Sidon his firstborn,[al] Heth,[am] 16 the Jebusites,[an] Amorites,[ao] Girgashites,[ap] 17 Hivites,[aq] Arkites,[ar] Sinites,[as] 18 Arvadites,[at] Zemarites,[au] and Hamathites.[av] Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan extended[aw] from Sidon all the way to[ax] Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to[ay] Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
  2. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
  3. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
  4. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
  5. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
  6. 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.
  7. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
  8. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
  9. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
  10. Genesis 10:7 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
  11. Genesis 10:7 sn The name Dedan is associated with ʿUla in northern Arabia.
  12. 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.
  13. 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).
  14. Genesis 10:9 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yehvah, “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.”
  15. 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.
  16. Genesis 10:10 tn Or “Babylon.”
  17. Genesis 10:10 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
  18. Genesis 10:10 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
  19. 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).
  20. Genesis 10:10 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
  21. Genesis 10:11 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
  22. Genesis 10:11 tn Heb “Asshur.”
  23. Genesis 10:11 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
  24. Genesis 10:11 sn The name Rehoboth Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
  25. Genesis 10:11 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located 20 miles north of Nineveh.
  26. Genesis 10:12 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
  27. Genesis 10:13 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
  28. Genesis 10:13 tn Heb “fathered.”
  29. Genesis 10:13 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
  30. Genesis 10:13 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
  31. Genesis 10:13 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
  32. Genesis 10:13 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
  33. Genesis 10:14 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
  34. Genesis 10:14 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
  35. Genesis 10:14 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
  36. Genesis 10:14 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
  37. Genesis 10:15 tn Heb “fathered.”
  38. Genesis 10:15 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
  39. Genesis 10:15 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
  40. Genesis 10:16 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
  41. Genesis 10:16 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
  42. Genesis 10:16 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
  43. Genesis 10:17 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
  44. Genesis 10:17 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
  45. Genesis 10:17 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
  46. Genesis 10:18 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
  47. Genesis 10:18 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
  48. Genesis 10:18 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
  49. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “were.”
  50. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “as you go.”
  51. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “as you go.”
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Genesis 10:6-20
Lexham English Bible

6 And the sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 And Cush fathered Nimrod. He was the first on earth to be a mighty warrior.[a] 9 He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. Therefore it was said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Yahweh.” 10 Now,[b] the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went out to Assyria, and he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 And Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

15 Canaan fathered Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad. 19 And the territory of the Canaanites was from Sidon in the direction of[c] Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of[d] Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the descendants[e] of Ham, according to their families and their languages, in their lands, and in their nations.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 10:8 Literally “He began to be a mighty warrior on the earth”
  2. Genesis 10:10 Or “And”
  3. Genesis 10:19 Literally “in your going”
  4. Genesis 10:19 Literally “in your going”
  5. Genesis 10:20 Or “sons” (“descendants” was chosen since the proper names in this section are gentilic in form—that is, they indicate one’s place of origin—and have the definite article)
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