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Genesis 10
Easy-to-Read Version
Genesis 10
Easy-to-Read Version
Nations Grow and Spread
10 This is the history of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They are Noah’s sons. These men had children after the flood.
Japheth’s Descendants
2 Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3 Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.[a]
5 All the people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. The people separated and went to different countries according to languages, families, and nations.
Ham’s Descendants
6 Ham’s sons were Cush,[b] Mizraim,[c] Put, and Canaan.
7 Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush also had a son named Nimrod who became a very powerful man on earth. 9 He was a great hunter before the Lord. That is why people compare other men to him and say, “That man is like Nimrod, a great hunter before the Lord.”
10 Nimrod’s kingdom spread from Babylon to Erech, to Akkad, and then to Calneh in the land of Babylonia.[d] 11 Nimrod also went into Assyria. In Assyria, Nimrod built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen. (Resen is the city between Nineveh and Calah, the big city.)
13 Mizraim was the father of the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, 14 Pathrus, Casluh, and Caphtor. (The Philistine people came from Casluh.)
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon. Sidon was Canaan’s first son. Canaan was also the father of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, the Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
The families of Canaan spread to different parts of the world. 19 The land where the Canaanites lived went from Sidon down along the coast to Gerar and from Gaza as far east as Sodom and Gomorrah and from Admah and Zeboiim as far north as Laish.
20 All these people were descendants of Ham. They are arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.
Shem’s Descendants
21 Shem was Japheth’s older brother. One of Shem’s descendants was Eber, the father of all the Hebrew people.[e]
22 Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
23 Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah.
Shelah was the father of Eber.
25 Eber was the father of two sons. One son was named Peleg.[f] He was given this name because the earth was divided during his life. The other son was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these people were Joktan’s sons. 30 They lived in the area between Mesha and the hill country in the East.[g] Mesha was toward the country of Sephar.
31 These are the people from the family of Shem. They are arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.
32 This is the list of the families from Noah’s sons. They are arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the people who spread across the earth after the flood.
Footnotes
- Genesis 10:4 Dodanim Or “Rodanim, the people of Rhodes.”
- Genesis 10:6 Cush Another name for Ethiopia.
- Genesis 10:6 Mizraim Another name for Egypt. Also in verse 13.
- Genesis 10:10 Babylonia Literally, “Shinar,” which may be a form of the name Sumer. Also in 11:2; 14:1.
- Genesis 10:21 One … Hebrew people Literally, “To Shem was born the father of Eber’s sons.”
- Genesis 10:25 Peleg This name means “division.”
- Genesis 10:30 East This usually means the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as far east as the Persian Gulf. Also in 11:2.
Genesis 10
New International Version
Genesis 10
New International Version
The Table of Nations
10 This is the account(A) of Shem, Ham and Japheth,(B) Noah’s sons,(C) who themselves had sons after the flood.
The Japhethites(D)
2 The sons[a] of Japheth:
Gomer,(E) Magog,(F) Madai, Javan,(G) Tubal,(H) Meshek(I) and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz,(J) Riphath and Togarmah.(K)
4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah,(L) Tarshish,(M) the Kittites(N) and the Rodanites.[b] 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)(O)
The Hamites(P)
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush,(Q) Egypt, Put(R) and Canaan.(S)
7 The sons of Cush:
Seba,(T) Havilah,(U) Sabtah, Raamah(V) and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
8 Cush was the father[c] of Nimrod,(Y) who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty(Z) hunter(AA) before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon,(AB) Uruk,(AC) Akkad and Kalneh,(AD) in[d] Shinar.[e](AE) 11 From that land he went to Assyria,(AF) where he built Nineveh,(AG) Rehoboth Ir,[f] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
13 Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines(AH) came) and Caphtorites.(AI)
15 Canaan(AJ) was the father of
Sidon(AK) his firstborn,[g](AL) and of the Hittites,(AM) 16 Jebusites,(AN) Amorites,(AO) Girgashites,(AP) 17 Hivites,(AQ) Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites,(AR) Zemarites and Hamathites.(AS)
Later the Canaanite(AT) clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan(AU) reached from Sidon(AV) toward Gerar(AW) as far as Gaza,(AX) and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim,(AY) as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
The Semites(AZ)
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was[h] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.(BA)
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam,(BB) Ashur,(BC) Arphaxad,(BD) Lud and Aram.(BE)
23 The sons of Aram:
Uz,(BF) Hul, Gether and Meshek.[i]
24 Arphaxad was the father of[j] Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.(BG)
25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg,[k] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal,(BH) Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,(BI) 29 Ophir,(BJ) Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons,(BK) according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth(BL) after the flood.
Footnotes
- Genesis 10:2 Sons may mean descendants or successors or nations; also in verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 20-23, 29 and 31.
- Genesis 10:4 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:7); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Dodanites
- Genesis 10:8 Father may mean ancestor or predecessor or founder; also in verses 13, 15, 24 and 26.
- Genesis 10:10 Or Uruk and Akkad—all of them in
- Genesis 10:10 That is, Babylonia
- Genesis 10:11 Or Nineveh with its city squares
- Genesis 10:15 Or of the Sidonians, the foremost
- Genesis 10:21 Or Shem, the older brother of
- Genesis 10:23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:17; Hebrew Mash.
- Genesis 10:24 Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of
- Genesis 10:25 Peleg means division.
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