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Genesis10:6–20

The Hamites

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Genesis 10:6–20 — The Hamites. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

6

The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇə·nê ḥām kūš ū·miṣ·ra·yim ū·p̄ūṭ ū·ḵə·nā·‘an

Word by word6 · parsed
וּבְנֵ֖יū·ḇə·nêThe sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct
The masculine plural construct bənê (“sons of”) governs the whole list; it can mean literal sons, grandsons, or whole nations — here it is a genealogy that is also a map.
חָ֑םḥāmof HamH2526
√ Châm — Cham, a son of NoahNounpropermasculine singular
Ham — the second son named, placed second “that the list might conclude with the Shemites as the line of promise” (Pulpit Commentary). “Ham” becomes a byword for Egypt itself in Psalm 78:51; 105:23.
כּ֥וּשׁkūšCushH3568
√ Kûwsh — Cush (or Ethiopia), the name of a son of Ham, and of his territoryNounproperfeminine singular
Cush — the Ethiopians of the ancients, not the Africa of later maps but, in all probability, originally settled in Arabia and on the Tigris and Euphrates (K&D, Ellicott). Watered by the Gihon in Genesis 2:13.
וּמִצְרַ֖יִםū·miṣ·ra·yimMizraimH4714
√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Mizraim — the standard Hebrew name for Egypt. “Because Egypt was inhabited by a son of Ham, it is sometimes called the land of Ham” (Gill).
וּפ֥וּטū·p̄ūṭPutH6316
√ Pûwṭ — Put, a son of Ham, also the name of his descendants or their region, and of a Persian tribeConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Put — the Libyans of North Africa (so the LXX, Josephus, Bochart); a river “Phut” still bore the name in Jerome’s day.
וּכְנָֽעַן׃ū·ḵə·nā·‘anand CanaanH3667
√ Kᵉnaʻan — Kenaan, a son a HamConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Canaan — named last among Ham’s sons, but his line will be given the fullest treatment of any in the chapter (vv. 15–19), because his land is the land Israel must take.
7

The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇə·nê ḵūš sə·ḇā wa·ḥă·wî·lāh wə·saḇ·tāh wə·ra‘·māh wə·saḇ·tə·ḵā ū·ḇə·nê ra‘·māh šə·ḇā ū·ḏə·ḏān

Word by word11 · parsed
וּבְנֵ֣יū·ḇə·nêThe sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct
“And the sons of Cush” — the same construct that opened v. 6 now opens the next tier down: from son of Noah to grandsons.
כ֔וּשׁḵūšof CushH3568
√ Kûwsh — Cush (or Ethiopia), the name of a son of Ham, and of his territoryNounpropermasculine singular
סְבָא֙sə·ḇāSebaH5434
√ Çᵉbâʼ — Seba, a son of Cush, and the country settled by himNounpropermasculine singular
Seba — associated with Cush in Isaiah 43:3; 45:14; placed by Josephus in Meroë, but “now generally supposed to denote tribes on the coast of the Red Sea” (Cambridge).
וַֽחֲוִילָ֔הwa·ḥă·wî·lāhHavilahH2341
√ Chăvîylâh — Chavilah, the name of two or three eastern regionsConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
וְסַבְתָּ֥הwə·saḇ·tāhSabtahH5454
√ Çabtâʼ — Sabta or Sabtah, the name of a son of Cush, and the country occupied by his posterityConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
וְרַעְמָ֖הwə·ra‘·māhRaamahH7484
√ Raʻmâh — Ramah, the name of a grandson of Ham, and of a place (perhaps founded by him)Conjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Raamah — a grandson of Ham who is himself given sons; the genealogy briefly deepens by one rung here and nowhere else among Cush’s line.
וְסַבְתְּכָ֑אwə·saḇ·tə·ḵāand SabtecaH5455
√ Çabtᵉkâʼ — Sabteca, the name of a son of Cush, and the region settled by himConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
וּבְנֵ֥יū·ḇə·nêAnd the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct
רַעְמָ֖הra‘·māhof RaamahH7484
√ Raʻmâh — Ramah, the name of a grandson of Ham, and of a place (perhaps founded by him)Nounpropermasculine singular
שְׁבָ֥אšə·ḇāShebaH7614
√ Shᵉbâʼ — Sheba, the name of three early progenitors of tribes and of an Ethiopian districtNounpropermasculine singular
Sheba — a name shared by a Hamite (here), a Shemite (10:28), and a son of Keturah (25:3): “the difficulty of identification” (Cambridge) is written into the text itself.
וּדְדָֽן׃ū·ḏə·ḏānand DedanH1719
√ Dᵉdân — Dedan, the name of two Cushites and of their territoryConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Dedan — an Arabian trading tribe bordering on Edom (Ezekiel 25:13; 27:20), “occasionally brought into contact with Israel through trade” (Cambridge).
8

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one on the earth.

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵūš yā·laḏ ’eṯ- nim·rōḏ hū hê·ḥêl lih·yō·wṯ gib·bōr bā·’ā·reṣ

Word by word9 · parsed
וְכ֖וּשׁwə·ḵūšCushH3568
√ Kûwsh — Cush (or Ethiopia), the name of a son of Ham, and of his territoryConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
יָלַ֣דyā·laḏwas the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
yālaḏ, “begot” — “not necessarily as immediate progenitor, any ancestor being in Hebrew styled a father” (Pulpit; cf. Ellicott).
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
נִמְרֹ֑דnim·rōḏNimrodH5248
√ Nimrôwd — Nimrod, a son of CushNounpropermasculine singular
Nimrod — the chapter’s one biography. The name is traditionally derived from māraḏ, “to rebel” (“we will revolt”); but Ellicott warns this is “the unscholarlike method of explaining Hamite names by Hebrew roots,” and that the blackening of his reputation “date only from the time of Josephus.” The reading is genuinely contested.
ה֣וּאhūwhoH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular
הֵחֵ֔לhê·ḥêlbeganH2490
√ châlal — properly, to bore, iVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular
hêḥêū, “he began” — Cambridge ties it to v. 10: “‘He was the first great monarch.’” Under Nimrod society “passed from the patriarchal condition… into… the principle of monarchism” (Pulpit).
לִֽהְי֥וֹתlih·yō·wṯto beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
גִּבֹּ֖רgib·bōra mighty oneH1368
√ gibbôwr — powerfulAdjectivemasculine singular
gibbōr — “used here, as in Genesis 6:4, to denote a man who makes himself renowned for bold and daring deeds” (K&D). The spirit of the antediluvian giants “revived in him” (Henry).
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃bā·’ā·reṣon the earthH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular
“in the earth” (or “in the land”) — the LXX read it as gigantic stature; the Hebrew points rather to widespread fame, or to the land where he dwelt (Pulpit).
9

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hū- hā·yāh ḡib·bōr- ṣa·yiḏ lip̄·nê Yah·weh ‘al- kên yê·’ā·mar kə·nim·rōḏ gib·bō·wr ṣa·yiḏ lip̄·nê Yah·weh

Word by word14 · parsed
הֽוּא־hū-HeH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular
הָיָ֥הhā·yāhwasH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
גִבֹּֽר־ḡib·bōr-a mightyH1368
√ gibbôwr — powerfulAdjectivemasculine singular construct
gibbōr again — the verse repeats v. 8’s key word, now bound to the hunt.
צַ֖יִדṣa·yiḏhunterH6718
√ tsayid — the chaseNounmasculine singular
ṣayiḏ, “game / hunting.” “Hunting is a comprehensive term… Nimrod’s distinction in this respect was so great as to become proverbial” (Barnes); the prophets call tyrants “fowlers and hunters” (Poole, citing Jer 16:16).
לִפְנֵ֣יlip̄·nêbeforeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
lip̄nê, “before / in the face of.” The single hardest crux of the unit. Pulpit lays out four readings; Aben Ezra and Kalisch take it as a superlative of excellence, Augustine and Keil as defiance.
יְהוָ֑הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
YHWH — the covenant name appears, surprisingly, in a genealogy. K&D argues the proverb “must have arisen… with the possessors of the divine promises of grace,” who read Nimrod’s career “as an act of rebellion against the God of salvation.”
עַל־‘al-soH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
כֵּן֙kên. . .H3651
√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb
יֵֽאָמַ֔רyê·’ā·marit is saidH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbNifalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yêʼāmar, “it is said” — introduces the only embedded proverb in the Table of Nations: a phrase that “immortalized… the success of his hunting of men” (K&D).
כְּנִמְרֹ֛דkə·nim·rōḏLike NimrodH5248
√ Nimrôwd — Nimrod, a son of CushPreposition-kNounpropermasculine singular
“Like Nimrod” — the comparative kə- makes the man into a measure: a name that became a saying.
גִּבּ֥וֹרgib·bō·wra mightyH1368
√ gibbôwr — powerfulAdjectivemasculine singular construct
צַ֖יִדṣa·yiḏhunterH6718
√ tsayid — the chaseNounmasculine singular
לִפְנֵ֥יlip̄·nêbeforeH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
יְהוָֽה׃Yah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
10

His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wat·tə·hî mam·laḵ·tōw rê·šîṯ bā·ḇel wə·’e·reḵ wə·’ak·kaḏ wə·ḵal·nêh bə·’e·reṣ šin·‘ār

Word by word9 · parsed
וַתְּהִ֨יwat·tə·hîH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine singular
The wayyiqtol wattəhî (“and it was”) is feminine, agreeing with mamlaḵâ, “kingdom” — a narrative verb dropped entirely by the BSB.
מַמְלַכְתּוֹ֙mam·laḵ·tōwHis kingdomH4467
√ mamlâkâh — dominion, iNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
mamlaḵtō, “his kingdom” — the Bible’s first kingdom. “He got into power, and so laid the foundation of a monarchy which was afterward a head of gold” (Benson, alluding to Daniel 2).
רֵאשִׁ֤יתrê·šîṯbeganH7225
√ rêʼshîyth — the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically, a firstfruit)Nounfeminine singular construct
rêšît, “beginning / first” — Pulpit notes it may mean “his first kingdom… or the commencement of his sovereignty… or the principal city of his empire”; the word does not require that Nimrod built these cities.
בָּבֶ֔לbā·ḇelin BabylonH894
√ Bâbel — Babel (iNounproperfeminine singular
Babel — “the well-known city of Babylon on the Euphrates, which from the time of Nimrod downwards has been the symbol of the power of the world in its hostility to God” (K&D). In Micah 5:6 it is “the land of Nimrod.”
וְאֶ֖רֶךְwə·’e·reḵErechH751
√ ʼErek — Erek, a place in BabylonConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
וְאַכַּ֣דwə·’ak·kaḏAccadH390
√ ʼAkkad — Accad, a place in BabylonConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
וְכַלְנֵ֑הwə·ḵal·nêhand CalnehH3641
√ Kalneh — Calneh or Calno, a place in the Assyrian empireConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
Calneh — of doubtful identification; Cambridge notes Jensen’s conjecture of a one-letter error for Cullaba. The four cities mark “the four quarters of the earth, of universality in point of extent, and therefore of ambition” (Barnes).
בְּאֶ֖רֶץbə·’e·reṣin the landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct
שִׁנְעָֽר׃šin·‘ārof ShinarH8152
√ Shinʻâr — Shinar, a plain in BabyloniaNounproperfeminine singular
Shinar — lower Mesopotamia, Babylonia, “the lower part of Mesopotamia, or, more precisely, the country west of the Tigris” (Barnes); the same plain where the Tower will rise (Gen 11:2).
11

From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

min- ha·hi·w hā·’ā·reṣ yā·ṣā ’aš·šūr way·yi·ḇen ’eṯ- nî·nə·wêh wə·’eṯ- rə·ḥō·ḇōṯ ‘îr wə·’eṯ- kā·laḥ

Word by word13 · parsed
מִן־min-FromH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition
min, “from” — “the beginning of his kingdom” in v. 10 implies an extension; “out of that land” carries the empire northward (Barnes).
הַהִ֖ואha·hi·wthatH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)ArticlePronounthird person feminine singular
הָאָ֥רֶץhā·’ā·reṣlandH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular
יָצָ֣אyā·ṣāhe went forthH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
yāṣā, “went forth” — Poole notes the verb “is commonly ascribed to those that go to war”; on the reading adopted, Nimrod’s march into Asshur “was an invasion of the territories of Shem” (JFB).
אַשּׁ֑וּר’aš·šūrinto AssyriaH804
√ ʼAshshûwr — Ashshur, the second son of ShemNounproperfeminine singular
Asshur — the crux. Benson and Poole and the LXX read it as the man Asshur fleeing Nimrod’s tyranny; the Targums, K&D, and the BSB margin read “into Assyria,” making Nimrod the empire-builder. Micah 5:6’s pairing of “the land of Nimrod” with “Assyria” is cited on both sides.
וַיִּ֙בֶן֙way·yi·ḇenwhere he builtH1129
√ bânâh — to build (literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wayyiḇen, “he built” — the founding of Nineveh, which “so happily situated on the Tigris… outstripped the more ancient Babylon” (Ellicott).
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
נִ֣ינְוֵ֔הnî·nə·wêhNinevehH5210
√ Nîynᵉvêh — Nineveh, the capital of AssyriaNounproperfeminine singular
Nineveh — “renowned in antiquity for its remarkable size” (K&D; cf. Jonah 3:3); identified with the ruins opposite Mosul.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
רְחֹבֹ֥תrə·ḥō·ḇōṯRehoboth-IrH7344
√ Rᵉchôbôwth — Rechoboth, a place in Assyria and one in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular
Rehoboth-Ir — literally “city markets” / “streets of a city” (K&D, Barnes), perhaps a suburb of Nineveh rather than a separate town.
עִ֖יר‘îr. . .H5893
√ ʻÎyr — Ir, an IsraeliteNounfeminine singular
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כָּֽלַח׃kā·laḥCalahH3625
√ Kelach — Kelach, a place in AssyriaNounproperfeminine singular
Calah — the mounds of Nimrud, “about twenty miles south of Nineveh” (Barnes); the name Nimrud still clings to the site.
12

and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- re·sen bên nî·nə·wêh ū·ḇên hag·gə·ḏō·lāh hā·‘îr kā·laḥ hî

Word by word9 · parsed
וְֽאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
רֶ֔סֶןre·senand ResenH7449
√ Reçen — Resen, a place in AssyrianNounproperfeminine singular
Resen — “not yet identified; but conjectured to lie among the mounds… between Nineveh and Nimrud” (Cambridge).
בֵּ֥יןbênwhich is betweenH996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Preposition
bên, “between” — the repeated preposition situates Resen geographically between the two named cities.
נִֽינְוֵ֖הnî·nə·wêhNinevehH5210
√ Nîynᵉvêh — Nineveh, the capital of AssyriaNounproperfeminine singular
וּבֵ֣יןū·ḇên. . .H996
√ bêyn — between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles)Conjunctive wawPreposition
הַגְּדֹלָֽה׃hag·gə·ḏō·lāhand the greatH1419
√ gâdôwl — great (in any sense)ArticleAdjectivefeminine singular
haggəḍōlâ, “the great” — the adjective whose noun the translators must assign. K&D argue the four places “formed a large composite city… to which the name of the (well-known) great city of Nineveh was applied.”
הָעִ֥ירhā·‘îrcityH5892
√ ʻîyr — a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)ArticleNounfeminine singular
hāʿîr, “the city” — distinct from ʿîr in Rehoboth-Ir; here the ordinary noun for a walled town.
כָּ֑לַחkā·laḥof CalahH3625
√ Kelach — Kelach, a place in AssyriaNounproperfeminine singular
הִ֖ואhî. . .H1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular
The closing hîʾ (“that is”) — Poole calls the natural reading of “great city” as Nineveh “a trajection… a little forced,” yet defends it; Barnes says it “refers most readily to Resen.” The grammar genuinely underdetermines the sense.
13

Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites,

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·miṣ·ra·yim yā·laḏ ’eṯ- lū·ḏîm wə·’eṯ- ‘ă·nā·mîm wə·’eṯ- lə·hā·ḇîm wə·’eṯ- nap̄·tu·ḥîm

Word by word10 · parsed
וּמִצְרַ֡יִםū·miṣ·ra·yimMizraimH4714
√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Mizraim — the genealogy resumes from v. 6 after the Nimrod parenthesis (vv. 8–12): “The intervening passage… has been a parenthesis” (Cambridge).
יָלַ֞דyā·laḏwas the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
yālaḏ, “begot” — here governing seven peoples; the same verb K&D note recurs for ordinary genealogy in 10:15, 24, 26, undercutting the claim that the Nimrod verses are a separate hand.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
לוּדִ֧יםlū·ḏîmthe LuditesH3866
√ Lûwdîy — a Ludite or inhabitants of Lud (only in plural)Nounpropermasculine singular
Ludim — distinguished from the Semitic Lud of 10:22; “doubtless an African tribe, related to the Egyptians… distinguished for the use of the bow” (Barnes, citing Jer 46:9).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
עֲנָמִ֛ים‘ă·nā·mîmthe AnamitesH6047
√ ʻĂnâmîym — Anamim, a son of Mizraim and his descendants, with their countryNounpropermasculine singular
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
לְהָבִ֖יםlə·hā·ḇîmthe LehabitesH3853
√ Lᵉhâbîym — Lehabim, a son of Mizraim, and his descendantsNounpropermasculine singular
Lehabim — probably the Lubim/Libyans (2 Chr 12:3; Nahum 3:9), “the African tribes west of Cyrene” (Cambridge).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
נַפְתֻּחִֽים׃nap̄·tu·ḥîmthe NaphtuhitesH5320
√ Naphtuchîym — Naphtuchim, an Egyptian tribeNounpropermasculine singular
Naphtuhim — perhaps a corruption of an Egyptian term for “the dwellers in the north, i.e. the Delta” (Cambridge, citing Erman); the identifications are confessedly provisional.
14

the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

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Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- paṯ·ru·sîm wə·’eṯ- kas·lu·ḥîm miš·šām ’ă·šer pə·liš·tîm yā·ṣə·’ū wə·’eṯ- kap̄·tō·rîm

Word by word10 · parsed
וְֽאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
פַּתְרֻסִ֞יםpaṯ·ru·sîmthe PathrusitesH6625
√ Pathruçîy — a Pathrusite, or inhabitant of PathrosNounpropermasculine plural
Pathrusim — “clearly to be identified with Upper Egypt, ‘the southlanders’… the Pathros of Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 44:1” (Cambridge).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כַּסְלֻחִ֗יםkas·lu·ḥîmthe CasluhitesH3695
√ Kaçluchîym — Casluchim, a people cognate to the EgyptiansNounpropermasculine plural
Casluhim — by general agreement the Colchians who “descended from the Egyptians” (K&D, citing Herodotus); but the link is “uncertain.”
מִשָּׁ֛םmiš·šāmfromH8033
√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenPreposition-mAdverb
miššām, “from there” — the textual knot. Some transpose the clause after “Caphtorim” to match Amos 9:7; K&D resist, reconciling both: the Philistines were “primarily a Casluchian colony… afterwards strengthened by immigrants from Caphtor.”
אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerwhomH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖יםpə·liš·tîmthe PhilistinesH6430
√ Pᵉlishtîy — a Pelishtite or inhabitant of PeleshethNounpropermasculine plural
Philistim — “lit., emigrants or immigrants from the Ethiopic fallâsa” (K&D). The people who will dominate Israel’s land in Judges–Samuel enter the Table as a footnote.
יָצְא֥וּyā·ṣə·’ūcameH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-andH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כַּפְתֹּרִֽים׃סkap̄·tō·rîmthe CaphtoritesH3732
√ Kaphtôrîy — a Caphtorite (collectively) or native of CaphtorNounpropermasculine plural
Caphtorim — “commonly identified with Crete” (Cambridge); Amos 9:7 places Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the Philistines’ from Caphtor side by side.
15

And Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḵə·na·‘an yā·laḏ ’eṯ- ṣî·ḏōn bə·ḵō·rōw wə·’eṯ- ḥêṯ

Word by word7 · parsed
וּכְנַ֗עַןū·ḵə·na·‘anAnd CanaanH3667
√ Kᵉnaʻan — Kenaan, a son a HamConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
יָלַ֛דyā·laḏwas the father ofH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
yālaḏ, “begot” — Canaan’s line now gets the chapter’s fullest treatment, “more particular than that of any other… because these were the nations that were to be subdued before Israel” (Benson).
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
צִידֹ֥ןṣî·ḏōnSidonH6721
√ Tsîydôwn — Tsidon, the name of a son of Canaan, and of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular
Sidon — “the only town mentioned in the account either of Mizraim or of Canaan” (Ellicott); K&D insist it is here a person, against the city-name of v. 19.
בְּכֹר֖וֹbə·ḵō·rōwhis firstbornH1060
√ bᵉkôwr — firstbornNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
bəḵōrō, “his firstborn” — “from the mention of the circumstance that Sidon was Canaan’s firstborn, we may infer that in the rest of the table the order of seniority is not followed” (Pulpit).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-and ofH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
חֵֽת׃ḥêṯthe HittitesH2845
√ Chêth — Cheth, an aboriginal CanaaniteNounpropermasculine singular
Heth — father of the Hittites, who “dwelt about Hebron” (Barnes); from his sons Abraham will buy Sarah’s grave (Gen 23). The curse of Canaan (Gen 9:25) hangs over this whole list.
16

the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- hay·ḇū·sî wə·’eṯ- hā·’ĕ·mō·rî wə·’êṯ hag·gir·gā·šî

Word by word6 · parsed
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַיְבוּסִי֙hay·ḇū·sîthe JebusitesH2983
√ Yᵉbûwçîy — a Jebusite or inhabitant of JebusArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Jebusite — the people of Jebus, later Jerusalem, “the citadel of which was wrested from him only in the time of David” (Barnes; 2 Sam 5:7).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔יhā·’ĕ·mō·rîthe AmoritesH567
√ ʼĔmôrîy — an Emorite, one of the Canaanitish tribesArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Amorite — one of the most powerful Canaanite peoples; K&D note that in Gen 15:16 and 48:22 “all the Canaanites are comprehended by the name.” Their iniquity is the clock of Gen 15:16.
וְאֵ֖תwə·’êṯH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי׃hag·gir·gā·šîthe GirgashitesH1622
√ Girgâshîy — a Girgashite, one of the native tribes of CanaanArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Girgashite — mentioned in the conquest lists (Deut 7:1; Josh 24:11) “but their locality is not indicated” (Cambridge). These are the seven-nation roll Israel is commanded to dispossess.
17

the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥiw·wî wə·’eṯ- ha·‘ar·qî wə·’eṯ- has·sî·nî

Word by word6 · parsed
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַֽחִוִּ֥יha·ḥiw·wîthe HivitesH2340
√ Chivvîy — a Chivvite, one of the aboriginal tribes of PalestineArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Hivite — dwellers about Gibeon (Josh 9:7) and Shechem (Gen 34:2); the Gibeonites’ ruse and survival (Josh 9) belong to this line.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַֽעַרְקִ֖יha·‘ar·qîthe ArkitesH6208
√ ʻArqîy — an Arkite or inhabitant of ErekArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Arkite — a Phoenician people of Arka at the foot of Lebanon, “the ruins of which still exist” (K&D); some miles north of Tripolis.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַסִּינִֽי׃has·sî·nîthe SinitesH5513
√ Çîynîy — a Sinite, or descendant of one of the sons of CanaanArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Sinite — “the inhabitants of Sin or Sinna, a place in Lebanon not yet discovered” (K&D). With the next verse, the list moves from the southern Canaanites to the northern Phoenician seaboard.
18

the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans were scattered,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- hā·’ar·wā·ḏî wə·’eṯ- haṣ·ṣə·mā·rî wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥă·mā·ṯî wə·’a·ḥar hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî miš·pə·ḥō·wṯ nā·p̄ō·ṣū

Word by word10 · parsed
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הָֽאַרְוָדִ֥יhā·’ar·wā·ḏîthe ArvaditesH721
√ ʼArvâdîy — an Arvadite or citizen of ArvadArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Arvadite — the Aradians, who occupied “the small rocky island of Arados to the north of Tripolis” (K&D).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַצְּמָרִ֖יhaṣ·ṣə·mā·rîthe ZemaritesH6786
√ Tsᵉmârîy — a Tsemarite or branch of the CanaanitesArticleNounpropermasculine singular
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַֽחֲמָתִ֑יha·ḥă·mā·ṯîand the HamathitesH2577
√ Chămâthîy — a Chamathite or native of ChamathArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Hamathite — founders of Hamath on the Orontes, “the most northerly border of Palestine” (K&D; Num 13:21; 34:8) — “the entering in of Hamath” marks the ideal northern edge of the land.
וְאַחַ֣רwə·’a·ḥarLaterH310
√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partConjunctive wawAdverb
wəʾ aḥar, “and afterward” — Cambridge conjectures this clause once followed v. 15, the intervening gentilics being a later addition; the received order has the spreading follow the full roll.
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽי׃hak·kə·na·‘ă·nîthe CanaaniteH3669
√ Kᵉnaʻanîy — a Kenaanite or inhabitant of KenaanArticleNounpropermasculine singular
מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹתmiš·pə·ḥō·wṯclansH4940
√ mishpâchâh — a family, iNounfeminine plural construct
mišpəḥōṯ, “clans” — the recurring census-word of Genesis 10.
נָפֹ֔צוּnā·p̄ō·ṣūwere scatteredH6327
√ pûwts — to dash in pieces, literally or figuratively (especially to disperse)VerbNifalPerfectthird person common plural
nāṿōṣū, “were scattered” — K&D read it positively: “they all proceeded from one local centre… and spread themselves over the country,” the land “afterwards promised to the seed of Abraham.” The same verb that judges Babel here merely disperses Canaan into the land Israel will inherit.
19

and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

gə·ḇūl hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî way·hî miṣ·ṣî·ḏōn bō·’ă·ḵāh ḡə·rā·rāh ‘aḏ- ‘az·zāh bō·’ă·ḵāh sə·ḏō·māh wa·‘ă·mō·rāh wə·’aḏ·māh ū·ṣə·ḇō·yim ‘aḏ- lā·ša‘

Word by word15 · parsed
גְּב֤וּלgə·ḇūland the bordersH1366
√ gᵉbûwl — properly, a cord (as twisted), iNounmasculine singular construct
gəḇūl, “border” — the verse draws Canaan’s frontier “with evident reference to the fact that it was afterwards promised to the seed of Abraham” (K&D).
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙hak·kə·na·‘ă·nîof CanaanH3669
√ Kᵉnaʻanîy — a Kenaanite or inhabitant of KenaanArticleNounpropermasculine singular
וַֽיְהִ֞יway·hîextended fromH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
מִצִּידֹ֔ןmiṣ·ṣî·ḏōnSidonH6721
√ Tsîydôwn — Tsidon, the name of a son of Canaan, and of a place in PalestinePreposition-mNounproperfeminine singular
Sidon — here the city/place (the northern anchor), confirming K&D’s claim that in v. 15 the same word was the person.
בֹּאֲכָ֥הbō·’ă·ḵāhH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbQalInfinitive constructsecond person masculine singular
גְרָ֖רָהḡə·rā·rāhtoward GerarH1642
√ Gᵉrâr — Gerar, a Philistine cityNounproperfeminine singularthird person feminine singular
עַד־‘aḏ-asH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
עַזָּ֑ה‘az·zāhfar as GazaH5804
√ ʻAzzâh — Azzah, a place in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular
Gaza — “the primitive Avvite city of the Philistines… at the S.W. corner of Palestine” (K&D); the south-western limit.
בֹּאֲכָ֞הbō·’ă·ḵāhand thenH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbQalInfinitive constructsecond person masculine singular
סְדֹ֧מָהsə·ḏō·māhtoward SodomH5467
√ Çᵉdôm — Sedom, a place near the Dead SeaNounproperfeminine singularthird person feminine singular
Sodom — with Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, the cities of the plain whose ruin Genesis 19 will tell. Their naming here, before their fall, makes the boundary a quiet prophecy.
וַעֲמֹרָ֛הwa·‘ă·mō·rāhGomorrahH6017
√ ʻĂmôrâh — Amorah, a place in PalestineConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
וְאַדְמָ֥הwə·’aḏ·māhAdmahH126
√ ʼAdmâh — Admah, a place near the Dead SeaConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
Admah — a rare name (5 occurrences); paired with Zeboiim it becomes, in Hosea 11:8, the very figure of the judgment God’s mercy recoils from inflicting on Israel.
וּצְבֹיִ֖םū·ṣə·ḇō·yimand ZeboiimH6636
√ Tsᵉbôʼîym — Tseboim or Tsebijim, a place in PalestineConjunctive wawNounproperfeminine singular
עַד־‘aḏ-asH5704
√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition
לָֽשַׁע׃lā·ša‘far as LashaH3962
√ Leshaʻ — Lesha, a place probably East of the JordanNounproperfeminine singular
Lasha — the eastern limit; “generally supposed to be Callirrhoe, to the northeast of the Dead Sea” (Barnes), but “the name does not occur elsewhere… only a traditional conjecture” (Cambridge).
20

These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’êl·leh ḇə·nê- ḥām lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām lil·šō·nō·ṯām bə·’ar·ṣō·ṯām bə·ḡō·w·yê·hem

Word by word7 · parsed
אֵ֣לֶּה’êl·lehThese [are]H428
√ ʼêl-leh — these or thosePronouncommon plural
ʾēlleh, “these” — the colophon that closes each branch of the Table (cf. vv. 5, 31); it gathers the whole Hamite roll into one signature.
בְנֵי־ḇə·nê-the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
חָ֔םḥāmof HamH2526
√ Châm — Cham, a son of NoahNounpropermasculine singular
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖םlə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯāmaccording to their clansH4940
√ mishpâchâh — a family, iPreposition-lNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural
mišpəḥōṯām, “their clans” — the fourfold refrain (clans, tongues, lands, nations) is “characteristic of P’s fondness for redundancy and repetition” (Cambridge), or simply the four axes by which a people is reckoned.
לִלְשֹֽׁנֹתָ֑םlil·šō·nō·ṯāmlanguagesH3956
√ lâshôwn — the tongue (of man or animals), used literally (as the instrument of licking, eating, or speech), and figuratively (speech, an ingot, a fork of flame, a cove of water)Preposition-lNouncommon plural constructthird person masculine plural
ləšōnōṯām, “their tongues” — the listing “by tongues” before Genesis 11 has long been noticed; the Table presupposes the dispersion of languages it has not yet recounted.
בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖םbə·’ar·ṣō·ṯāmlandsH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-bNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural
בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם׃סbə·ḡō·w·yê·hemand nationsH1471
√ gôwy — a foreign nationPreposition-bNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural
gōyêhem, “their nations” — “all Africa and a considerable part of Asia were possessed by the four sons of Ham and their posterity” (Gill). The summary insists every nation has a father and a place.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. A map drawn as a family tree — 6–7, 13–20

The Table of the Hamites is not narrative but lineage: û·ḇə·nê ḥām, “and the sons of Ham,” governs the whole, and the construct chain telescopes generations into a list of names that are at once men, tribes, and lands. The Pulpit Commentary observes that the Hamites “occupy the second place, that the list might conclude with the Shemites as the line of promise” — so the chapter’s very order serves Israel’s story. Matthew Poole supplies the grammar the gloss hides: the plural names of vv. 13–14 “are not the names of persons, but of people or nations; and the word father is here understood.” The verb that does all the work is the plain Qal yālaḏ, “begot” — the word for bearing a child — stretched here to mean Egypt “bore” the Ludim, the Lehabim, the Philistim. Albert Barnes notes the deliberate symmetry: “Mizraim has seven sons, from whom are derived eight nations,” and Cush “had five sons and two grandsons, who were reckoned among the founders of nations.” The result is a genealogy that is also a gazetteer, and the recurring colophon of v. 20 — “by their clans, by their tongues, in their lands, in their nations” — files all of it under four headings, language among them, before Babel has even been told.

ii. The one biography: Nimrod, the first kingdom — 8–12

Into the dry roll the writer drops a portrait. Hêḥêl — “he began” — marks a beginning the Cambridge Bible glosses simply: “He was the first great monarch.” The word for what he became, gibbōr, is the very term used of the pre-flood “mighty men of renown”; Keil & Delitzsch note it denotes “a man who makes himself renowned for bold and daring deeds,” and Matthew Henry hears the resurgence directly: “The spirit of the giants before the flood… revived in him.” The verse’s hinge is the phrase lip̄nê YHWH, “before the LORD.” The Pulpit Commentary lays out four rival readings; the Geneva Bible takes the dark one — “he did not cease to commit cruelty even in God’s presence” — and K&D agree it can “only mean in defiance of Jehovah.” Yet Charles Ellicott files a vigorous dissent we are bound to record: the “Nimrod = rebel” etymology is “the unscholarlike method of explaining Hamite names by Hebrew roots,” and the traditions that blacken him “date only from the time of Josephus.” His kingdom’s rêšît (“beginning,” the noun behind Genesis 1:1) was Babel; from there he or his successors “went forth” — the same disputed yāṣā — to build Nineveh. Whether Asshur is the fleeing son of Shem (Benson) or Nimrod marching “into Assyria” (JFB, the BSB margin) is, as the verse stands, undecidable; both readings are ancient.

iii. Canaan, the cursed line and the promised land — 15–19

Canaan’s posterity gets the fullest treatment in the chapter, and Joseph Benson tells us why: “these were the nations that were to be subdued before Israel, and their land was to become Immanuel’s land.” The roll runs from ṣîḏōn bəḵōrō, “Sidon his firstborn” — the covenant word for the blessing-bearer, here laid on the head of the cursed line — down through eleven peoples to the boundary survey of v. 19. Keil & Delitzsch read the border itself as quiet promise: its limits are given “with evident reference to the fact that it was afterwards promised to the seed of Abraham for its inheritance.” The frontier is walked, not merely listed: bōʾăḵâ, “as thou comest,” carries the reader from Sidon toward Gerar and Gaza, then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim — the cities of the plain named here in their borders before Genesis 19 names them in their ash. Over the whole line hangs the curse of Genesis 9:25; yet Matthew Henry will not let prosperity be mistaken for blessing: “Canaan here has a better land than either Shem or Japheth, and yet they have a better lot, for they inherit the blessing.” The verb that ends the spreading, nāṿōṣū (“were scattered”), is the same root that scatters Babel — dispersion as both judgment and the providence that fills a land for Israel to enter.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under Sola Scriptura, this is the most theological boring-looking passage in Genesis — and that plainness is the point. The chapter insists, against every nation’s myth of being born of gods or sprung from its own soil, that all peoples — Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, the Philistines, Sodom, the Canaanites Israel will fight — descend from one man off one ark. There is no untraceable race; there is one human family under one God. The single biography, Nimrod, exists to define what the rest will become: gibbōr lip̄nê YHWH, the strong man building the first kingdom (the word’s first appearance in Scripture) at Babel — power organized over against God. So the Table sets two cities in tension before either is built: Babel, the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom (v. 10), and the bordered land that will be Israel’s inheritance (v. 19). The honest reader admits how much is conjecture — the identifications of half these tribes are guesses, the etymologies are disputed, the Asshur of v. 11 may be a man or a country. But the spine is unshakable and needs no archaeology to stand: every nation has a father, a tongue, a land; none is autochthonous; none is outside the genealogy that will narrow, in two chapters, to Abram — and through him to blessing for all these same families (Gen 12:3). The map of the nations is the setup for the rescue of the nations. (This paragraph is machine synthesis — weigh it against the text.)

Babel is the first kingdom; the bordered land is the last word — and between them runs the only genealogy that ends in a blessing for all the nations it just listed.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The Table re-copied: Chronicles’ Hamite roll verbal / quotation — confirmed

The Chronicler reproduces this exact genealogy almost word for word (1 Chronicles 1:8–16), the strongest possible internal cross-reference: not allusion but re-copying. The Verifier finds the rare tribal names shared verse-for-verse — Lehabim and Naphtuhim (each in only 2 verses of Scripture), Arvadite and Zemarite, Pathrusite and Casluhite. Because these lexemes are so rare, the verbal link is as secure as a quotation gets within the Old Testament; the Chronicler is preserving “the lists of names of fathers and sons… for the sake of the Messiah” (Henry on v. 6).

1 Chronicles 1:8 · 1 Chronicles 1:9 · 1 Chronicles 1:11 · 1 Chronicles 1:12 · 1 Chronicles 1:15 · 1 Chronicles 1:16

basis: Rare shared Strong’s lexemes verse-for-verse, e.g. H3853 Lᵉhâbîm and H5320 Naphtuchîm (each in only 2 vv), H7484 Raʿmâh and H5454 Çabtâʼ, H721 ʼArvâdî, H6786 Tsᵉmârî, H6625 Pathruçî — the Chronicler re-copies Genesis 10:6–20.

“The land of Nimrod” — Micah names Assyria for him verbal / quotation — confirmed

Micah promises deliverance from Assyria “with the sword… the land of Nimrod at its entrances” (Micah 5:6), pairing the rare name Nimrōd (H5248, in only 4 verses of the whole Bible) with Asshur. This is the prophets reading Genesis 10:8–11: Nimrod’s Babel-and-Nineveh empire is the archetype of the world-power that oppresses Israel, and the very verse that left Asshur ambiguous (v. 11) is here resolved by Micah into “the land of Nimrod” = Assyria. The shared rare lexeme makes the verbal link secure.

Micah 5:6

basis: Shared rare lexeme H5248 Nimrōd (in only 4 vv); Micah 5:6 also shares H804 ʼAshshûr with Genesis 10:11, naming Assyria ‘the land of Nimrod.’

Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim — the bordered cities of doom verbal / quotation — confirmed

The border of v. 19 names four cities of the plain — Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim — in their frontier before Genesis 19 names them in their fire. The same four recur as a fixed formula at Deuteronomy 29:23 (the covenant curse: “like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim”) and at Genesis 14:2, 8 (the war of the kings). The Verifier confirms the rare names Admah and Zeboiim (each in only 5 verses) shared verse-for-verse — a tight verbal tie binding the boundary-list to the judgment-formula it foreshadows.

Genesis 14:2 · Genesis 14:8 · Deuteronomy 29:23

basis: Shared rare lexemes H126 ʼAdmâh and H6636 Tsᵉbôʼîm (each in only 5 vv), with H6017 ʿĂmôrâh and H5467 Çᵉdôm — the fixed four-city plain formula.

Admah and Zeboiim — where God’s mercy recoils (typological) typological

The two rarest cities of v. 19, Admah and Zeboiim, return in Hosea 11:8 not as objects of wrath but as the figure God’s compassion refuses: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim?… How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.” The geographic footnote of the Table becomes, in the prophet, the very measure of judgment that divine love will not exact on its people. This is a figural reading of the place-names, not a quotation claim — the same rare lexemes, redeployed as a metaphor of mercy.

Hosea 11:8

basis: Shared rare lexemes H126 ʼAdmâh and H6636 Tsᵉbôʼîm (each in only 5 vv). The Verifier scores this verbal/confirmed on the rare-lexeme rule, but we deliberately downgrade: Hosea is not quoting Genesis 10:19, he is redeploying the proverbially-doomed cities as a figure of mercy God withholds from judgment. The verbal overlap is real; the force is figural — an ancient/widely-held typological use, not a quotation claim — so tiered typological, not verbal.

Put, Cush and the prophets’ muster-roll of Egypt’s allies verbal / quotation — confirmed

The Hamite sons of v. 6 — Cush and Put especially — reappear repeatedly in the prophets as the mercenary nations marshaled with Egypt for battle: “Cush and Put, that handle the shield” (Jeremiah 46:9; cf. Ezekiel 27:10; 30:5; Nahum 3:9). The Verifier finds the rare name Put (H6316, in only 7 verses) shared with Genesis 10:6. The genealogy quietly stocks the prophets’ armies: the descendants listed here are the geopolitics later prophets presuppose.

Jeremiah 46:9 · Ezekiel 27:22

basis: Shared rare lexeme H6316 Pûṭ (in only 7 vv) with Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 27:22 shares H7484 Raʿmâh (in only 3 vv) and H7614 Shᵉbâʼ — the Hamite tribes named again in the prophets’ oracles.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

From the scattered nations to the gathered nations ancient/widely-held

The Table ends the Hamite line “by their clans, by their tongues, in their lands, in their nations” (v. 20) — every people fathered, languaged, and bordered, soon to be scattered at Babel (cf. v. 18, nāṿōṣū, the Babel verb). Matthew Henry already reads the whole register Christ-ward: these genealogies “were preserved of the Jews alone, for the sake of the Messiah” — the listing of the nations exists to track the line that narrows to him. Two chapters later the point of dividing them is revealed: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3) — the same word mišpāḥâ, “family/clan,” that organizes this very Table (vv. 18, 20) is the word that names who the blessing is for. The scattering of Genesis 10–11 is thus the setup for the in-gathering of the gentiles in Christ, where the curse of Babel is reversed at Pentecost — every tongue hearing the gospel (Acts 2) — and “a great multitude… from every nation, tribe, people and language” stands before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9). The map of the divided families is the table of contents for the mission to them.

Genesis 12:3 · Acts 2:5 · Revelation 7:9

The Canaanite and the Caphtorite at the feet of Christ novel

The cursed Hamite line of vv. 15–18 is not finally cursed in the gospel. The Caphtorim (v. 14), whom the prophets call the source of the Philistines, and the Canaanite tribes of vv. 15–18 reappear in the Gospels as the very people Jesus heals and praises: a Canaanite woman whose faith he calls “great” (Matthew 15:22–28), and the demoniacs of the Gergesenes/Girgashite country (cf. Matthew 8:28; Genesis 10:16). Where Joshua drove out the seven nations of v. 16, Christ crosses into their land to seek them. The same Joshua-name (Yēšûʿ / Iēsous) who once dispossessed Canaan now possesses it for mercy. (Held loosely: the Gergesenes → Girgashite identification rests on the reading Γεργεσηνοί at Matthew 8:28, which K&D — commenting on this very verse, Genesis 10:16 — call “critically suspicious.” The Canaanite-woman link of Matthew 15 is firmer; the Gergesene link is conjectural and offered as a possibility, not a claim.)

Matthew 15:22 · Genesis 10:16

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

This unit is genealogy, so the synthetic load falls on geography and etymology rather than theology — and both are heavily contested in the public-domain sources themselves. Specific honesty notes: (1) Nimrod’s character (vv. 8–9) is disputed at the root: the dominant “Nimrod = rebel” reading (Henry, Gill, Geneva, K&D, the Targums) is explicitly resisted by Ellicott, who dates the blackening “only from the time of Josephus.” We have recorded the dispute, not resolved it. (2) “Before the LORD” (v. 9, lip̄nê YHWH) is the unit’s hardest crux: the Pulpit Commentary lists four readings ranging from “in defiance of God” to “with the Divine approbation.” The parses cannot settle it. (3) Asshur (v. 11) may be the proper name of Shem’s son or the country Assyria; the translation “went forth into Assyria” is an interpretive choice the BSB shares with the Targums but not with the LXX, Vulgate, or Benson. (4) The Philistine origin (v. 14) and the closing “great city” clause (v. 12) both involve possible textual transposition or glossing, flagged by Cambridge and Poole. (5) Tribal identifications throughout (Lasha, Calneh, Casluhim, the Caphtorim–Crete link) are confessedly conjectural in the sources and should not be treated as fixed. (6) The Gergesenes → Girgashite link in the Christ section rests on the reading Γεργεσηνοί at Matthew 8:28, which K&D — on this very verse (Gen 10:16) — call “critically suspicious”; we mark that thread novel and hold it loosely, leaning instead on the firmer Canaanite-woman link of Matthew 15. Cross-references to 1 Chronicles, Micah, and the Sodom-formula verses are verbally secure (rare shared Strong’s lexemes, Verifier-confirmed); the Hosea 11:8 link the Verifier scores verbal, but we deliberately downgrade it to typological, since Hosea redeploys the doomed cities as a figure of mercy rather than quoting the boundary-list. The redemptive reading also rests on two common-lexeme (so structural, not verbal) ties confirmed by the Verifier: the scatter-verb pûṣ (H6327) shared with Babel (Gen 11:9), and mišpāḥâ (H4940), the Table’s “family” word, shared with the blessing of “all the families of the earth” (Gen 12:3). None of the tiers used here claims a New Testament quotation of this passage — the Table of Nations is alluded to and re-copied, never cited as proof-text. All commentary is fallible; weigh it against the text.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)