The Table of Nations
Genesis 10
Many people consider the first 11 chapters to be mythical. From the creation of the world to the tower of Babel, people presuppose that the contents of the Bible must be merely stories. However, Genesis 10 offers a look at the immediate descendents of Noah, and many of the names listed have direct connections to the world as we know it.
In the previous chapter, God commanded Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” Genesis 10 is an account of that happening. Noah’s sixteen grandsons spread throughout the world. According to the Bible, they would have lived longer than many of their descendants, as the lifespan of man begins to rapidly shrink with each generation at this point. It makes sense that many of the grandsons, who may have outlived many of their own sons and grandsons, would have been highly esteemed in their own families and had places named after them. This is exactly what happens.
Here are Noah’s grandsons:
- Gomer- Ezekiel 38:6-7 indicates that Gomer went North after the flood. This matches the historical record, as Josephus says that the Galatians (northern Turkey) were previously called Gomerites. Many of them migrated to Gaul (modern France), and were also called Gomerites. From there, some migrated to Wales, and the name of the Welsh language is Gomeraeg. Also, Ashkenaz is one of Gomer’s sons, and Ashkenaz is the Hebrew word for Germany.
- Magog- Again mentioned in Ezekiel 38 as being in the North. Ancient Middle East people referred to Scythians as Magogites. Scythians were the people in the Romanian and Ukrainian region.
- Madai- Madai was the Hebrew word for the Medes, who had a powerful empire and eventually merged with the Persians.
- Javan- the Hebrew word for Greece. Javan’s sons have direct ties to Greece as well. The Elysians (ancient Greek people) received their name from Elishah, and Tarsus/Tarshish (Greek city in Turkey) was named for Tarshish.
- Tubal- The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. Nearby is an ancient Russian city named Tobolsk, and the river in the area is Tobol.
- Meshech- The ancient name of the city of Moscow. The lowlands around the city are still called the Meshech plains.
- Tiras- The Thracians were first called Thirasians. Thrace was the region that was Yugoslavia. Tiras was worshipped by his descendents as Thuras, or Thor, the god of thunder.
- Cush- the ancient name of Ethiopia.
- Mizraim- the Hebrew word for Egypt. Some Bibles even translate the grandson’s name as Egypt.
- Phut- The ancient name of Libya.
- Canaan- The ancient name for the Palestine region.
- Elam- the ancient name for Persia. Until Cyrus, the Persians were called Elamites.
- Asshur- The founder of the Assyrians. It was the tradition of the Assyrians that every king wore the crown only with the express permission of Asshur’s deified ghost.
- Arpachshad- The Nuzi tablets record that he was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. His descendent, Eber, gave his name to the Hebrew people.
- Lud- the ancestor of the Lydians, which is modern day western Turkey.
- Aram- the Hebrew word for Syria. The Syrians call themselves Arameans, and their language is Aramaic
This was a very brief look at Noah’s grandsons, with only a few of the most obvious ties to geography pointed out. Although most people think the flood never happened, a little bit of study makes it nearly impossible to assert that Noah’s sixteen grandsons were not real people who played pivotal roles in establishing people groups and ancient geographical centers.
written by Casey Hust