Gill on Genesis 10

Imported boundary: John Gill's Exposition of the Bible: Genesis, assembled from Bible Study Tools per-verse public-domain pages. Luke24 mirrors the historical commentary body while excluding site navigation, recommendation blocks, footnote bodies, and modern source-editor notes.

Primary passage: Genesis 10:1-32.

Introduction

This chapter gives an account of the posterity of the three sons of Noah, by whom the world was peopled after the flood, Ge 10:1 of the posterity of Japheth, Ge 10:2-5 of the posterity of Ham, Ge 10:6-20 and of the posterity of Shem, Ge 10:21-32.

Verse 1

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah The genealogy of them, and which is of great use to show the original of the several nations of the world, from whence they sprung, and by whom they were founded; and to confute the pretended antiquity of some nations, as the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Chinese, and others; and to point out the particular people, which were to be the seat of the church of God for many ages, and from whom the Messiah was to spring; which seems to be the principal view of the history of Moses, and of this genealogy, with which should be compared ( 1 Chronicles 1:1-25 ) Shem, Ham, and Japheth; see ( Genesis 5:32 ) ( 6:10 ) ( 7:13 ) ( 9:18 ) and unto them were sons born after the flood*; for they had none born to them either before the flood or in it; they were married before the flood, for their wives went into the ark with them; but it does not appear they had any children before, though they then were near an hundred years old; and if they had, they were not in the ark, and therefore must perish with the rest, which is not likely: Shem's son Arphaxad was born two years after the flood, ( Genesis 11:10 ) when the rest were born, either his or his brethren's, is not said; however they were all born after the flood; though some pretend that Canaan was born in the ark, during the flood, for which there is no authority; yea, it is confuted in this chapter, where Canaan stands among the sons of Ham, born to him after the flood.

Verse 2

The sons of Japheth* Who though mentioned last, the genealogy begins with him, by a figure which rhetoricians call a "chiasm". The posterity of Japheth are those whom Hesiod often calls ( iapetionidhv ), "Iapetionides", and him ( iapetov ), "Iapetus". According to Josephus, the sons of Japheth inhabited the earth, beginning from the mountains Taurus and Amanus, and then went on in Asia unto the river Tanais, and in Europe unto Gadira. Seven of his sons are mentioned, and the first is Gomer; from whom, according to the same writer, came the Gomareans or Gomerites, in his time called by the Greeks Galatians, that is, the Gauls of Asia minor, who inhabited Phrygia; both Gomer and Phrygia signifying the same, as Bochart observes, and the country looking as if it was torrified or burnt; and Pliny makes mention of a town in Phrygia, called Cimmeris; and the Cimmerians and Cimbri are derived by some from this Gomer, whom Herodotus makes mention of as in Asia and Scythia, and speaks of a country called Cimmerius, and of the Cimmerian Bosphorus; and these seem to be the Gauls before mentioned, under a different name; and it is to be observed, that the Welsh, who sprung from the Gauls, call themselves to this day Cumero, or Cymro and Cumeri. It is plain from ( Ezekiel 38:6 ) that Gomer and his people lay to the north of Judea, and the posterity of Japheth went first into the northern parts of Asia, and then spread themselves into Europe: six more of his sons follow, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras; the first of these, Magog, was the father of a northern people which bore his name, see ( Ezekiel 38:2 Ezekiel 38:15 ) and according to Josephus, who is generally followed, are the same that were called Scythians; from Madai came the Medes, often spoken of in Scripture, along with the Persians; so Josephus says, from him came the nation of Madaeans, whom the Greeks call Medes; and very frequently in Scripture the Medes go by the name of Madai, their original ancestor; see ( Daniel 5:28 ) ( Daniel 6:8 Daniel 6:12 Daniel 6:15 ) but Mr. Mede is of opinion, that Macedonia was the seat of this Madai, which was formerly called Aemathia; that is, as he gives the etymology of it, ( aia ), "Madai", the country of Madai; but the former sense is generally received. Javan is by all agreed to be the father of the Grecians; hence Alexander, king of Grecia, is in ( Daniel 8:21 ) called king of Javan; and one part of Greece bore the name of Ionia; and the sea that washed it is called the Ionian sea. And his posterity are ( iaonev ), "Iaonians", in Homer and Aristophanes; and the scholiast of the latter says, that the Barbarians call all Greeks Iaonians. The next son of Japheth is Tubal or Thobel, as Josephus calls him, who says the Thobelians in his time were called Iberians, a people in Asia, that dwelt near the Euxine sea; and in Albania was a place called Thabilaca, as may be seen in Ptolemy, and another called Thilbis, from whom might spring the Iberians in Europe, now called Spaniards; but Bochart thinks that the Tibarenes are the descendants of Tubal, a people that dwelt between the Trapezuntii and Armenia the less; and he wonders that this never was thought of by any; but in that he is mistaken, for our countryman Mr. Broughton makes the Tibarenes to spring from Tubal; and Epiphanius many hundreds of years before him. Meshech, his next son, is mentioned along with Tubal in ( Ezekiel 27:13 ) ( 38:2 ) ( 39:1 ) from him came the Mosocheni, as Josephus, who in his time were called Cappadocians, with whom there was a city then named Mazaca, since Caesarea; and these seem to be the same that Pliny calls Moscheni, who inhabited the mountains Moschici, which were at the north east of Cappadocia. Some derive the Muscovites from them, which is not improbable: the last of Japheth's sons is Tiras or Thiras, which Jarchi interprets very wrongly by Paras, or Persia; much better the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, and so a Jewish chronologer, by Thracia; for the descendants of Thiras, as Josephus observes, the Greeks call Thracians; and in Thrace was a river called Atyras, which has in it a trace of this man's name; and Odrysus, whom the Thracians worshipped, is the same with Tiras, which god sometimes goes by the name of Thuras; and is one of the names of Mars, the god of the Thracians.

Verse 3

And the sons of Gomer Who was the first of the sons of Japheth, three of whose sons are mentioned, and they are as follow: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah; the first of these seated himself in the lesser Asia, in Pontus and Bithynia, where were some traces of his name in the river Ascanius, and in the Ascanian lake or bay; and also in the lesser Phrygia or Troas, where was a city called Ascania, and where were the Ascanian isles, and the Euxine Pontus, or Axeine, as it was first called, which is the sea that separates Asia and Europe, and is no other than a corruption of the sea of Ashkenaz. It seems to have been near Armenia, by its being mentioned along with Minni or Armenia, in ( Jeremiah 51:27 ). Germany is by the Jews commonly called Ashkenaz; perhaps some of the posterity of Ashkenaz in Asia might pass into Europe, and Germany might be a colony of them; so Mr. Broughton observes of the sons of Gomer, that they first took their seat in Asia, and then came north and west into Muscovy and Germany. The next son of Gomer was Riphath. Josephus says, that the Riphathaeans which came from him are the Paphlagonians, a people of Asia Minor, near Pontus, so that he settled near his brother Ashkenaz; perhaps his posterity are the Arimphaei of Pliny, and the Riphaeans of Mela, who inhabited near the Riphaean mountains, which might have their name from this son of Gomer, who in ( 1 Chronicles 1:6 ) is called Diphath, the letters ( r ) and ( d ) being very similar. His third son is called Togarmah, who had his seat in the north of Judea, see ( Ezekiel 38:6 ) his posterity are the Phrygians, according to Josephus; but some place them in Galatia and Cappadocia; and Strabo makes mention of a people called Trocmi, on the borders of Pontus and Cappadocia; and Cicero of the Trogmi or Trogini, who may have their name from hence; for the Greek interpreters always call him Torgama or Thorgana. The Jews make the Turks to be the posterity of Togarmah. Elias Levita says, there are some that say that Togarmah is the land of Turkey; and Benjamin of Tudela calls a Turkish sultan king of the Togarmans, that is, the Turks; and among the ten families of Togarmah, which Josephus ben Gorion speaks of, the Turks are one; and perhaps this notion may not be amiss, since the company of Togarmah is mentioned with Gog, or the Turk, (See Gill on Ezekiel 38:6 *). The Armenians pretend to be the descendants of Togarmah, who, with them, is the son of Tiras, the son of Gomer, by his son Haik, from whom they and their country, from all antiquity, have bore the name of Haik.

Verse 4

And the sons of Javan Another son of Japheth; four sons of Javan are mentioned, which gave names to countries, and are as follow: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim*; the first of these, Elishah, gave name to the Elysaeans, now called Aeoles, as Josephus says; hence the country Aeolia, and the Aeolic dialect, all from this name; and there are many traces of it in the several parts of Greece. Hellas, a large country in it, has its name from him; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret Elishah by Allas. Elis in Peloponnesus, Eleusis in Attica, the river Elissus, or Ilissus, and the Elysian fields, are so called from him. Tarshish, second son of Javan, gave name to Tarsus, by which Cilicia was formerly called, as Josephus says, of which the city named Tarsus was the metropolis, the birth place of the Apostle Paul, ( Acts 22:3 ). Hence the Mediterranean sea is called Tarshish, because the Cicilians were masters of it; and Tartessus in Spain might be a colony from them, as Broughton observes; and so Eusebius says, from the Tarsinns are the Iberians, or Spaniards; and which Bochart approves of, and confirms by various evidences; and Hillerus, makes Tarshish to be the author of the Celtae, that is, of the Spanish, French, and German nations. The third son of Javan is Kittim, whom Josephus places in the island of Cyprus, a city there being called Citium, from whence was Zeno the Citian: but rather the people that sprung from him are those whom Homer calls Cetii; and are placed by Strabo to the west of Cilicia, in the western parts of which are two provinces, mentioned by Ptolemy, the one called Cetis, the other Citis: likewise this Kittim seems to be the father both of the Macedonians and the Latines; for Alexander the great is said to come from Cittim, and Perseus king of Macedon is called king of Cittim,

Verse 5

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands That is, by those sons of Japheth before mentioned; and by "isles" are meant, not countries surrounded with water, for the isles in this sense would not have been sufficient for the posterity of Japheth; nor can it be thought they would leave the continent, where there was room enough for them, and go into islands; and besides must have found it difficult to get there, when shipping and navigation were little known: but it is usual with the Hebrews, of whom Moses, the writer of this history, was, to call all places beyond the Mediterranean sea, or whatsoever they went to by sea, or that were upon the sea coasts, islands, as Greece, Italy Moreover, the word sometimes signifies countries, as it does in ( Job 22:30 ) ( Isaiah 20:6 ) and so should be rendered here, as it is by some, "the countries of the Gentiles"; so called, because in the times of Moses, and at the writing of this history, those countries were inhabited by Heathens and idolaters, strangers to the true religion: and this division was not made at random, and at the pleasure of a rude company of men, but in an orderly regular manner, with the consent, and by the advice and direction of the principal men of those times; and especially it was directed by the wise providence of the most High, who divided to the nations their inheritance, and set the bounds of the people, ( Deuteronomy 32:8 ). everyone after his tongue, after their families, in their nations*; this shows, that what is said concerning the division of countries to the sons of Japheth is by way of anticipation; and that, though thus related, was not done till after the confusion of languages, since the partition was made according to the different languages of men; those that were of the same language went and dwelt together, the several nations of them, and the several families in those nations; by which it appears that this was done by consultation, with great care and wisdom, ranging the people according to their tongues; of which nations were formed, and with them were taken the several families they consisted of.

Verse 6

And the sons of Ham Next to the sons of Japheth, the sons of Ham are reckoned; these, Josephus says, possessed the land from Syria, and the mountains of Amanus and Lebanon; laying hold on whatever was towards the sea, claiming to themselves the countries unto the ocean, whose names, some of them, are entirely lost, and others so greatly changed and deflected into other tongues, that they can scarcely be known, and few whose names are preserved entire; and the same observation will hold good of others. Four of the sons of Ham are mentioned, Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan; the first of these, Cush, Josephus says, has suffered no loss by time; for the Ethiopians, whose prince he was, are to this day by themselves, and all in Asia, called Chusaeans: but though this word Cush, as used in Scripture, is generally rendered by us Ethiopia, this must not be understood of Ethiopia in Africa, but in Arabia; and indeed is always to be understood of one part of Arabia, and which was near to the land of Judea; so Moses's wife is called an Ethiopian, when she was an Arabian, or of Midian, ( Numbers 12:1 ) ( Exodus 2:16 Exodus 2:21 ) and Chusan and Midian are mentioned together, ( Habakkuk 3:7 ) see 2Ki 19:9 2Ch 14:9* and Bochart

Verse 7

And the sons of Cush The first born of Ham, who had five sons, next mentioned, besides Nimrod, spoken of afterwards by himself: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha*; the first of these is Seba, the founder of the Sabaeans, according to Josephus, a people seated in Arabia Deserta, which seem to be the Sabaeans brought from the wilderness, ( Ezekiel 23:42 ) and very probably the same that plundered Job of his cattle, ( Job 1:14 Job 1:15 ). The second son is Havilah, who, as Josephus says, was the father of the Evilaeans, now called Getuli; but the posterity of Havilah seem to be the same whom Strabo calls Chaulotaeans, and whom he speaks of along with the Nabataeans and Agraeans, a people near Arabia Felix; and by Pliny

Verse 8

And Cush begat Nimrod Besides the other five sons before mentioned; and probably this was his youngest son, being mentioned last; or however he is reserved to this place, because more was to be spoken of him than of any of the rest. Sir Walter Raleigh thinks that Nimrod was begotten by Cush after his other children were become fathers, and of a later time than some of his grandchildren and nephews: and indeed the sons of Raamah, the fourth son of Cush, are taken notice of before him: however, the Arabic writers must be wrong, who make him to be the son of Canaan, whereas it is so clear and express from hence that he was the son of Cush. In the Greek version he is called Nebrod, and by Josephus, Nebrodes, which is a name of Bacchus; and indeed Nimrod is the same with the Bacchus of the Heathens, for Bacchus is no other than Barchus, the son of Cush; and Jacchus, which is another of his names in Jah of Cush, or the god the son of Cush; and it is with respect to his original name Nebrod, or Nebrodes, that Bacchus is represented as clothed with the skin of ( nebriv ), "nebris", or a young hind, as were also his priests; and so in his name Nimrod there may be an allusion to ( armn ), "Nimra", which, in the Chaldee language, signifies a tiger, and which kind of creatures, with others, he might hunt; tigers drew in the chariot of Bacchus, and he was sometimes clothed with the skin of one; though the name of Nimrod is usually derived from ( drm ), "to rebel", because he was a rebel against God, as is generally said; and because, as Jarchi observes, he caused all the world to rebel against God, by the advice he gave to the generation of the division, or confusion of languages, the builders of Babel: he seems to be the same with Belus, the founder of Babel and of the Babylonian empire, whom Diodorus Siculus confounds with Ninus his son: he began to be a mighty man in the earth*: that is, he was the first that formed a plan of government, and brought men into subjection to it; and so the Jews make him to be the first king after God; for of the ten kings they speak of in the world, God is the first, and Nimrod the second; and so the Arabic writers say, he was the first of the kings that were in the land of Babylon; and that, seeing the figure of a crown in the heaven, he got a golden one made like it, and put it on his head; hence it was commonly reported, that the crown descended to him from heaven; for this refers not to his gigantic stature, as if he was a giant, as the Septuagint render it; or a strong robust man, as Onkelos; nor to his moral character, as the Targum of Jonathan, which is,

Verse 9

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord Which might be literally true; for, from the time of the flood to his days, wild beasts might increase very much, and greatly annoy men who dwelt very likely for the most part in tents scattered up and down in divers places: so that he did a good office in hunting and destroying them. An Arabic writer, of some authority in the eastern parts, says, that by hunting he got food sufficient for the builders of Babel, while they were employed therein; and Aben Ezra interprets it in his favour, that he built altars, and the creatures he took in hunting he offered them on them a burnt offering to God. But neither of these is probable; however, it may be observed, that in this way by hunting he arrived to the power and dominion over men he afterwards had; for not only he ingratiated himself into their favour by hunting down and destroying the wild beasts which molested them, but by these means he might gather together a large number of young men, strong and robust, to join him in hunting; whereby they were inured to hardships, and trained up to military exercises, and were taught the way of destroying men as well as beasts; and by whose help and assistance he might arrive to the government he had over men; and hunting, according to Aristotle, is a part of the military art, which is to be used both on beasts, and on such men who are made to be ruled, but are not willing; and it appears, from Xenophon, that the kings of Persia were fitted for war and government by hunting, and which is still reckoned in many countries a part of royal education. And it may be remarked, that, as Nimrod and Bacchus are the same, as before observed, one of the titles of Bacchus is ( zagreuv ), "an hunter". Cedrenus says, that the Assyrians deified Nebrod, or Nimrod, and placed him among the constellations of heaven, and called him Orion; the same first discovered the art of hunting, therefore they joined to Orion the star called the dog star. However, besides his being in a literal sense an hunter, he was in a figurative sense one, a tyrannical ruler and governor of men. The Targum of Jonathan is; wherefore it is said; in a proverbial way, when any man is grown mighty and powerful, or is notoriously wicked, or is become a tyrant and an oppressor of the people, that he is even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord*. This was a proverb used in the times of Moses, as it is common now with us to call a hunter Nimrod.

Verse 10

And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel The city of Babel, or Babylon, which was built by his direction; for though Babylon is by some writers said to be built by Semiramis, the wife of Ninus, and others by Ninus himself, yet the truest account is, that it was built by Belus, the same with Nimrod. Curtius says, Semiramis built it; or, as most believe, adds he, Belus, whose royal palace is shown: and Berosus, the Chaldean, blames the Greek writers for ascribing it to Semiramis; and Abydenus, out of Megasthenes, affirms, that Belus surrounded Babylon with a wall: however, this was the head of the kingdom of Nimrod, as Onkelos renders it, or his chief city, or where he first began to reign. Here he set up his kingdom, which he enlarged and extended afterwards to other places; and from hence it appears, that what is related in this context, concerning Nimrod, is by way of anticipation; for it was not a fact that he was a mighty man, or a powerful prince possessed of a kingdom, until after the building of Babel, and the confusion of languages there; when those that continued on the spot either chose him for their ruler, or he, by power or policy, got the dominion over them. Artapanus, an Heathen writer, relates, that the giants which inhabited Babylon being taken away by the gods for their impiety, one of them, Belus, escaped death and dwelt in Babylon, and took up his abode in the tower which he had raised up, and which, from him the founder of it, was called Belus; so that this, as Moses says, was the beginning of his kingdom, together with Erech, and Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar*, where the city and tower of Babel were built: for of these four cities, which were all in the same country, did the kingdom of Nimrod consist; they all, either by force or by consent, were brought into subjection to him, and were under one form of government, and is the first kingdom known to be set up in the world. Erech, according to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, is Hades, or Edessa, a city in Mesopotamia; but it is rather thought to be the name with the Aracca of Ptolemy, and the Arecha of Marcellinus, placed by them both in Susiana; though one would think it should be that city in Chaldea which took its present Arabic name of Erak from Erech: the Arabic writers say, when Irac or Erac is absolutely put, it denotes Babylonia, or Chaldea, in the land of Shinar; and they say that Shinar is in Al-Erac. The next city, Accad, according to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, is Netzibin, or Nisibis, a city in Mesopotamia; in the Septuagint version it is called Archad; and Ctesias relates, that at the Persian Sittace was a river called Argad, which Bochart thinks carries in it a manifest trace of this name; and observes, from Strabo, that that part of Babylon nearest to Susa was called Sitacena. And the other city, Calneh, according to the above Targums, is Ctesiphon, and is generally thought to be the place intended, and was a town upon the Tigris, near to Seleucia in Babylon; it was first called Chalone, and its name was changed to Ctesiphon by Pacorus, king of the Persians. It is in ( Isaiah 10:9 ) called Calno, and by the Septuagint version there the Chalane, which adds,

Verse 11

Out of that land went forth Ashur It is a question whether Ashur is the name of a man or of a country; some take it in the latter sense, and render the words, "and out of that land he went forth into Assyria"; so Onkelos; and in this way go Junius and Tremellius, Piscator, Bochart, Cocceius, and others, and the margin of our Bible, and interpret it of Nimrod; and the Targum of Jonathan is express for him, which is this: and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah*. The first of these cities, Nineveh, the Greeks commonly call Ninus, is placed by Strabo in Atyria, the Chaldee name of Assyria, who generally suppose it had its name from Ninus, whom Diodorus Siculus makes the first king of the Assyrians, and to whom he ascribes the building of this city; and who, one would think, should be Ashur, and that Ninus was another name of him, or however by which he went among the Greeks; and so this city was called after him; or rather it had its name from the beauty of it, the word signifying a beautiful habitation, as Cocceius and Hillerus give the etymology of it; or perhaps, when it was first built by him, it had another name, but afterwards was called Nineveh, from Ninus, who lived many years after him, who might repair, adorn, and beautify it. It was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians, as foretold by Nahum, and it is difficult now to say where it stood; the place where it is supposed to have been is now called Mosul; of which place Rauwolff says, who was there in 1574, that

Verse 12

And Resen, between Nineveh and Calah* This was another city built by Ashur, situated between those two cities mentioned: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call it Talsar, or Thalassar, see ( Isaiah 37:12 ) The conjecture of Bochart is more probable, that it is the Larissa of Xenophon, situated on the Tigris; though Junius thinks it is either Bassora, or Belcina, which Ptolemy

Verse 13

And Mizraim begat Ludim Mizraim was the second son of Ham, of whom (See Gill on Genesis 10:6 ). Ludim he is said to beget, the word being plural, is not the name of a man, but of his posterity; and the sense is, that Mizraim begat the father of the Ludim, whose name very probably was Lud, which name is preserved in ( Isaiah 66:19 ). These Ludim are the same with the Lydians, ( Jeremiah 46:9 ) and whose country is called Lydia, ( Ezekiel 30:5 ) but to be distinguished from Lydia in Asia Minor, and the Lydians there who sprung from Lud, a son of Shem, ( Genesis 10:22 ) for, as these sprung from Mizraim, the founder of Egypt, they must be somewhere thereabout; and Bochart has proved, by various arguments, that they are the Ethiopians in Africa, now called Abyssines, whose country lies to the south of Egypt, a people formerly famous for archery, as Lud and the Lydians are said to be, ( Isaiah 66:19 ) ( Jeremiah 46:9 ) and whoever reads the accounts Diodorus Siculus gives of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, will easily discern a likeness between them, and that the one sprung from the other; both deifying their kings; showing a like carefulness about their funerals; both using hieroglyphics; having the like order of priests, who used shaving; and circumcision was common to them both, as Herodotus observes: and Ananzim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim*: the name of the father of the Anamim very probably was Anam, though we have no account of him elsewhere: according to Hillerus, the Anamim were called so from the pastoral life they led; and, by a transposition of letters, were the same with the Maeonians, who inhabited that tract of land in Asia which was washed by the river Maeonia, or Maeander, and bordered on Lydia; but, as these were the descendants of Mizraim, they must be sought for somewhere about Egypt: much better therefore does Mr. Broughton take them to be the Nubians and Numidians, which were near both Egypt and Ethiopia; though Bochart seems to be most correct, in making them to be the Ammonians, who, Herodotus says, were a colony of the Egyptians and Ethiopians; these lived about Ammon and Nasamonitis, and in that part of Lybia in which the temple of Jupiter Ammon stood, and are the Nomades, that lived a pastoral life; and Bochart thinks they are called Anamim, from Anam, which, in the Arabic language, signifies a "sheep", because they fed sheep, and lived upon them, and clothed themselves with their skins. The word Lehabim, the name of another people from Mizraim, signifies "flames"; and were so called, as Jarchi observes, because their faces were like flames, see ( Isaiah 13:8 ) burnt with the heat of the sun, living near the torrid zone; and therefore could not be the Lycians, as Hillerus thinks, the inhabitants of a country in Asia, between Caria and Pamphylia, formerly called Lycia, now Aidimelli, which he observes abounds with places that have their names from fire and flames, as Mount Chimaera, the cities Hephaestium, Myra, Lemyra, Habessus, Telmessus, Balbura, and Sirbis; but these were too far from Egypt, near which it is more probable the Lehabim were, and seem to be the same with the Lubim, which came with Shishak out of Egypt to invade Judea, ( 2 Chronicles 12:3 ) and who were called Lybians, ( Jeremiah 46:9 ) and their country Lybia, ( Ezekiel 30:5 ) of which Leo Africanus says, that it is a desert, dry and sandy, having neither fountains nor springs; which was near Egypt as well as Ethiopia, with which it is joined in the above place, see ( Acts 2:10 ). The word Naphtuhim, the name of another people that sprung from Mizraim, according to Hillerus, signifies "open"; and he thinks they are the Pamphylians, who used to admit promiscuously all into their ports and towns, which were open to all strangers, and even robbers, for the sake of commerce; but, as these were a people in lesser Asia, they cannot be the people here meant. Bochart observes, from Plutarch, that the Egyptians used to call the extreme parts of a country, and abrupt places and mountains adjoining to the sea, Nepthys, the same with Nephthuah; and therefore he is of opinion, that these Naphtuhim dwelt on the shores of the Mediterranean sea, near Egypt, in Marmorica; not far from whence was the temple of Aptuchus, mentioned by Ptolemy, and placed by him in Cyrene, which carries in it some trace of the name of Naphtuhim; and he suspects that Neptune had his name from hence; he being a Lybian god, as Herodotus says; for none ever used his name before the Lybians, who always honoured him as a god: and it may be observed, from Strabo, that many of the temples of Neptune were on the sea shore. Some place these people about Memphis, the name of which was Noph, ( Isaiah 19:13 ) but perhaps it may be much better to place them in the country of Nepate, between Syene and Meroc, where Candace, queen of Ethiopia, had her royal palace in the times of Strabo.

Verse 14

And Pathrusim These are other descendants of Mizraim, the name of whose father very probably was Pathros, from whom the country of Pathros was called, and which is not only spoken of in Scripture along with Egypt, but as a part of it, ( Isaiah 11:11 ) ( Jeremiah 44:1 ) ( Ezekiel 29:14 ) and these Pathrusim were doubtless the inhabitants of it; which, as Bochart has shown, is no other than Thebais, or the upper Egypt. Hillerus takes the word to be compounded of ( tap ) and ( Myowr ), and renders it the corner of the Rosians, and makes it to be the same with the bay of Issus, where was a colony of Egypt, called Cilicians; but the former is more probable. And Casluhim; these also were the posterity of Mizraim, by another son of his, from whence they had their name: according to Hillerus, they are the Solymi, a people near the Lycians and Pisidians, that came out of Egypt, and settled in those parts; but it is much more likely that they were, as Junius observes, the inhabitants of Casiotis, a country mentioned by Ptolemy in lower Egypt, at the entrance of it, where stood Mount Casius: but Bochart is of opinion that they are the Colchi, the inhabitants of the country now called Mingrelia, and which, though at a distance from Egypt, the ancient inhabitants came from thence, as appears from several ancient authors of good credit, as the above learned writer shows. Out of whom came Philistim, or the Philistines, a people often spoken of in Scripture: these sprung from the Casluhim, or were a branch of that people; according to Ben Melech they sprung both from them and from the Pathrusim; for Jarchi says they changed wives with one another, and so the Philistines sprung from them both; or these were a colony that departed from them, and settled elsewhere, as the Philistines did in the land of Canaan, from whence that part of it which they inhabited was called Palestine: and, if the Casluhim dwelt in Casiotis, at the entrance of Egypt, as before observed, they lay near the land of Canaan, and could easily pass into it. Some think this clause refers not to what goes before, but to what follows after, and Caphtorim*, and read the whole verse thus: "and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, and Caphtorim, out of whom came Philistim"; that is, they came out of the Caphtorim. What has led to such a transposition of the words in the text is ( Amos 9:7 ) "and the Philistines from Caphtor": but though they are said to he brought from a place called Caphtor, yet did not spring from the Caphtorim: to me it rather seems, that the two latter were brothers, and both sprung from the Casluhim; since the words may be rendered without a parenthesis: "and Caluhim, out of whom came Philistim and Caphtorim"; though perhaps it may be best of all to consider the two last as the same, and the words may be read, "out of whom came Philistim, even", or that is, "the Caphtorim"; for the Philistines, in the times of Jeremiah, are said to be the remnant of the country of Caphtor, ( Jeremiah 47:4 ) and as in Amos the Philistines are said to come out of Caphtor, in ( Deuteronomy 2:23 ) they are called Caphtorim, that came out of Caphtor, who destroyed the Avim, which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, or Gaza, afterwards a principal city of the Philistines: for then, and not before their settlement in the land of Canaan, were they so called; for the word Philistim signifies strangers, people of another country; and the Septuagint version always so renders the word: their true original name seems to be Caphtorim. Bochart indeed will have the Caphtorim to be the Cappadocians, that dwelt near Colchis, about Trapezunt, where he finds a place called Side, which in Greek signifies a pomegranate, as Caphtor does in Hebrew; and so Hillerus takes it for a name of the Cappadocians, who inhabited ( rwh tpk ) "Cappath Hor", or the side of Mount Hor, or ( rwth Pk ), the side of Mount Taurus; and in this they both follow the Jewish Targumists, who everywhere render Caphtorim by Cappadocians, as the three Targums do here, and Caphtor by Cappadocia, and as Jonathan on ( Deuteronomy 2:23 ) ( Jeremiah 47:4 ) ( Amos 9:7 ) but then thereby they understood a people and place in Egypt, even Damietta, the same they suppose with Pelusium; for other Jewish writers say, Caphutkia, or Cappadocia, is Caphtor, and in the Arabic language Damietta: so Benjamin of Tudela says, in two days I came to Damietta, this is Caphtor; and it seems pretty plain that Caphtor must be some place in Egypt, as Coptus, or some other, and that the Caphtorim, or Philistines, were originally Egyptians, since they descended from Mizraim.

Verse 15

And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn Canaan is the fourth son of Ham; the posterity of Phut, his third son, are omitted: the firstborn of Canaan was Sidon, from whom the city of Sidon had its name, being either built by himself, who called it after his own name, or by some of his posterity, who called it so in memory of their ancestor: it was a very ancient city, more ancient than Tyre, for that was built by the Sidonians; Homer makes mention of it, but not of Tyre: it is now called Said, as it was in the times of Benjamin of Tudela. Justin says it had its name from the plenty of fish on its coasts; but, since Canaan had a son of this name, it was no doubt so called from him. And Heth*; the father of the Hittites, who dwelt about Hebron, on the south of the land of Canaan; for when Sarah died, the sons of Heth were in possession of it, ( Genesis 23:2 Genesis 23:3 ) of this race were the Anakim, or giants, drove out from hence by Caleb, ( Numbers 13:22 ) ( Joshua 15:13 Joshua 15:14 ) and these Hittites became terrible to men in later times, as appears from ( 2 Kings 7:6 ) hence ( htx ) signifies to terrify, affright, and throw into a consternation.

Verse 16

And the Jebusite Who had their name from Jebus, a third son of Canaan, and from whom Jerusalem was called Jebus, ( Judges 19:10 ) and where his posterity continued to dwell when the land of Canaan was possessed by the Israelites; for they were so strong and powerful, that the men of Judah could not drive them out from thence, and here they remained until the times of David, who dispossessed them of it, ( Joshua 15:63 ) ( 2 Samuel 5:6-8 ). There is an island near Spain, formerly called Ebusus, now Ibissa, where was one of the colonies of the Phoenicians, in which, Bochart observes, the name of the Jebusites is thought to remain. And the Emorite; so called from Emor, the fourth son of Canaan, commonly called the Amorite, a people so strong and mighty, that they are compared to cedars for height, and to oaks for strength, ( Amos 2:9 ) they dwelt both on this and the other side Jordan: Sihon, one of their kings, made war on the king of Moab, and took all his country from him unto Arnon, ( Numbers 21:26 ) and in the times of Joshua there were several kings of the Amorites, which dwelt on the side of Jordan westward, ( Joshua 5:1 ) hence it may be Amor, in the Arabic tongue signifying to command, and Emir, a commander. And the Girgasite*; the same with the Gergesene in ( Matthew 8:28 ) who, in the times of Christ, lived about Gerasa, or Gadara: a Jewish writer

Verse 17

And the Hivite These dwelt in Hermon, a part of Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath, ( Joshua 11:3 ) ( Judges 3:3 ) to the east of the land of Canaan; hence they were sometimes called Kadmonites, or Easterlings, ( Genesis 15:19 ) and are thought to have their name from dwelling in holes and caves like serpents; hence Cadmus the Phoenician, and his wife Hermonia, who seem to have their names from hence, are reported to be turned into serpents, they being Hivites, which this word signifies, as Bochart observes. And the Arkite*; the same with the Aruceans, or Arcaeans, Josephus

Verse 18

And the Arvadite The inhabitants of Arvad, or Aradus, an island in the Phoenician sea; it is mentioned with Sidon, ( Ezekiel 27:8 ) so Josephus says, the Arudaeans possessed the island Aradus: it is about a league distant from the shore; Strabo says it is twenty furlongs from land, and about seven in circumference, and is said to be built by the Sidonians; it is now, as Mr. Maundrel says, by the Turks called Ru-ad, or, as Dr. Shaw says, Rou-wadde; (See Gill on Ezekiel 27:8 ). And the Zemarite; who perhaps built and inhabited Simyra, a place mentioned by Pliny, not far from Lebanon, and along with Marathos, and Antarados, which lay on the continent, right against the island Aradus, or Arvad, and near the country of the Aradians. Strabo makes mention of a place called Taxymira, which Casaubon observes should be Ximyra, or Simyra; and Mela speaks of the castle of Simyra as in Phoenicia. There was a city called Zemaraim in the tribe of Benjamin, ( Joshua 18:22 ) which Bishop Patrick suggests, and Ainsworth before him, that Zemarus, the son of Canaan, might be the founder of; and there is also a mountain of the same name in Mount Ephraim, ( 2 Chronicles 13:4 ). And the Hamathite*: who dwelt in Amathine, as Josephus, and was in his time called by the inhabitants Amathe; but the Macedonians called it, from one of their race, Epiphania, which seems to have been the country called Amathite, He removed from Jerusalem, and met them in the land of Amathis: for he gave them no respite to enter his country. (1 Maccabees 12:25) there was another Hamath, called Antiochia, but cannot be meant, since Hamath was the northern border of the land of Israel, then called the entrance of Hamath, which border was pretty near to Epiphania, but not so far as Antioch; this is the Amathus of Syria, twice mentioned by Herodotus, as Hillerus observes: but both Reland and Vitringa

Verse 19

And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon This is to be understood, not of the Canaanites, properly so called, but of them in general; and is a description of the bounds of the land of Canaan, as possessed by the people of Israel: the northern or north west border of it was Sidon, see ( Genesis 10:15 ) and is to be understood of the country which reached from that city towards the east almost as far as Jordan: as thou comest from Gerar unto Gaza; two cities of the Philistines, well known in Scripture, the former for being the place where Abraham and Isaac sometimes sojourned, and the latter for Samson's exploits in it; these were the southern or south west border of the land of Canaan: as thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboim; four cities destroyed by fire from heaven, as is after related in this book; these lay to the south or south east part of the land: even unto Lashah*; which, according to the Targum of Jonathan, is Callirrhoe, a place famous for hot waters, which run into the Dead sea, and who in this is followed by Jerom; but since it was not in the southern part of Judea, as Lashah was, Bochart proposes Lusa, as being more likely to be the place, a city of the Arabs, which Ptolemy

Verse 20

These are the sons of Ham His sons and grandsons, which some reckon to be thirty, others thirty one, if the Philistines are taken in: after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, [and] in their nations: families of the same language joined together and dwelt in the same country, (See Gill on Genesis 10:5 *) all Africa and a considerable part of Asia were possessed by the four sons of Ham and their posterity; Mizraim had Egypt, and Phut all the rest of Africa; and Cush and Canaan had a large portion in Asia.

Verse 21

Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, &c.] And for the sake of those Shem is particularly said to be the father of, is this genealogy given, and indeed the whole book of Genesis wrote: Eber was the great-grandson of Shem, and is here spoken of by anticipation, and Shem is called not the father of either of his immediate sons, but of the posterity of this man; because the Hebrews sprung from him in his line, among whom the church of God and the true religion were preserved, and from whom the Messiah was to come, as he did: the word Eber, Jarchi interprets, "beyond the river, Euphrates" or "Tigris", or both, as describing the seat of the posterity of Shem; but as this too much straitens them, since they inhabited on both sides, Dr. Hyde has shown that the word used may refer to both, to those beyond these rivers, and to those on this side; see ( Numbers 24:24 ) the brother of Japheth the elder; he was the brother of Ham too, but he is not mentioned because of the behaviour towards his father, and because of the curse that was upon him and his; but Shem's relation to Japheth is expressed to show that they were alike in their disposition; and it may be to signify, that in times to come their posterity would unite in spiritual things, which has been fulfilled already in part, and will be more fully by the coalition of the Jews, the posterity of Shem, and of the Gentiles, the posterity of Japheth, in the Christian church state: and from hence we learn that Japheth was the eldest of Noah's sons, though some render the words, "the elder brother of Japheth"; and so make Shem to be the eldest; but as this is contrary to the accents, so to the history: for Noah was five hundred years old when he began to beget sons, ( Genesis 5:32 ) he was six hundred when he went into the ark, ( Genesis 7:11 ) two years after the flood Shem begat Arphaxad, when he was one hundred years old, and Noah six hundred and two, ( Genesis 11:10 ) so that Shem must be born when Noah was five hundred and two years old; and since he begot children, there must be one two years older than Shem, which can be no other than Japheth, since Ham is called his younger son, ( Genesis 9:24 ). even to him were [children] born*, who are reckoned as follow.

Verse 22

The children of Shem Whose names are Elam and Ashur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram*; and who, as Josephus says, inhabited Asia, from Euphrates to the Indian ocean: his first born, Elam, was the father of the Elymaeans, from whom sprung the Persians, as the same writer observes, and his posterity are called Elamites, ( Acts 2:10 ) their country Elam, and is sometimes mentioned with Media, when the Persians and Medes are intended, ( Isaiah 21:2 ) ( Jeremiah 25:25 ) see also ( Isaiah 22:6 ) ( Jeremiah 49:34 ) in Daniel's time, Shushan, in the province of Elam, was the seat of the kings of Persia: the country of Elymais, so called from this man, is said by Pliny to be divided from Susiane by the river Eulaeus, and to join with Persia; and the famous city of Elymais, the metropolis of the country, is placed by Josephus in Persia. Ashur, the second son of Shem, gives name to Assyria, a country frequently mentioned in Scripture; and which, according to Ptolemy, was bounded on the north by part of Armenia the great, and the mountain Niphates, on the west by Mesopotamia and the river Tigris, on the south by Susiane, and on the east by part of Media. Strabo says they call Babylonia, and great part of the country about it, Assyria, in which was Ninus or Nineveh, the chief city of the Assyrian empire; and which was built by Ashur, as Josephus affirms, and says he gave the name of Assyrians to his subjects: Arphaxad, the third son of Shem, from him that part of Assyria, which lay northward next to Armenia, was called Arphaxitis, as it is probable that was its original name, though corruptly called by Ptolemy Arrapachitis: Josephus says, he gave name to the Arphaxadaeans, whom he ruled over, now called Chaldeans; and indeed the name of the Chaldeans may as well be derived from the latter part of Arphaxad's name, ( dvk ), "Chashad", as from Chesed, the son of Nahor, and brother of Abraham, as it more commonly is; since the Chaldeans were called Chasdim before Chesed was born, and were a nation when Abraham came out of Ur, before Chesed could be old or considerable enough to build towns and found a nation; see ( Genesis 11:31 ) ( 15:7 ) ( 22:22 ) though Bochart treats this as a mere dream, yet he is obliged to have recourse to the usual refuge, that Ur was called Ur of the Chaldees, by anticipation. The fourth son of Shem was Lud, from whom sprung the Lydians, a people of Asia minor, and whose country is called Lydia, including Mysia and Caria, which all lay by the river Maeander; and Lud, in the Phoenician language, signifies bending and crooked, as that river was, being full of windings and turnings: some think that the posterity of Lud are carried too far off from those of his brethren, but know not where else to fix them. From Aram, the last son of Shem, sprung the Aramaeans, called by the Greeks Syrians, as Josephus observes; and by Homer and Hesiod ( arimoi ), and so says Strabo; some by the Arimi understand the Syrians, now called Arami; and elsewhere he observes, that they who are by us called Syrians, are by the Syrians themselves called Aramaeans, and this is the name they give to themselves to this day: the country inhabited by them included Mesopotamia and Syria, and particularly all those places that have the name of Aram added to them, as Padan Aram, and Aram Naharaim (which is Mesopotamia), Aram of Damascus, Aram Zobah, Aram Maacha, and Aram Beth Rehob, ( Genesis 28:2 ) ( 24:10 ) ( 2 Samuel 8:6 ) ( 10:6 ) ( 1 Chronicles 19:6 ) and the title of ( Psalms 60:1 ): the Septuagint version here adds, "and Cainan", but without any authority.

Verse 23

And the children of Aram The four following persons are called the sons of Shem, ( 1 Chronicles 1:17 ) being his grandsons, which is not unusual in Scripture, Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash*: the first of these sons of Aram, Uz, is generally thought to be the founder of Damascus; so Josephus says. Usus founded Trachonitis and Damascus, which lies between Palestine and Coelesyria: there was a place called Uz in Idumea, ( Lamentations 4:21 ) and another in Arabia, where Job dwelt, ( Job 1:1 ) but neither of them seems to be the seat of this man and his posterity, who, in all probability, settled in Syria: his second son Hul, whom Josephus calls Ulus, according to him, founded Armenia; which notion may be strengthened by observing that Cholobotene is reckoned a part of Armenia by Stephanus; which is no other than Cholbeth, that is, the house or seat of Chol, the same with Hul; and there are several places in Armenia, as appears from Ptolemy, which begin with Chol or Col, as Cholus, Cholua, Choluata, Cholima, Colsa, Colana, Colchis: but perhaps it may be better to place him in Syria, in the deserts of Palmyrene, as Junius and Grotius; since among the cities of Palmyrene, there is one called Cholle, according to Ptolemy. Gether, the third son, is made by Josephus to be the father of the Bactrians; but these were too far off to come from this man, and were not in the lot of Shem: Bochart finds the river Getri, which the Greeks call Centrites, between Armenia and the Carduchi, whereabout, he conjectures, might be the seat of this man; but perhaps it may be more probable, with Grotius and Junius, to place him in Coelesyria, where are the city Gindarus of Ptolemy, and a people called Gindareni, by Pliny; though Bishop Patrick thinks it probable that Gadara, the chief city of Peraea, placed by Ptolemy in the Decapolis of Coelesyria, had its name from this man: Mr. Broughton derives Atergate and Derceto, names of a Syrian goddess, from him, which was worshipped at Hierapolis in Coelesyria, as Pliny says. The last of the sons of Aram, Mash, is called Meshech, in ( 1 Chronicles 1:17 ) and here the Septuagint version calls him Masoch; his posterity are supposed to settle in Armenia, about the mountain Masius, thought to be the same with Ararat, and which the Armenians call Masis; perhaps the people named Moscheni, mentioned by Pliny, as dwelling near Armenia and Adiabene, might spring from this man.

Verse 24

And Arphaxad begat Salah Or Shelach which signifies "a sending forth"; that is, of waters: it is part of the name of Methuselah, given him by his father, as prophetic of the flood, see ( Genesis 5:21 ) and Arphaxad, who was born two years after the flood, gives this name to his first born, as commemorative of it: according to some, from him are the Susians; and in Susiana is found a city called Sele, by Ptolemy; but this seems not to be a sufficient proof: and Salah begat Eber*; from whom, Josephus says, the Jews were called Hebrews from the beginning; and which, perhaps, is as good a derivation of their name as can be given, and seems to be confirmed by ( Numbers 24:24 ) though some derive it from Abraham's passing over the rivers in his way from Chaldea into Syria; but be it so, why might not this name be given to Eber, as prophetic of that passage, or of the passage of his posterity over the Euphrates into Canaan, as well as Eber gave to his son Peleg his name, as a prediction of the division of the earth in his time? the Septuagint version of this text inserts a Cainan between Arphaxad and Salah, but is not to be found in any Hebrew copy, nor in the Samaritan, Syriac, and Arabic versions, nor in Josephus, see ( Luke 3:36 ).

Verse 25

And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg Bochart thinks, that either Peleg, or one of his posterity, in memory of him, gave the name of Phalga to a town situated on the Euphrates; though the reason of the name, as given by Arrianus, as he himself observes, was because it divided between the two Seleucias, as the reason of Peleg's name was; for in his days was the earth divided; among the three sons of Noah, and their respective posterities; their language was divided, and that obliged them to divide and separate in bodies which understood one another; hence that age, in which was this event, was usually called by the Jews the age of division; whether this was done about the time of his birth, and so this name was given him to perpetuate the memory of it, or in some after part of his life, and so was given by a spirit of prophecy, is a question: Josephus, Jarchi, and the Jewish writers, generally go the latter way; if it was at the time of his birth, which is the sense of many, then this affair happened in the one hundred and first year after the flood, for in that year Peleg was born, as appears from ( Genesis 11:11-16 ) and his brother's name was Joktan*, whom the Arabs call Cahtan, and claim him as their parent, at least, of their principal tribes; and say he was the first that reigned in Yaman, and put a diadem on his head; and there is a city in the territory of Mecca, about seven furlongs or a mile to the south of it, and one station from the Red sea, called Baisath Jektan, the seat of Jektan, which manifestly retains his name; and there are a people called Catanitae, placed by Ptolemy in Arabia Felix.

Verse 26

And Joktan begat Almodad And twelve more mentioned later: the Arabic writers say be had thirty one sons by one woman, but all, excepting two, left Arabia, and settled in India; the Targum of Jonathan adds, [and] Sheleph and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah*: to the first of these, Sheleph, the Targum of Jonathan adds,

Verse 27

And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah*. ] The posterity of Hadoram, from the likeness of the name and sound, might seem to be the Adramitae of Ptolemy, but Bochart thinks they are the Drimati of Pliny, who dwelt in the extreme corner of Arabia, to the east, near the Macae, who were at the straits of the Persian Gulf; and he observes, that the extreme promontory of that country was called Corodamum, by transposition of the letters "D" and "R": Uzal gave name to a city which is still so called; for R. Zacuth says, the Jews which dwelt in Yaman, the kingdom of Sheba, call Samea, which is the capital of the kingdom of Yaman, Uzal; and who also relates, that there is a place called Hazarmaveth unto this day, of which see ( Genesis 10:26 ) the kingdom in which Uzal is said by him to be was the south part of Arabia Felix, as Yaman signifies, from whence came the queen of the south, ( Matthew 12:42 ) and Uzal or Auzal, as the Arabs pronounce it, is the same the Greeks call Ausar, changing "L" into "R"; hence mention is made by Pliny of myrrh of Ausar, in the kingdom of the Gebanites, a people of the Arabs, where was a port by him called Ocila, by Ptolemy, Ocelis, and by Artemidorus in Strabo, Acila, and perhaps was the port of the city Uzal, to the name of which it bears some resemblance: Diklah signifies a palm tree, in the Chaldee or Syriac language, with which kind of trees Arabia abounded, especially the country of the Minaei, as Pliny relates; wherefore Bochart thinks the posterity of Diklah had their seat among them, rather than at Phaenicon or Diklah, so called from the abundance of palm trees that grew there, which was at the entrance into Arabia Felix at the Red sea, of which Diodorus Siculus makes mention; and so Artemidorus in Strabo speaks of a place called Posidium, opposite to the Troglodytes, and where the Arabian Gulf ends, where palm trees grew in a wonderful manner, on the fruit of which people lived, where was a Phaenicon, or continued grove of palm trees; and here is placed by Ptolemy a village called Phaenicon, the same with Diklah.

Verse 28

And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba*. ] The first of these, Obal, or Aubal, as the Arabs pronounce, Bochart is obliged to make his posterity pass over the straits of the Arabian Gulf out of Arabia Felix into Arabia Troglodytice; where he finds a bay, called by Pliny the Abalite bay, which carries in it some trace of this man's name, and by Ptolemy the Avalite bay; and where was not only an emporium of this name, but a people called Avalites and also Adulites, which Bishop Patrick believes should be read "Abulites", more agreeably to the name of this man, but Pliny speaks of a town of the Adulites also: Abimael is supposed by Bochart to be the father of Mali, or the Malitae, as his name may be thought to signify, Theophrastus making mention of a place called Mali along with Saba, Adramyta, and Citibaena, in spicy Arabia, which is the only foundation there is for this conjecture: Sheba gave name to the Sabaeans, a numerous people in Arabia; their country was famous for frankincense; the nations of them, according to Pliny, reached both seas, that is, extended from the Arabian to the Persian Gulf; one part of them, as he says, was called Atramitae, and the capital of their kingdom Sabota, on a high mountain, eight mansions from which was their frankincense country, called Saba; elsewhere he says, their capital was called Sobotale, including sixty temples within its walls; but the royal seat was Mariabe; and so Eratosthenes in Strabo says, the metropolis of the Sabaeans was Mariaba, or, as others call it, Merab, and which, it seems, is the same with Saba; for Diodorus Siculus and Philostorgius say, the metropolis of the Sabaeans is Saba; and which the former represents as built on a mountain, as the Sabota of Pliny is said to be,

Verse 29

And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab If several of the sons of Joktan went into India, as the Arabs say, one would be tempted to think that Ophir in India, whither Solomon sent his ships once in three years, had its name from the first of these; (See Gill on Genesis 10:26 ) but as this would be carrying him too far from the rest of his brethren, who appear to have settled in Arabia, some place must be found for him there; and yet there is none in which there is any likeness of the name, unless Coper can be thought to be, a village in the country of the Cinaedocolpites, on the Arabian Gulf, as in Ptolemy, or Ogyris, an island in the same sea, Pliny makes mention of the same with the Organa of Ptolemy, placed by him on the Sachalite bay; wherefore Bochart looks out elsewhere for a seat for this Ophir, or "Oupheir", as in the Septuagint version, and finding in a fragment of Eupolemus, preserved by Eusebius, mention made of the island of Ourphe, which he thinks should be Ouphre, or Uphre, situated in the Red sea, seems willing to have it to be the seat of this man and his posterity, and that it had its name from him; or that their seat was among the Cassanites or Gassandae, the same perhaps with the tribe of Ghassan, Aupher and Chasan signifying much the same, even great abundance and treasure: Havilah, next mentioned, is different from Havilah, the son of Cush, ( Genesis 10:7 ) and so his country; but it is difficult where to fix him; one would rather think that the Avalite bay, emporium, and people, should take their name from him than from Obal, ( Genesis 10:28 ) but Bochart chooses to place him and his posterity in Chaulan, a country in Arabia Felix, in the extreme part of Cassanitis, near the Sabaeans: and Jobab, the last of Joktan's sons, was the father of the Jobabites, called by Ptolemy Jobarites, corruptly for Jobabites, as Salmasius and Bochart think; and who are placed by the above geographer near the Sachalites in Arabia Felix, whose country was full of deserts, as Jobab in Arabic signifies, so Bochart observes, as the countries above the Sachalite bay were, by which these Jobabites are placed: all these were the sons of Joktan*; the thirteen before mentioned, all which had their dwelling in Arabia or near it, and which is further described in the following verse.

Verse 30

And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Zephar, a mount of the east*. ] Mesha, which is thought to be the Muza of Ptolemy and Pliny, was a famous port in the Red sea, frequented by the merchants of Egypt and Ethiopia, from which the Sappharites lay directly eastward; to whose country they used to go for myrrh and frankincense, and the like, of which Saphar was the metropolis, and which was at the foot of Climax, a range of mountains, which perhaps might be formerly called Saphar, from the city at the bottom of it, the same with Zephar here: by inspecting Ptolemy's tables, the way from one to the other is easily discerned, where you first meet with Muza, a port in the Red sea, then Ocelis, then the mart Arabia, then Cane, and so on to Sapphar or Sapphara; and so Pliny says, there is a third port which is called Muza, which the navigation to India does not put into, only the merchants of frankincense and Arabian odours: the towns in the inland are the royal seat Saphar; and another called Sabe; now the sons of Joktan had their habitations all from this part in the west unto Zephar or Saphar eastward, and those were reckoned the genuine Arabs: Hillerus gives a different account of the situation of the children of Joktan, as he thinks, agreeably to these words of Moses; understanding by Kedem, rendered the east, the mountains of Kedem, or the Kedemites, which sprung from Kedem or Kedomah, the youngest son of Ishmael, ( Genesis 25:15 ) and Zephar, the seat of the Sepharites, as between Mesha and Kedem; for, says he, Mesha is not Muza, a mart of the Red sea, but Moscha, a famous port of the Indian sea, of which Arrian and Ptolemy make mention; and from hence the dwelling of the Joktanites was extended, in the way you go through the Sepharites to the mountainous places of Kedem or Cadmus: perhaps nearer the truth may be the Arabic paraphrase of Saadiah, which is

Verse 31

These are the sons of Shem His sons, and grandsons, and great grandsons, in all twenty six, no doubt but there were many more, but these are only mentioned; for none of the sons of Elam, Ashur, and Lud, are named, and but one of Arphaxad's, and one of Salah's, and two of Eber's, and none of Peleg's; when it is not to be questioned but they had many, as is certain of Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, and Peleg, ( Genesis 11:13-15 Genesis 11:17 Genesis 11:19 ) after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations*: from hence sprung various families at first, and these of different languages upon the confusion of Babel, which thenceforward formed different nations, dwelt in different lands; which have been pointed at as near as we can at this distance, and with the little helps and advantages we have: it seems from hence that Shem's posterity were of different languages as well as those of Ham and Japheth.

Verse 32

These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations This is the account of their families, from whom the several nations of the earth sprung: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood*; not immediately, not till they were so increased as to form distinct nations; not till Peleg's time, when the division was made; not until the building of the city and tower of Babel, for unto that time these families were together, and then and not before were they dispersed abroad upon the face of the earth; and by degrees peopled all the known parts of the world, Asia, Africa, and Europe, and no doubt America, though the way of their passage thither is unknown to us; and to this partition of the earth by the three sons of Noah, Pindar seems to have respect, when he says,