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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
10:1-11:9 The Descendants of Noah's Sons. The next main section of Genesis outlines developments after the flood, focusing on how humanity becomes divided into different nations.
10:1-32 The Clans, Languages, Lands, and Nations. This entire passage sets out, largely in the form of lists, how the descendants of Noah's three sons populate different regions of the earth. Additional details of special interest are occasionally added. This genealogical-geographical passage is describing a process that covered a long time, as family clans migrated to particular regions (see map). The ancestor after whom the clan or tribe is named may not have lived in the region that later bears his name. Each of the three main parts of this section concludes with a reference to clans, languages, and nations (vv. 5, 20, 31).
10:1 These are the generations of. This distinctive formula marks the start of a new section in Genesis (see note on 2:4).
10:2-5 Japheth's descendants are listed first. From these the coastland peoples spread (v. 5). This is the only additional remark that is made concerning them; it associates Japheth's descendants with the coastal regions and islands of the Mediterranean Sea.
10:6-20 Ham's descendants receive considerably more attention than those of Japheth and Shem. Among them figure many of Israel's enemies, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, Philistines, and various Canaanite groups. Ham's immediate sons are Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan (v. 6). Cush and Put are the regions to the south and west of Egypt, respectively. Cush fathered Nimrod (v. 8). This association may seem unusual given that Cush is linked geographically with Africa, and Nimrod with Mesopotamia. Nimrod is of particular interest for several reasons. He is linked to the great cities of Babel (i.e., Babylon; see note on 11:9) and Nineveh in Assyria, whose inhabitants at a later stage would descend in destructive power on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The military might of the Assyrians and Babylonians may account for the related observations that Nimrod was a mighty man (i.e., warrior) and a mighty hunter (10:8, 9). These descriptions, one of which is linked with irony to the expression before the Lord (10:9), are probably to be viewed negatively. Nimrod's aggression as a person runs totally counter to what God had intended when at creation he commissioned humanity to be his vice-regents or representatives. Babel . . . in the land of Shinar (v. 10). These details link Nimrod with the Tower of Babel episode (see 11:2, 9). Nimrod's kingdom is the antithesis of what God desired. the great city (10:12). This probably denotes a region that included both Nineveh and Calah (see Jonah 3:3). The detailed list of Canaan's descendants includes cities that play a significant role in later episodes in Genesis. The specific mention of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 10:19) provides a possible link between the actions of Ham in 9:22 and of the men of Sodom in 19:4-8. The designation "Canaanite" is sometimes used to cover all the different groups mentioned in 10:15-19 (e.g., 28:1).
10:21-32 These verses list the descendants of Shem. These are the people with whom Israelites felt the most affinity, for Abraham was descended from Shem. Insofar as they can be identified, many of these are Arabian tribes or kingdoms. From the outset, Shem's great-grandson Eber is selected for special attention (v. 21), being mentioned even before Shem's own sons are named (v. 22). The designation "Hebrew" (Hb. ‘ibri; see 14:13) is derived from "Eber" (Hb. ‘eber). By way of underlining his importance, readers are informed that he called one of his sons Peleg (which may be taken to mean "division"), for in his days the earth was divided (10:25). This is probably an allusion to the Tower of Babel incident (11:1-9). The line of Shem's descendants from Arpachshad to Peleg is repeated with additional information in 11:11-19.
11:1-9 The Tower of Babel. This episode is significantly more important than its length suggests. It presents a unified humanity using all its resources to establish a city that is the antithesis of what God intended when he created the world. The tower is a symbol of human autonomy, and the city builders see themselves as determining and establishing their own destiny without any reference to the Lord. (The tower story may also be a polemic against Mesopotamian mythology. Eridu Genesis, a fragmentary text found at Ur, Nippur, and Nineveh, describes the goddess Nintur's calling for humanity to build cities and to congregate in one place. Her desire, according to this text, is that humans be sedentary and not nomadic. Yahweh demands just the opposite, so that the earth would become populated.)
11:1 The opening description of the whole earth having one language indicates that the present episode is not placed chronologically after the events narrated in ch. 10, which specifically mention nations and languages. This incident, however, may have occurred during the broad period covered in ch. 10, especially if it is linked to the naming of Peleg in 10:25 (see note on 10:21-32).
11:2-4 Come, let us build ourselves a city . . . and let us make a name for ourselves. The Babel enterprise is all about human independence and self-sufficiency apart from God. The builders believe that they have no need of God. Their technology and social unity give them confidence in their own ability, and they have high aspirations, constructing a tower with its top in the heavens (11:4). Contrary to God's plan that people should fill the earth (e.g., 1:22, 28; 9:1, 7), the city-building project is designed to prevent the population from being dispersed over the face of the whole earth (11:4). By showing God's continued interest in his creatures, this episode provides the setting for the call of Abram out of this very region, to be the vehicle of blessing to the whole world.
11:5-8 With irony, the narrator points out that it was necessary for the Lord to come down in order to see the city and the tower (v. 5). Acknowledging the potential danger of a unified, self-confident humanity (v. 6), God intervenes by confusing their language so that they cannot understand one another. This has the desired effect of dispersing the people throughout the world (vv. 8-9).
11:9 This verse links the name of the city, Babel (Hb. babel), with the verb balal, which means "to confuse, to mix, to mingle." But babel is also the name used in the OT for the city of Babylon. As a city, Babylon symbolizes humanity's ambition to dethrone God and make the earth its own (see Revelation 17-18).
