Genesis 10 · The Lantern

And these are births of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and born to them are sons after the deluge.

`Sons of Japheth are Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

And sons of Gomer are Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

And sons of Javan are Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

By these have the isles of the nations been parted in their lands, each by his tongue, by their families, in their nations.

And sons of Ham are Cush, and Mitzraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

(Verse 6) The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. Cush, even to this day, is called Ethiopia by the Hebrews; Egypt is called Mizraim, and Put is called Libya. From Put, the river of Mauritania is called as such, and the entire region surrounding it is known as the Putian region. Many Greek and Latin writers attest to this.

The river Phison separates all the countries of India [lying along its course] from the country of the Huns. In scripture the Indian region is called Euilat (Havilah). For it is thus written in Genesis: Now the river goeth out from Eden to water Paradise. And from there it was parted and became four heads.

The sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut and Canaan. Cush is today called Ethiopia by the Hebrews, Mizraim is Egypt, Phut is Libya, from whom even to this day a river in Mauretania is called Phut, and the whole region around it is called Phutensis. Moreover, Canaan possessed the land which the Jews subsequently took over by expelling the Canaanites.

And sons of Cush are Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah; and sons of Raamah are Sheba and Dedan.

And Cush hath begotten Nimrod;

(82) Why was Chus the father of Nimrod, who began to be a giant and a hunter before the Lord: on which account they said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord?" (#Ge 10:8).

A Nimrod, who goes round the world, made rough With deep ravines and wooden crags, and strives To waylay some by fraud and secret wiles, To vanquish others by his giant arms And spread his deadly triumphs far and wide.

Moreover, Cush begat Nimrod. He began to be mighty on the earth, and he was a mighty hunter before the Lord. While the progeny of Shem and Japheth remained in the innocence of a simple life, a cursed offspring was born of the lineage of Ham, who would pervert the state of human interaction with a new way of living, being lifted up with unique power, living first by hunting; the…

he hath begun to be a hero in the land; he hath been a hero in hunting before Jehovah; therefore it is said, `As Nimrod the hero in hunting before Jehovah.'

And the first part of his kingdom is Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar;

Nimrod too, however, in his turn in imitation of his forebear did not take due advantage of his natural preeminence but hit upon another form of servitude in endeavoring to become ruler and king. You see, there would not ever be a king unless there were people being ruled.

(Verse 10.) And it was, he said, the head of his kingdom, Babel and Arach, and Achad, and Chalanne in the land of Sennaar. Nimrod, the son of Chus, first seized an unprecedented tyranny among the people, and he reigned in Babylon, which was named after him because the tower of the builders' confusion occurred there. For Babel means confusion.

Now the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. In the following passages, it is more fully explained how Babylon was made; but here it is first stated that it is left unmentioned that Nimrod was the builder of that city and its most proud tower.

from that land he hath gone out to Asshur, and buildeth Nineveh, even the broad places of the city, and Calah,

and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah; it is the great city.

And Mitzraim hath begotten the Ludim, and the Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the Naphtuhim,

and the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim, (whence have come out Philistim,) and the Caphtorim.

And Canaan hath begotten Sidon his first-born, and Heth,

and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,

and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterwards have the families of the Canaanite been scattered.

And the border of the Canaanite is from Sidon, in thy coming towards Gerar, unto Gaza; in thy coming towards Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, unto Lasha.

These are sons of Ham, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.

As to Shem, father of all sons of Eber, brother of Japheth the elder, he hath also begotten:

Sons of Shem are Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

And sons of Aram are Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

And Arphaxad hath begotten Salah, and Salah hath begotten Eber.

And to Eber have two sons been born; the name of the one is Peleg (for in his days hath the earth been divided,) and his brother's name is Joktan.

And Joktan hath begotten Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab; all these are sons of Joktan;

and their dwelling is from Mesha, in thy coming towards Sephar, a mount of the east.

These are sons of Shem, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, by their nations.

These are families of the sons of Noah, by their births, in their nations, and by these have the nations been parted in the earth after the deluge.

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