GENESIS LESSON 18


     Genesis 10:1 "Now these [are] the generations of the sons of
Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the
flood."

     This Scripture, above, was telling us about the descendents of Noah
and his sons, who were born after the flood. There is no record of a
birth while they were on the ark.

     Genesis 10:2 "The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai,
and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras."

     The word "Japheth" means expansion, that is a very good example of
just what happened. These sons, like Gomer, became the name of a tribe
of people. Each son started a tribe with the family name as the name
of the tribe. Magog is a name we see throughout the Bible as a tribe
of people. Some believe this to be Lybia, others believe that Gog in
the land of Magog is referring to Russia. Besides this reference in
Genesis, Magog was mentioned strongly in Ezekiel as an enemy of Israel
(Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:6).

     The Medes sprang from Madai, the third son of Japheth. 
These sons spread and populated different countries, as God had 
instructed them to do.

     Javan, many believe, was the descendent of Greeks. In Isaiah
66:19 where this name was mentioned, it is associated with Tarshish,
Pul. And Lud, and "the isles afar off", probably, the Gentiles of many
nations.

     For our study here, I believe all of these sons populated a
different area and started tribes of people by that name. Tubal, many
believe, founded Tibernia near the Black Sea. Meshech was often
mentioned together with Tubal, and probably, populated the area of
Northern Assyria. They were slave traders. I could not find any
additional information on Tiras.

     Genesis 10:3 "And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and
Togarmah."

     Ashkenaz, probably, was Assyrian. They were, also, known as the
Scythians. The name was associated with barbarians. Riphath was an
obscure tribe  that seemed to not be mentioned again. The descendents
of Togarmah were mentioned in 1Chronicles 1:6. They are mentioned as 
being traders who trafficked with Tyre in horses, horsemen, and mules
in Ezekiel 27:14. In Ezekiel 38, they were named along with Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libyia as followers of Gog.

     Genesis 10:4 "And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish,
Kittim, and Dodanim."

     The Bible leaves no questions about these sons of Javan, because
V-5 told us exactly what happened to them.

     Genesis 10:5 "By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in
their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in
their nations."

     We know very little about Elishah, except that his descendents
were island people who sold purple and scarlet fabric to Tyre. Many
people believe these were Cyprus, or Kittim. The Agean Coast was rich
in purple shells. Whether this has a connection, I can not say.

     "Tarshish" is a Phoenician word meaning smelting plant, or refinery.
Nearly every time the word Tarshish was mentioned in the Old Testament,
it was associated with ships, merchants, and trade. Whatever the area,
we do get an indication, here, that these people shipped metals to
various places. Kittim had no certain area that can be proved by the
Bible. It could have been used loosely for the islands of the coast,
maybe Cyprus. Dodanim, the Bible does not explain. Some scholars
believe this was Troy. Really, unless the Bible carries the name
through the Scriptures, it probably means it is irrelevant to the
spiritual teachings.

     In V-5 I do want us to take note that the descendents of Japheth
did as God instructed, and scattered, and populated the area God has
given them. Take note, also, that these people spoke different
languages. This will be very important to remember as we go on. We,
also, need to take note, at this point, that all of these people that
we have studied in the first part of this lesson today were
descendents of Noah through his son Japheth, probably Caucasions.

     In V-6 there was a break from the first five verses. We will now
take up the descendents of Noah through Ham.

     Genesis 10:6  "And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut,
and Canaan."

     We learned in a previous lesson that the name "Ham" means hot.
Most people believe that Ham was the father of he Negroid nations. It
is impossible to prove this either way, except to note that some of
Ham's descendents settled Africa, and Ethiopia, and other black
nations.

     Cush, probably, settled Ethiopia, too, (this is commonly accepted).
MIzraim was commonly accepted as Egypt. "Mizraim" was translated Egypt
eighty-seven times in the Bible. Phut was an African country or
peoples, probably joining Egypt. Canaan was, probably, ancient evil
Palestine before Joshua, through the help of God, overthrew  them and
took the land for the children of Israel. We will see in V-15 of this
chapter, that many races of people were started from Canaan. Jebusite,
Amorite, Girgasite, Hivite, Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite, and
the Hamathite. Ham's descendents worshipped false Gods.

     Genesis 10:7 "And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and
Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and
Dedan."

     Seba, probably, means the Sabeans. Seba was mentioned in Isaiah and
Psalms, as well as in Genesis. (The Sabeans, South west Arabia,and Yemen).

     The Queen of Sheba was, probably, from this area. Seba, Saba, and
Sheba probably are the same word. Havilah became the Ishmaelites,
located somewhere in Arabia. These people were nomads (travelling
people). Their name meant sand. They, probably, roamed the desert,
Sabtah has no other mention that I can find. Raamah's descendents were
traders and lived in South West Arabia, probably. Sabtechah seems to
disappear with this son. Sheba (this particular Sheba) seems to have
settled the shores of the Persian Gulf. Dedan seems to be just
mentioned once more in Chronicles, and I could not trace him.

     Genesis 10:8 "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one
in the earth." Genesis 10:9 "He was a mighty hunter before the LORD:
wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the
LORD."

     "Nimrod" means rebel. Nimrod was a powerful worldly man. If you
will notice, it was of the earth, not heaven. Hitler was a powerful
earthly man, as well. You can easily see that having power on the
earth is not necessarily good. He was a direct contrast to Jesus
(Shepherd). A hunter is trying to satisfy his own flesh, and a
shepherd is concerned about saving others. At any rate, we will see
that Nimrod was of a very earthly nature, not a spiritual nature. There
is no doubt about where he settled. V-10 tells us that.

     Genesis 10:10 "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and
Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."

     Nimrod had a rebellious spirit. He did not want to heed God's
instruction to scatter and populate the earth. He thought, that by his
own power and might, that he would be able to make his own entrance to
heaven without the help of God. He and his ancestors rebelled against
God. Even now, we associate the name Babel with evil or evil city.
Babylon the great in Revelation was a very good example of this. Nimrod
would take his glory right here  on the earth; he would not have any
glory in heaven. Erech was near the Euphrates River in southern
Babylonia. Accad was thought to be he same area as modern Baghdad.
There was very little known of Calneh, except the evil influence of
Nimrod. Shinar was, probably, southern Babylonia; Assyria as we know it
today. In Isaiah 1:11, we saw Shinar mentioned as one of the places
the Jews will be gathered from and brought to the Holy Land in the end
days. In Zechariah 5:11, the land Shinar was mentioned as a land of
godless commercialism. Nebuchadnezzar carried away temple treasures
from Jerusalem to Shinar in Daniel 1:2.

     Genesis 10:11 "Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded
Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah," Genesis 10:12 "And Resen
between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great city."

     This above Scripture was speaking of Assyria. Nineveh was a wicked
city, even down to the time of Jonah. this was the city that Jonah
thought was too evil for God to save. Jonah went the other way when
God told him to warn Nineveh. Nineveh repented in sackcloth,and ashes,
and called a fast. God let them live, but you can see that Nineveh was
truly an evil city. Rehoboth was, probably, a suburb of Nineveh to
Calah, including Resen, all made up Nineveh proper. As we can easily
see, all the cities and areas that Ham's descendents inhabited were
rebellious toward God. They worshipped the god of fertility, and
worshipped in high places, which, as we will come to find, is an
abomination of God.

     In the next lesson, we will continue with Ham's descendents, and
read about Shem's descendents.

                                 Notes






































                             Questions 18

1.  Did Shem, Ham, and Japheth have sons on the ark?
2.  What does "Japheth" mean?
3.  What two opinions are presently expressed about Magog?
4.  Who did the Medes spring from?
5.  Many believe Javan was the father of what country?
6.  Why did God want them to scatter?
7.  These various grandsons became leaders of what?
8.  Why did God want them to scatter?
9.  Name seven sons of Japheth.
10. The man often mentioned with Tubal was whom?
11. Togomarah trafficked with Tyre in what?
12. In Ezekiel 38, they were mentioned with what three countries
    following Gog?
13. Where did the sons of Javan populate?
14. What does "Tarshish" mean?
15. What area do scholars believe was Troy?
16. What did I ask that we take note of about Japheth and his
    descendents?
17. Were Japheth's descendents Caucasions, Negroids, or Orientals?
18. List four sons of Ham.
19. What does "Ham" mean?
20. Most people believe Ham was which of he three types of people?
21. Cush settled where?
22. Mizraim was, probably, where?
23. Phut was where?
24. Canaan was where?
25. Name nine races of people started through Canaan.
26. Seba was, probably, whom?
27. Where was it located?
28. Havilah became whom?
29. What was another word for travelling people?
30. What did the word mean?
31. Where can we assume they wandered?
32. Who was the father of Nimrod?
33. What was Nimrod before the Lord?
34. How did this differ from Jesus?
35. Nimrod had what kind of nature?
36. Where was the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom?
37. What did Babel and Erech have in common?
38. What kind of spirit did Nimrod have?
39. Nimrod and his ancestors did what to God?
40. What is the modern city that Accad was thought to be?
41. In Isaiah 11:11 what was one place the Jews will be gathered from?
42. Nebuchadnezzar carried temple treasures where?
43. Who built Nineveh?
44. What did Nineveh, Rehoboth, and Calah have in common?
45. What three things did the people of Nineveh do to keep God from
    destroying them?
46. What two things did Ham's descendents do that displeased God?
47. What two men's ancestors are in the next lesson?