28 | Genesis 10:22
22
The sons of Shem : Elam , Ash ur , Ar phax ad , Lud and Aram .
23
The sons of Aram : Uz , Hul , Ge ther and Me shek . a
24
Ar phax ad was the fa ther of b She lah , and She lah the fa ther of Eber .
25
Two sons were born to Eber : One was named Pe leg , c be cause in his time the earth was di vid ed ; his broth er was named Jok tan .
26
Jok tan was the fa ther of Al mo dad , She leph , Ha zar ma veth , Je rah ,
27
Ha do ram , Uzal , Dik lah , 28 Obal , Abim a el , She ba , 29 Ophir , Hav i lah and Jo bab . All these were sons of Jok tan .
30
The re gion where they lived stretched from Me sha to ward Se phar , in the east ern hill coun try .
31
These are the sons of Shem by their clans and lan guag es , in their ter ri to ries and na tions .
32
These are the clans of No ah ’ s sons , ac cord ing to their lines of de scent , with in their na tions . From these the na tions spread out over the earth af ter the flood .
The Tower of Babel
Now the whole world had one lan guage
11 and a com mon speech . 2 As peo ple moved east ward , d they found a plain in Shi nar e and settled there .
3
They said to each oth er , “ Come , let ’ s make bricks and bake them thor ough ly .” They used brick in stead of stone , and tar for mor tar . 4 Then they said , “ Come , let us build our selves a city , with a tow er that reach es to the heav ens , so that we may make a name for our selves ; other wise
a
23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron . 1:17 ; Hebrew Mash . b
24 Hebrew ; Septuagint father of Cainan , and Cainan was the father of c
25 Peleg means division . d
2 Or from the east ; or in the east e
2 That is , Babylonia
Shem emphasizes the line of Eber , the eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews ( the one whom they are named after ). 10:22 Elam Elam was the ancient name for modern Khuzestan ( southwestern Iran ), located east of Babylon . Its capital was Susa ( Est 1:2 – 5 ). It is also the most securely identified easternmost country in the Table of Nations ( Ge 10 ). Ashur This term refers to Assyria and thus is associated with Mesopotamia . Arphaxad The ancestor of the Hebrew people , since he is the grandfather of Eber ( v . 24 ). Lud This term most likely refers to the location of Ludbu of the Assyrians , situated on the Tigris River . Aram This term refers to a tribal name for the Arameans who came from the steppes of Mesopotamia . 10:23 Uz , Hul , Gether and Meshek None of these
locations or tribes can be identified with any certainty . 10:24 Eber The Hebrew used here is ever . It seems to be related to the Hebrew word for the Hebrew people ( ivrim ). Compare note on 10:25 .
10:25 Peleg This name can mean “ water channel .” Peleg may have come from a region that used irrigation canals . In addition , a place named Palag is known from a text from Ebla dating to 2500 BC . He is the ancestor of Abram ( Abraham ; Ge 11:18 – 26 ; Lk 3:34 – 35 ), the forefather of the Israelites , the Hebrew people . divided The Hebrew word used here , palag , is a wordplay on the name Peleg . This wordplay could refer to the division and dispersion of languages at Babel ( Ge 11 ). Joktan The listing of Joktan as the son of Eber indicates that the descendants of Joktan share ancestry with the Israelites .
10:26 – 29 The identifiable place names listed as descendants of Joktan are located in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula .
10:26 Hazarmaveth This term can be identified with modern Hadramaut in Yemen . 10:29 Ophir This term appears throughout the OT as the name of a place known for its gold ( e . g ., 1Ki 9:28 ; Job 22:24 ; Ps 45:9 ).
11:1 – 9 Although the Table of Nations in Ge 10 describes the descendants of Noah spread out across the world , the story of the tower of Babel returns the narrative to a time before the scattering of people .
11:1 whole world This refers to the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world . Since Ge 11 and its dispersion of the nations is linked to the Table of Nations of ch . 10 , which is specific to people groups of the ancient Near East , this phrase should not be understood to refer to entire world ( see note on 10:1 – 32 ). See the infographic “ The Tower of Babel ” on p . 29 . 11:2 eastward The Hebrew text here can be rendered either “ from the east ” or “ eastward .” A migration to the east makes sense : from the Ararat ( Urartu ) region ( see 8:4 and note ) to Babylon ( Shinar ) — the setting of the tower story . Shinar This refers to the land of Babylonia , which encompasses the city states of Sumer and Akkad and extends northward to Assyria . This name does not occur in Mesopotamian material but appears many times in Egyptian and Hittite records , as well as the Amarna Letters . See the infographic “ The Amarna Letters ” on p . 337 . 11:4 let us build ourselves a city , with a tower The tower was not the only thing that would enable the people to remain together rather than spread over the earth — the city was also essential . The tower spoken of here was a ziggurat temple , a massive brick , stepped tower that dominated the landscape . Ziggurats symbolized mountains . Both ziggurats and natural mountains were considered in the ancient Near East to be dwelling places of the gods . They were believed to be the place where heaven met earth and where the gods met humanity . As such , it was thought that the high places were sites where the gods made their will known to mortals . In this sense , the ziggurat was viewed as the center of the cosmos . Biblical temple imagery draws upon these themes . Jerusalem ( Mount Zion ) and its temple was called the center ( tabbur , in Hebrew ) of the earth ( Eze 38:12 ; compare Eze 5:5 ); this is because it was the place where Yahweh met humanity . See the infographic “ The Tower of Babel ” on p . 29 . name The Hebrew word used here , shem — which is primarily used as a designation of identity — is also used in the OT and Mesopotamian literature to refer to something gaining renown or reputation . See Pr 22:1 ; Ecc 7:1 ; Ne 6:13 ; Ru 4:11 ; Jer 32:20 ; 2Sa 7:9 . scattered over the face of the whole earth Towers ( or ziggurat temples ) and their associated cities were the heart of economic distribution systems in ancient Mesopotamia . The goals of building both — which this passage clearly presents — amounted to the rejection of God ’ s command and blessing in Ge 9:7 .