Verses 1-5: The Spread of Japheth’s Families

¹ Now this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. ² The sons of Japheth were: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ³ The sons of Gomer were: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁴ The sons of Javan were: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. ⁵ Of these were the islands of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.

• Human history after judgment is still marked by God’s preservation and fruitfulness:

  The chapter begins after the flood with sons being born and lines continuing, showing that even after a severe act of judgment, God sustains humanity and allows life to multiply. This frames history not as random survival but as providential continuation of human life and community.

• God’s providence works through ordinary family lines and real peoples:

  The listing of names emphasizes that Scripture’s theology is rooted in concrete history—actual families, actual descendants, actual places. God’s overarching purposes unfold through generations, affirming that the “ordinary” structures of family and lineage matter in God’s plan.

• Diversity of languages and nations is part of the biblical account of humanity’s development:

  The nations are described as divided “everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations,” teaching that distinct cultural-linguistic identities are not accidents but a real feature of human life in the biblical storyline. This diversity is not presented as inherently sinful; it is simply the historical reality of humanity spreading into lands.

Verses 6-20: Ham’s Line and the Rise of Nimrod’s Kingdom

⁶ The sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. ⁷ The sons of Cush were: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were: Sheba and Dedan. ⁸ Cush became the father of Nimrod. He began to be a mighty one in the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. Therefore it is said, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh”. ¹⁰ The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ¹¹ Out of that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, ¹² and Resen between Nineveh and the great city Calah. ¹³ Mizraim became the father of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹⁴ Pathrusim, Casluhim (which the Philistines descended from), and Caphtorim. ¹⁵ Canaan became the father of Sidon (his firstborn), Heth, ¹⁶ the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ¹⁷ the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁸ the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad. ¹⁹ The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon—as you go toward Gerar—to Gaza—as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim—to Lasha. ²⁰ These are the sons of Ham, after their families, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.

• Scripture recognizes both the legitimacy and the limits of human power:

  Nimrod “began to be a mighty one in the earth,” and a “kingdom” begins in specific cities. The text soberly acknowledges real political development—cities, borders, expansion—without requiring us to either idolize power or dismiss it. Human authority can organize societies, but it remains accountable to God and never replaces God.

• God remains the reference point even when humans build empires:

  Nimrod is described as a “mighty hunter before Yahweh,” reminding readers that the Lord is not absent from the rise of cities and kingdoms. Even when human ambition seems dominant, the biblical worldview keeps God as the ultimate horizon—history unfolds “before” him, not outside him.

• Boundaries and places matter in God’s historical dealings:

  The text gives borders, city names, and peoples, showing that God’s story works through particular places and communities. Theology here is not abstract: it is embedded in geography, community formation, and the shaping of nations that will later intersect with Israel’s story.

• Corporate identities emerge from families, yet persons still stand before God:

  The repeated “after their families… in their nations” presents nations as real collective identities arising from kinship. At the same time, the structure of the chapter—individuals begetting individuals—keeps the personal dimension intact: God deals with real people who form real communities.

Verses 21-32: Shem’s Line, Eber, and the Earth “Divided”

²¹ Children were also born to Shem (the elder brother of Japheth), the father of all the children of Eber. ²² The sons of Shem were: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. ²³ The sons of Aram were: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. ²⁴ Arpachshad became the father of Shelah. Shelah became the father of Eber. ²⁵ To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶ Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. ³⁰ Their dwelling extended from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. ³¹ These are the sons of Shem, by their families, according to their languages, lands, and nations. ³² These are the families of the sons of Noah, by their generations, according to their nations. The nations divided from these in the earth after the flood.

• God’s unfolding purposes move through particular lines without denying his concern for all nations:

  Shem is highlighted as “the father of all the children of Eber,” a detail that prepares for later developments in Genesis. Yet the chapter’s scope remains worldwide: it catalogs many peoples, not one. The theological balance is that God can work specially through certain lines for the sake of his wider purposes while still remaining Lord of all humanity.

• Historical “division” is real, and God’s sovereignty is not threatened by it:

  Peleg is named because “in his days the earth was divided,” and the chapter closes by repeating that “The nations divided… in the earth after the flood.” Whatever the precise mechanics, the theological point is clear: human history includes major reorganizations and dispersals, and yet these do not derail God’s rule or plan. God is able to advance his purposes through complex, changing human realities.

• Unity of human origin supports the dignity and accountability of every people:

  All nations come from “the families of the sons of Noah,” which grounds a shared human origin. This supports the conviction that no nation is intrinsically outside God’s concern, and no people can claim an ultimate independence from God: all are related, all are made to live in God’s world, and all remain morally accountable to him.

• God works through both divine initiative and meaningful human history:

  The chapter is structured around begetting, settling, and dwelling in lands—real human actions and developments—while maintaining a strong sense that the outcome is not chaos but an ordered record of nations “by their generations.” This encourages believers to affirm both God’s governing hand over history and the genuine significance of human lives and decisions within that history.

Conclusion: Genesis 10 teaches that the post-flood world developed into diverse nations, languages, lands, and peoples—all sharing one human family through Noah. It presents God as sovereign over history’s unfolding while taking seriously the real emergence of cultures, borders, and power structures. The chapter prepares us to read the rest of Scripture with a global horizon: God’s work is never detached from the nations, and his purposes move faithfully through generations toward the redemption he later makes clear across the whole biblical story.