When Noah and his family stepped out of the Ark, they were the only people on Earth. It fell to Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives, to repopulate the Earth through the children that were born to them after the Flood. Of Noah's grandchildren, 16 grandsons are named in Genesis chapter 10.
od has left us ample evidence to confirm that these 16 grandsons of Noah really lived, that the names the Bible gives were their exact names, and that after the Babel dispersion (Genesis 11) their descendants fanned out over the earth and established the various nations of the ancient world.
The first generations after the Flood lived to be very old, with some men outliving their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This set them apart. The 16 grandsons of Noah were the heads of their family clans, which became large populations in their respective areas. Several things happened:
- People in various areas called themselves by the name of the man who was their common ancestor.
- They called their land, and often their major city and major river, by his name.
- Sometimes the various nations fell off into ancestor worship. When this happened, it was natural for them to name their god after the man who was ancestor of all of them, or to claim their long-living ancestor as their god.
All of this means that the evidence has been preserved in a way that can never be lost, and all the ingenuity of man cannot erase. We will now examine it.
The seven sons of Japheth
Genesis 10:1-2 reads:
'Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.'
The first of Noah's grandsons mentioned is Gomer. Ezekiel locates the early descendants of Gomer, along with Togarmah (a son of Gomer), in the north quarters (Ezekiel 38:6). In modern Turkey is an area which in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records that the people who were called Galatians or Gauls in his day (c. AD 93) were previously called Gomerites.1
They migrated westward to what are now called France and Spain. For many centuries France was called Gaul, after the descendants of Gomer. North-west Spain is called Galicia to this day.
Some of the Gomerites migrated further to what is now called Wales. The Welsh historian, Davis, records a traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Gomer 'landed on the Isle of Britain from France, about three hundred years after the flood'.2 He also records that the Welsh language is called Gomeraeg (after their ancestor Gomer).
Other members of their clan settled along the way, including in Armenia. The sons of Gomer were 'Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah' (Genesis 10:3).Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Armenians traditionally claim to be descended from Togarmah and Ashkenaz.3 Ancient Armenia reached into Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from Togarmah. Others of them migrated to Germany. Ashkenaz is the Hebrew word for Germany.
The next grandson mentioned is Magog. According to Ezekiel, Magog lived in the north parts (Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2). Josephus records that those whom he called Magogites, the Greeks called Scythians.1 According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the ancient name for the region which now includes part of Romaniaand the Ukraine was Scythia.4
The next grandson is Madai. Along with Shem's son Elam, Madai is the ancestor of our modern-day Iranians. Josephus says that the descendants of Madai were called Medes by the Greeks.1 Every time the Medes are mentioned in the Old Testament, the word used is the Hebrew word Madai (maday). After the time of Cyrus, the Medes are always (with one exception) mentioned along with the Persians. They became one kingdom with one law--'the law of the Medes and Persians' (Daniel 6:8, 12, 15). Later they were simply called Persians. Since 1935 they have called their country Iran. The Medes also 'settled India'.5
The name of the next grandson, Javan, is the Hebrew word for Greece. Greece, Grecia, or Grecians appears five times in the Old Testament, and is always the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel refers to 'the king of Grecia' (Daniel 8:21), literally 'the king of Javan'. Javan's sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4), all of whom have connections with the Greek people. The Elysians (an ancient Greek people) obviously received their name from Elishah. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in the region of Cilicia (modern Turkey).
Encyclopaedia Britannica says that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus.6 The people who initially settled around the area of Troy worshipped Jupiter under the name of Jupiter Dodonaeus, possibly a reference to the fourth son of Javan, with Jupiter a derivative of Japheth. His oracle was at Dodena. The Greeks worshipped this god but called him Zeus.
Next is Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech (Ezekiel 39:1). Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria in about 1100 BC, refers to the descendants of Tubal as the Tabali. Josephus recorded their name as the Thobelites, who were later known as Iberes.1
'Their land, in Josephus' day, was called by the Romans Iberia, and covered what is now (the former Soviet State of) Georgia whose capital to this day bears the name Tubal as Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus mountains, this people migrated due north-east, giving their tribal name to the river Tobol, and hence to the famous city of Tobolsk.'7
Meshech, the name of the next grandson, is the ancient name for Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia, and the region that surrounds the city. To this day, one section, the Meschera Lowland, still carries the name of Meshech, virtually unchanged by the ages.
According to Josephus, the descendants of grandson Tiras were called Thirasians. The Greeks changed their name to Thracians.1 Thrace reached fromMacedonia on the south to the Danube River on the north to the Black Sea on the east. It took in much of what became Yugoslavia. World Book Encyclopaedia says: 'The people of Thrace were savage Indo-Europeans, who liked warfare and looting.'8 Tiras was worshipped by his descendants as
The four sons of Ham
Next we come to the sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6).
The descendants of Ham live mainly in south-west Asia and Africa. The Bible often refers to Africa as the land of Ham (Psalms 105:23,27; 106:22). The name of Noah's grandson Cush is the Hebrew word for old Ethiopia (from Aswan south to Khartoum). Without exception, the word Ethiopia in the English Bible is always a translation of the Hebrew word Cush. Josephus rendered the name as Chus, and says that the Ethiopians 'are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites'.9
Noah's next grandson mentioned was Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt. The name Egypt appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with one exception) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. E.g. at the burial of Jacob, the Canaanites observed the mourning of the Egyptians and so called the place Abel Mizraim (Genesis 50:11).
Phut, the name of Noah's next grandson is the Hebrew name for Libya. It is so translated three times in the Old Testament. The ancient river Phut was in Libya. By Daniel's day, the name had been changed to Libya (Daniel 11:43). Josephus says, 'Phut also was the founder of Libia [sic], and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself'.9
Canaan, the name of Noah's next grandson, is the Hebrew name for the general region later called by the Romans Palestine, i.e. modern Israel and Jordan. Here we should look briefly at a few of the descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:14-18). There is Philistim, obviously the ancestor of the Philistines (clearly giving rise to the name Palestine), and Sidon, the founder of the ancient city that bears his name, and Heth, the patriarch of the ancient Hittite empire. Also, this descendant is listed in Genesis 10:15-18 as being the ancestor of the Jebusites (Jebus was the ancient name for Jerusalem--Judges 19:10), the Amorites, the Girgasites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites, ancient peoples who lived in the land of Canaan.
The most prominent descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babel (Babylon), as well as of Erech, Accad and Calneh in Shinar (Babylonia).
The five sons of Shem
Last we come to the sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram (Genesis 10:22).
Elam is the ancient name for Persia, which is itself the ancient name for Iran. Until the time of Cyrus the people here were called Elamites, and they were still often called that even in New Testament times. In Acts 2:9, the Jews from Persia who were present at Pentecost were called Elamites. The Persians are thus descended from both Elam, the son of Shem, and from Madai, the son of Japheth (see above). Since the 1930s they have called their country Iran.
It is interesting to note that the word 'Aryan', which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word 'Iran'. Hitler wanted to produce a pure Aryan 'race' of supermen. But the very term 'Aryan' signifies a mixed line of Semites and Japhethites!
Asshur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Every time the words Assyria orAssyrian appear in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Asshur. He was worshipped by his descendants.
'Indeed, as long as Assyria lasted, that is until 612 BC, accounts of battles, diplomatic affairs and foreign bulletins were daily read out to his image; and every Assyrian king held that he wore the crown only with the express permission of Asshur's deified ghost.'10
Arphaxad was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. This 'is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, which render the name as Arip-hurra--the founder of Chaldea.'11 His descendant, Eber, gave his name to the Hebrew people via the line of Eber-Peleg-Reu-Serug-Nahor-Terah-Abram (Genesis 11:16-26). Eber's other son, Joktan, had 13 sons (Genesis 10:26-30), all of whom appear to have settled in Arabia.12
Lud was the ancestor of the Lydians. Lydia was in what is now Western Turkey. Their capital was Sardis--one of the seven churches of Asia was at Sardis (Revelation 3:1).
Aram is the Hebrew word for Syria. Whenever the word Syria appears in the Old Testament it is a translation of the wordAram. The Syrians call themselves Arameans, and their language is called Aramaic. Before the spread of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26 ff). On the cross, when Jesus cried out, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani' (Mark 15:34),13 He was speaking Aramaic, the language of the common people.
the "sons" of Ham, for example, is analogous to the Ptolemaic Kingdom and is made up of Egypt, Libya, Cush, and Canaan. The division containing the "sons" of Shem is analogous to the Seleucid Empire and, according to Josephus, encompasses "the land that began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian Ocean," including Elam (Persia), Asshur (Assyria), Lydia (in Anatolia), and Aram (Syria), the sons of Joktan living "from Cophen [Kabul], an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it." Modern commentators identify these sons with various inhabitants of Arabia Felix, peculiarly unimportant compared to the Indians identified by Josephus. For obvious reasons, this second division does not contain either Babylonia or its Akkadian predecessors, though the interpolated Ham and Shem were kings of Babylon, and Josephus calls Arpachshad the progenitor of the "Arphaxadites," whom he identifies with the "Chaldeans" in line with our reconstruction. The third division is roughly analogous to the Antigonid Empire and, again according to Josephus, "they inhabited so that, beginning at the mountains Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia, as far as the river Tansis, and along Europe to Cadiz." It seems clear that all of the subsidiary groups listed in the Table are lesser entities, primarily cities, that fell under administrative control of the regional power centers at the top of the geographical hierarchy and, some of which, in turn served as capitals of lesser dominions.
Nimrod falls in the third generation after the father of Ham. We have already noted that Sargon was the third ruler of Akkad before Naram-Sin, though he was purportedly the grandfather of Naram-Sin and not his great-grandfather as suggested by the table. As for why he falls under Ham and not Shem, we can infer that the latter line of descent had already been taken up with the interpolated descendants of Arpachshad and that there may have also been some confusion between Cush in Africa and Kish in Mesopotamia, the first king of which city is associated by the Sumerian king-list with the first generation after the Flood, another indication of confusion in the Table between the descendants of Sargon and the kings of the early postdiluvian world. Here we have another (still tenuous but less so) indication that the empire described in the earliest version of the Table of Nations was that of Sargon the Great of Akkad and that Naram-Sin was indeed the Nimrod of the bible.
Waddell reinforces the identification of some of the members of the Table with the inhabitants of India, though it remains difficult if not impossible to determine what to take seriously from his "translations" of ancient texts, saying the following about Naram-Sin in his Indo-Sumerian Seals Deciphered:
Over twenty years ago [before 1905=1885], I observed in comparing the Indian Epic lists of the Ancient Aryan kings with the Mesopotamian King-lists that the great Aryan king "Śakuni," occupied a relative position in the "Lunar" version of these lists corresponding to that of "Śar-gu-ni" in the Mesopotamian King-lists. Moreover, the leading kings before and after Sargon I were generally similar on both lists; and Śakuni's "son" or "descendant" was "Karamb'a," which suggested some resemblance to "Naram-Sin" of the Assyriologists, who for long called him the "son" of "Sargon I," though now he is found to be his grandson, and the most famous of Sargon's "sons" or descendants.
Later, on revising at first hand from the Sumerian and cuneiform texts the readings of the Mesopotamian king's names as restored by Assyriologists, I found that the name read by them as "Naram-Sin," also reads by other recognized values for the syllabic signs of that king's name "KA-RA-AM-BA," and thus absolutely equates with the name in the Indian Epic King-lists for the "son" or "descendant" of King Śakuni.
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