Genesis 10: The Beginning of Nations

“These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.” -Genesis 10:32

Genesis is a book of beginnings. After the Flood, the next beginning was that of nations. Noah’s three sons had sons who led to the seventy nations listed in Genesis 10. The idea is clear: all of the nations known to the Israelites originated from Noah’s family. It all came from God.

Some nations are listed more favorably than others. We find many of Israel’s enemies came from the sons of Ham, including Egypt and the then future enemy of Israel–Babylon. Among Shem’s sons we find Eber, who would be a direct ancestor of the Hebrew people and of Abraham himself. And it is certainly no accident that Shem would be the son blessed as part of Abraham’s line after the bizarre story at the end of the previous chapter in which Shem receives Noah’s blessing.

Like family trees today, the information is presented with accuracy, yet there is also some bias in how it is emphasized. Shem is listed last, and has the family line that leads to the Jewish nation. Ham was the father of the Canaanites who would serve as an ongoing enemy of Israel for some time. The account offers insights into the matter of the tower of Babel in the next chapter and offers an explanation for the people who exist across the entire earth.

What I see here are two principles. First, the huge importance on family in biblical history. Family served as a central part of society in a way honored much higher than our western perspective. Second, faith influences everything. Our entire world is the result of one man’s decision to trust God in an ark. His sons lives took unique paths that influence their families and later the nations descended from them.

We can’t choose our parents or where we are born but we can choose to honor our parents and make a difference where we live. May we choose to do so today.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.