went forth: Targum of Onkelos says: "he [Nimrod] went forth into Asshur" (i.e. invaded it). Nineveh. The competitor of Babylon as the capital of Assyria. the City Rehoboth = better, "the city boulevards", in parenthesis. read more
great: i.e. the four cities Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen. Resen had ceased to be a great city in the time of Sennacherib. read more
"Out of that land, he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city)."This extremely interesting passage explains the mystery of the great size of the city of Nineveh, which was actually a complex of the four cities: Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, Resen, and Nineveh. Thus, there is no reason whatever to deny the statement in Jonah that it was a "city of three days' journey," thus having a circumference of some... read more
Genesis 10:11. Out of that land went forth Ashur, &c.— As Ashur was one of the descendants of Shem, see Gen 10:22 it has been thought strange that he should be mentioned in this place; and therefore the reading of the margin of our Bibles has been preferred by many: Out of that land, he (Nimrod) went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, &c. so called from his son Ninus. Of this city we shall have occasion to speak more hereafter. Rehoboth, there is reason to believe, is the Birtha... read more
11. Out of that land went forth Asshur—or, as the Margin has it, "He [Nimrod] at the head of his army went forth into Assyria," that is, he pushed his conquests into that country. and builded Nineveh—opposite the town of Mosul, on the Tigris, and the other towns near it. This raid into Assyria was an invasion of the territories of Shem, and hence the name "Nimrod," signifying "rebel," is supposed to have been conferred on him from his daring revolt against the divine distribution. read more
The Nations descended from NoahThis section gives the origins and situations of the nations of the world, as their relationships were conceived by the early Hebrews. Before passing to the history of the chosen race, the author traces the ties by which the rest of mankind are united with his own people, and shows the position of Israel among the nations. Each nation is regarded as a unity, and is summed up in the person of its supposed ancestor. The nations being treated as individuals, it... read more
(11, 12) Out of that land went forth Asshur.—So the LXX., Syriac, and Vulg.; but the Targum and most modern authorities rightly translate, “Out of that land he went forth into Assyria.” We have here nothing to do with Asshur the son of Shem (see Genesis 10:22), but are occupied with Nimrod and the Hamites, who, after firmly establishing themselves in Babylonia, subsequently extended their influence northward. This is confirmed by the cuneiform inscriptions, which prove that the southern portion... read more
V. THE GENERATIONS OF THE SONS OF NOAH CHAPTER 10 Shem, Ham, and Japheth and Their Seed 1. The sons of Japheth (Genesis 10:2-5 ) 2. The sons of Ham (Genesis 10:6-20 ) 3. The sons of Shem (Genesis 10:21-32 ) Here we have the beginning of the nations. God knows them and keeps track of the nations of the earth. The order of the sons of Noah is here changed. Japheth comes first. Ham’s place is unchanged. Shem comes last. This order is given in view of Noah’s prophecy. Among the descendants... read more
DESCENDANTS OF NOAH In this chapter the genealogy of Japheth is given first (vs.1-5). Their history is not pursued in the book of Genesis: their character was that of the energy of independence, and though at first it seems they were involved in the building of the tower of Babel (for all Noah's family evidently remained at that time close to that area), yet they soon spread northward and had no significant connection with Abraham and his descendants. There is more said about the family of... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:1-32
10:1-11:26 GENEALOGIES FROM NOAH TO ABRAMNations descended from Noah (10:1-32)This genealogy must have been written hundreds of years after the time of Noah, when his descendants had multiplied and moved to many places. By that time differences in language, race and culture were noticeable. The purpose of the listing here is to trace the origin of these groups, not to name every single descendant of Noah.Again the genealogy is simplified, being based on a selection of seventy descendants. Most... read more