Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber - It is generally supposed that the Hebrews derived their name from Eber or Heber, son of Shem; but it appears much more likely that they had it from the circumstance of Abraham passing over (for so the word עבר abar signifies) the river Euphrates to come into the land of Canaan. See the history of Abraham, Genesis 14:13 ; (note). read more
Elam - From whom came the Elamites, near to the Medes, and whose chief city was Elymais. Asshur - Who gave his name to a vast province (afterwards a mighty empire) called Assyria. Arphaxad - From whom Arrapachitis in Assyria was named, according to some; or Artaxata in Armenia, on the frontiers of Media, according to others. Lud - The founder of the Lydians. In Asia Minor; or of the Ludim, who dwelt at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, according to Arias Montanus. ... read more
Verse 11 11.Out of that land went forth Asshur. It is credible that Asshur was one of the posterity of Shem. And the opinion has been commonly received, that he is here mentioned, because, when he was dwelling, in the neighborhood of Nimrod, he was violently expelled thence. In this manner, Moses would mark the barbarous ferocity of Nimrod. And truly these are the accustomed fruits of a greatness which does not keep within bounds; whence has arisen the old proverb, ‘Great kingdoms are great... read more
Verse 21 21.Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber. Moses, being about to speak of the sons of Shem, makes a brief introduction, which he had not done in reference to the others. Nor was it without reason; for since this was the race chosen by God, he wished to sever it from other nations by some special mark. This also is the reason why he expressly styles him the ‘father of the sons of Eber,’ and the elder brother of Japheth. (320) For the benediction of Shem does not descend... read more
PART II . THE POST - DILUVIAN AGE OF THE WORLD . CH . 10:1-11:26. FROM THE DELUGE TO THE CALL OF ABRAM . § 5. THE GENERATIONS or THE SONS OF NOAH ( CH . 10:1-11:9). I. THE historical credibility of the present section has been challenged. 1. On account of a fancied resemblance to the ethnographic mythologies of Greece, the genealogical table of the nations has been relegated to the category of fictitious invention. It has been assigned by... read more
Out of that land went forth Asshur, the son of Shem ( Genesis 10:22 ; LXX ; Vulgate, Syriac, Luther, Calvin, Michaelis, Dathe, Rosenmüller, Bohlen). i.e. the early Assyrians retired from Babylon before their Cushite. invaders, and, proceeding northward, founded the cities after mentioned; but the marginal rendering seems preferable: "Out of that land went (Nimrod) into Asshur," or Assyria, the country northeast of Babylon, through which flows the Tigris, and which had already received... read more
And Resen , i.e. Nimrod, between Kalah Shergat and Kouyunjik (Kalisch); but if Calah be Nimroud, then Rosen may be Selamiyeh, a village about half way, between Nineveh and Calah , i.e. Kouyunjik and Nimroud, ut supra (Layard). The same . Rosen (Kalisch), which will suit if it was Nimroud, whose remains cover a parallelogram about 1800 feet in length and 900 feet in breadth; but others apply it to Nineveh with the other towns as forming one large composite city (Knobel, Keil, Lange,... read more
And Mizraim begat Ludim . An African tribe, a colony of the Egyptians, like the next seven, which are " nomina non singulorum hominum sed populorum " (Aben Ezra, Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Murphy); probably referred to in connection with Tarshish and Put ( Isaiah 66:19 ), with Kush and Put ( Jeremiah 46:9 ), and in connection with Put ( Ezekiel 27:10 ; Ezekiel 30:5 ). Lud ( Genesis 10:22 ) was Shemitic. And Anamim . Not elsewhere mentioned; the inhabitants of the Delta... read more
And Pathrusim . Pathros in Upper Egypt. And Casluhim . The Colchians, of Egyptian origin (Bochart, Gesenius); the inhabitants of the primitive Egyptian town Chemuis, later Panoplis (Kalisch). Out of whom came Philistim . The Philistines on the Mediterranean from Egypt to Joppa, who had five principal cities—Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They are here described as an offshoot from Casluhim. The name has been derived from an Ethiopic root falasa , to emigrate; hence... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 10:20
These are the sons of Ham after their families - No doubt all these were well known in the days of Moses, and for a long time after; but at this distance, when it is considered that the political state of the world has been undergoing almost incessant revolutions through all the intermediate portions of time, the impossibility of fixing their residences or marking their descendants must be evident, as both the names of the people and the places of their residences have been changed beyond... read more