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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 10:1-5

Moses begins with Japheth's family, either because he was the eldest, or because his family lay remotest from Israel and had least concern with them at the time when Moses wrote, and therefore he mentions that race very briefly, hastening to give an account of the posterity of Ham, who were Israel's enemies and of Shem, who were Israel's ancestors; for it is the church that the scripture is designed to be the history of, and of the nations of the world only as they were some way or other... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 10:6-14

That which is observable and improvable in these verses is the account here given of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. He is here represented as a great man in his day: He began to be a mighty one in the earth, that is, whereas those that went before him were content to stand upon the same level with their neighbours, and though every man bore rule in his own house yet no man pretended any further, Nimrod's aspiring mind could not rest here; he was resolved to tower above his neighbours, not only to be... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 10:15-20

Observe here, 1. The account of the posterity of Canaan, of the families and nations that descended from him, and of the land they possessed, is more particular than of any other in this chapter, because these were the nations that were to be subdued before Israel, and their land was in process of time to become the holy land, Immanuel's land; and this God had an eye to when, in the mean time, he cast the lot of that accursed devoted race in that spot of ground which he had selected for his... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 10:21-32

Two things especially are observable in this account of the posterity of Shem:? I. The description of Shem, v. 21. We have not only his name, Shem, which signifies a name, but two titles to distinguish him by:? 1. He was the father of all the children of Eber. Eber was his great grandson; but why should he be called the father of all his children, rather than of all Arphaxad?s, or Salah?s, etc.? Probably because Abraham and his seed, God's covenant-people, not only descended from Heber, but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:1

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah ,.... The genealogy of them, and which is of great use to show the original of the several nations of the world, from whence they sprung, and by whom they were founded; and to confute the pretended antiquity of some nations, as the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Chinese, and others; and to point out the particular people, which were to be the seat of the church of God for many ages, and from whom the Messiah was to spring; which seems to be the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:2

The sons of Japheth ,.... Who though mentioned last, the genealogy begins with him, by a figure which rhetoricians call a "chiasm". The posterity of Japheth are those whom Hesiod F26 In Theogonia. often calls ιαπετιονιδης , "Iapetionides", and him ιαπετος , "Iapetus". According to Josephus F1 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. , the sons of Japheth inhabited the earth, beginning from the mountains Taurus and Amanus, and then went on in Asia unto the river Tanais, and in Europe unto... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:3

And the sons of Gomer ,.... Who was the first of the sons of Japheth, three of whose sons are mentioned, and they are as follow: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah ; the first of these seated himself in the lesser Asia, in Pontus and Bithynia, where were some traces of his name in the river Ascanius, and in the Ascanian lake or bay; and also in the lesser Phrygia or Troas, where was a city called Ascania, and where were the Ascanian isles F24 Strabo Geograph. l. 12. p. 387, 388.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:4

And the sons of Javan ,.... Another son of Japheth; four sons of Javan are mentioned, which gave names to countries, and are as follow: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim ; the first of these, Elishah, gave name to the Elysaeans, now called Aeoles, as Josephus F12 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.) says; hence the country Aeolia, and the Aeolic dialect, all from this name; and there are many traces of it in the several parts of Greece. Hellas, a large country in it,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:5

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands ,.... That is, by those sons of Japheth before mentioned; and by "isles" are meant, not countries surrounded with water, for the isles in this sense would not have been sufficient for the posterity of Japheth; nor can it be thought they would leave the continent, where there was room enough for them, and go into islands; and besides must have found it difficult to get there, when shipping and navigation were little known: but it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 10:6

And the sons of Ham ,.... Next to the sons of Japheth, the sons of Ham are reckoned; these, Josephus F26 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect 1.) says, possessed the land from Syria, and the mountains of Amanus and Lebanon; laying hold on whatever was towards the sea, claiming to themselves the countries unto the ocean, whose names, some of them, are entirely lost, and others so greatly changed and deflected into other tongues, that they can scarcely be known, and few whose names are... read more

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