Genesis 10:5 - Exposition

By these were the isles of the Gentiles . Sea-washed coasts as well as islands proper (cf. Isaiah 42:4 with Matthew 12:21 ). Isaiah ( Genesis 20:6 ) styles Canaan an isle (cf. Peloponnesus). The expression signifies maritime countries. Divided in their lands; every one after his tongue. Indicating a time posterior to the building of Babel ( Genesis 11:1 ). After their families ε ̓ ν ται ͂ ς φυλαι ͂ ς αυ ̓ τω ͂ ν ( LXX .); in their tribes or clans, a lesser subdivision than the next. In their nations . The division here exhibited is fourfold:

The first defines the territory occupied, and the second the language spoken by the Japhethites; the third their immediate descent, and the rough the national group to which they severally belonged.