Commentary - Genesis 10:6-20

Bird's-eye view

Genesis 10, commonly called the Table of Nations, is a foundational text for understanding God's dealings with humanity after the flood. It is not merely a dry list of names; it is a theological map. This chapter outlines the repopulation of the earth through the three sons of Noah: Japheth, Ham, and Shem. Our passage focuses on the descendants of Ham, the son who was indirectly cursed through his son Canaan in the previous chapter. This section is therefore crucial for understanding the historical and theological backdrop for much of the Old Testament narrative. We see the origins of some of Israel's most significant adversaries: Egypt (Mizraim), Babylon (Babel), Assyria (Nineveh), and the Canaanites. The account of Ham's line is dominated by the figure of Nimrod, the first empire-builder and a prototype of rebellious, man-centered civilization. His kingdom, centered in Babel, represents the organized humanistic endeavor to build a name for oneself apart from God, a project that God will directly confront in the next chapter. The passage concludes by listing the Canaanite tribes and defining their borders, setting the stage for the future conquest of the promised land by the descendants of Shem, through Abraham.

In short, this is not just ancient ethnography. It is a Spirit-inspired record showing how God sovereignly orders the nations, allowing rebellious lines to flourish for a time, while simultaneously preparing the stage for His redemptive purposes to unfold through the line of promise. The line of Ham is characterized by worldly power, empire, and idolatry, providing the stark contrast against which God will later call out a people for His own name.

Outline

Context In Genesis

This passage sits directly after the account of Noah's drunkenness and the cursing of Canaan (Gen 9:20-27) and just before the story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). The connection is tight and intentional. The curse on Canaan provides the theological lens through which we are to read the Canaanite genealogy. The mention of Babel as the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom serves as the introduction and historical anchor for the full narrative of Babel's rebellion in the next chapter. Many scholars believe Genesis 11:1-9 is not chronologically after chapter 10, but rather provides the backstory for the scattering of nations described here. In other words, chapter 10 gives us the "what", the nations were scattered, and chapter 11 gives us the "why", because of their prideful rebellion at Babel. This section on Ham's descendants is sandwiched between the genealogies of Japheth (10:1-5) and Shem (10:21-31), highlighting its distinct character. While Japheth's line expands and Shem's line is the carrier of the covenant promise, Ham's line is marked by the pursuit of worldly power and the establishment of nations that will be in direct conflict with God's people.

Key Issues

The City of Man

From the very beginning of Scripture, we see two lines, two "seeds," developing in conflict with one another: the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Gen 3:15). This spiritual reality manifests itself in two distinct approaches to civilization. Cain, the murderer, is the first to build a city (Gen 4:17), a place of human strength and self-protection, named after his son. This is the beginning of the City of Man. Abel, by contrast, was a sojourner, a keeper of sheep, looking for a better country. This pattern continues after the flood. Here in Genesis 10, in the line of Ham, we find the re-founding of the City of Man in the person of Nimrod. He is a "mighty one," a king, a builder of cities, and the founder of Babel. His project is to make a name for himself and to consolidate human power in defiance of God's command to "fill the earth."

This stands in stark contrast to the City of God, which is built not by human might but by divine promise. Abraham will be called out of one of these very cities of man (Ur, near this region) and told to live as a stranger in a land he would one day inherit. His descendants will look for a city "whose builder and maker is God" (Heb 11:10). The story of the Bible is the story of the conflict between these two cities: Babylon and Jerusalem. Genesis 10 gives us the post-flood charter for Babylon, the city of rebellion, power, and pride. It is a kingdom built "before Yahweh," not in the sense of doing it for His glory, but rather in defiance of Him, right under His nose.

Verse by Verse Commentary

6 The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.

The account begins plainly, listing the four patriarchs of the Hamitic peoples. These are not just names on a page; they represent the origins of major ancient powers. Cush is generally associated with the region south of Egypt, what we would call Nubia or Ethiopia. Mizraim is the standard Hebrew name for Egypt, a nation that will play a massive role in the story of Israel. Put is often identified with Libya or regions west of Egypt. And Canaan, of course, is the namesake for the land that God will promise to Abraham. The shadow of the curse from Genesis 9 falls over this entire lineage, but it is specifically focused on Canaan.

7 The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

Moses now drills down into the line of Cush, the firstborn of Ham. These names largely correspond to various peoples and regions in Arabia and northeast Africa. They were trading nations, known for their wealth. Sheba and Dedan, for instance, are mentioned elsewhere as prominent Arabian trading peoples (Ezek 27:20-22). This list establishes the broad geographic and ethnic footprint of the Cushites before the text zooms in on one particularly significant descendant.

8-9 Now Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Yahweh.”

The flow of the genealogy is interrupted for this special notice about Nimrod. The name itself may mean "rebel." He is a foundational figure, a man who changed the course of history. He "began to be a mighty one," a gibbor in Hebrew, the same word used for the giants of Genesis 6. This indicates a man of immense power and ambition, a tyrant. He is described as a "mighty hunter before Yahweh." This is not a compliment, as though he were a sportsman honoring God. The phrase "before Yahweh" can mean "in the face of Yahweh," or "in defiance of Yahweh." He was a hunter not just of animals, but likely of men. He was a conqueror, a man who subjugated others to build his own power base. His reputation was so great that it became a proverb, but it was a proverb of arrogant, god-defying strength.

10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Here we see the fruit of Nimrod's might: a kingdom. This is the first mention of a kingdom after the flood. And its beginning, its capital city, was Babel. This is Babylon. The other cities listed were also major centers in ancient Mesopotamia, the "land of Shinar." Nimrod's project was one of centralization. Instead of scattering and filling the earth as God had commanded (Gen 9:1), Nimrod gathered people together under his rule, concentrating human power in one place. This is the political and historical background to the theological rebellion described in Genesis 11.

11-12 From that land he went out to Assyria and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

Nimrod's ambition was not content with Babylon. His empire-building extended north into Assyria. He is credited with founding Nineveh, which would later become the capital of the cruel Assyrian empire, one of Israel's most fearsome enemies. The text notes that this cluster of cities formed a great metropolis. The spirit of Nimrod, the spirit of Babel, is an expansionistic, conquering spirit. It is the spirit of the City of Man, always seeking to extend its own glory and power.

13-14 Mizraim was the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.

The text now returns to the second son of Ham, Mizraim, which is Egypt. The names that follow are plural in form, indicating peoples rather than individuals. These are the various ethnic groups that constituted the Egyptian civilization and its neighbors. A crucial note is inserted: the Philistines came from the Casluhim. The Philistines, who settled on the coast of Canaan, would become perennial thorns in Israel's side, most famously during the time of the judges and the early monarchy with figures like Goliath. So here, Moses is tracing the origins of another of Israel's future enemies back to the line of Ham.

15-18 Canaan was the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were scattered.

Now we come to the cursed line of Canaan. Sidon, his firstborn, founded the famous Phoenician port city. Heth is the ancestor of the Hittites. Then we get a list of "ites" that should be very familiar to any reader of the Old Testament. These are the very tribes that Israel was commanded to dispossess from the promised land (Deut 7:1). The Jebusites held Jerusalem until David conquered it. The Amorites were a powerful group often used as a general term for the inhabitants of the land. This list is a divine "most wanted" list. God is identifying the peoples whose iniquity would one day become full, justifying His judgment upon them through the instrument of Israel.

19 The border of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

This verse carefully delineates the territory of the Canaanites. It is a precise description of the land that would later be promised to Abraham (Gen 15:18-21). The mention of Sodom and Gomorrah is particularly ominous. These cities, located within the Canaanite domain, would become proverbial for their wickedness and would suffer a fiery judgment from God that serves as a preview of the judgment that would eventually fall on all of Canaan. God is drawing the boundaries not only of their land, but of His future judgment.

20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their tongues, by their lands, by their nations.

This is a concluding summary statement, mirroring the ones for Japheth and Shem. It emphasizes that God is sovereignly ordering the world after the flood. The diversity of families, languages, lands, and nations is not an accident. It is part of the divine plan, a plan that includes both the judgment that came at Babel (the confusion of tongues) and the long-term purpose of God to bless all the nations through the seed of Abraham, who will come from the line of Shem.

Application

The spirit of Nimrod is alive and well. It is the spirit of humanism, the desire to build a great name for ourselves, to create a secular utopia, to consolidate power, and to organize human life in defiance of God. Every attempt to build a global, godless order, from ancient Babylon to the revolutionary projects of the modern era, is an echo of Nimrod's kingdom on the plain of Shinar. As Christians, we must recognize that we are citizens of a different city, a heavenly one. Our task is not to build Babylon, but to be ambassadors of the New Jerusalem.

This means we must be wary of the allure of worldly power. Nimrod was a "mighty one on the earth." The church is often tempted to seek this kind of might, to make alliances with the powerful, to adopt the methods of empire in order to "advance the kingdom." But Christ's kingdom is not of this world. It advances not through hunters of men, but through fishers of men; not through the sword of conquest, but through the sword of the Spirit. We are called to be faithful witnesses within the cities of man, but our ultimate loyalty, our hope, and our citizenship are elsewhere.

Furthermore, this passage reminds us of God's absolute sovereignty over history. He maps out the nations. He knows their origins and their destinies. The rise of Egypt, Babylon, and the Philistines was no surprise to Him. He raised them up, and in His perfect time, He brought them down. This should give us great confidence. No matter how powerful the modern-day Nimrods may seem, no matter how imposing their globalist projects may appear, they are all existing on borrowed time. Their borders are set by the God they defy. Our task is to be faithful to the Great Commission, discipling the nations, knowing that the ultimate victory belongs not to Babel, but to the Lamb who was slain.