Commentary - Genesis 10:21-31

Bird's-eye view

This section of the Table of Nations is of supreme importance, for it traces the line of Shem, the line of the covenant promise. While the previous sections dealing with Japheth and Ham show God's faithfulness in filling the earth through all of Noah's sons, this passage narrows the focus considerably. This is the story of God's sovereign election, His way of running the world. He scatters the nations with His left hand, showing His broad, common grace to all men. But with His right hand, He carefully cultivates one particular line through which He will bring redemption to all the nations He just scattered. This is not a dry list of forgotten names; it is the skeleton of redemptive history. The passage pivots on the two sons of Eber: Peleg, whose name means "division," marking the great judgment at Babel, and Joktan, whose numerous sons spread out. Yet, the narrative thread follows Peleg, leading directly to Abraham. Here we see the principle of antithesis at work on a global scale: the seed of the woman is distinguished from the seed of the serpent, and the line of promise is set apart from the nations who will rage against it until the day Christ returns as their King.

This is theology written as genealogy. It establishes the historical and covenantal foundation for everything that follows in the Old Testament. The names listed here will become the great empires and peoples who interact with, and are often hostile to, Israel. But in the midst of this grand geopolitical map, God is tracing a fine, golden thread that will not be broken. From Shem, through Arpachshad, to Eber, and down through Peleg, God is preparing the way for the call of Abraham and, ultimately, for the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ, the true son of Shem who came to gather the scattered children of God from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 10, the Table of Nations, is a unique and foundational chapter. It sits between the account of the Flood (Gen 6-9) and the account of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11). It functions as a world map, drawn according to family lines, showing how God fulfilled His command to Noah and his sons to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" (Gen 9:1). This chapter provides the ethnic and geopolitical backdrop for the entire biblical story that follows. The passage concerning Shem is the third and final section of the chapter, following the lines of Japheth (10:2-5) and Ham (10:6-20). The placement is theologically significant. Shem, though not the firstborn, is dealt with last and most climactically because his is the line of promise. This section sets the stage for the narrowing of the redemptive focus in Genesis 11, which will trace Shem's line directly to Abram, and for God's subsequent call of Abram out of the midst of these very nations in Genesis 12.

Key Issues

The Geography of Redemption

It is a great temptation for modern readers to skim these genealogies. They seem like little more than a list of unpronounceable names belonging to peoples long gone. But to do so is to miss the point entirely. This is not an appendix; it is part of the central argument. God is the Lord of history, and history is comprised of real people in real places. These are not mythical figures in a "once upon a time" story. These are the heads of nations that will feature prominently in the story of redemption. Asshur is Assyria. Elam is Persia. Aram is Syria. These are the empires that will later threaten to swallow Israel whole.

God is laying out the map of the world He is about to save. He is showing us that He knows every nation, every tribe, and every tongue because He established them. The Great Commission in the New Testament is a command to go and disciple all these ethne, these nations, whose origins are described right here. The story of the gospel is not an abstract philosophy; it is a historical invasion. And Genesis 10 is the intelligence briefing, showing us the terrain. The line of Shem is the beachhead from which God will launch His campaign to reclaim the world for His glory.

Verse by Verse Commentary

21 Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born.

The narrative now turns to the most important line, that of Shem. He is identified in two crucial ways. First, he is the "older brother of Japheth," which establishes his place in the family. But more importantly, he is "the father of all the children of Eber." This is a significant theological pointer. Why single out Eber, his great-grandson? Because Eber is the eponym of the Hebrews. The word "Hebrew" likely comes from his name, meaning something like "one from the other side," a sojourner. From the very beginning, the Holy Spirit is directing our attention down the line of promise, past all the other sons, to the family from which Abraham, and ultimately Christ, will come. This is God's sovereign choice in action. History is not a random series of events; it is a story with a plot, and God is telling us where to look for the main character.

22 The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram.

Here are the heads of the Semitic peoples. These are not insignificant names. Elam would become a nation east of Mesopotamia, associated later with the Persians. Asshur is Assyria, the brutal empire that would one day take the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity. Aram is the father of the Arameans, or Syrians, who would be a constant thorn in Israel's side. In the midst of these future world powers, we find Arpachshad. He seems unremarkable here, just one name among five. But he is the one God has chosen. The line of promise does not run through the great and powerful nations of Elam or Assyria, but through this one man. God's ways are not our ways. He consistently chooses the weak and the foolish in the world's eyes to shame the strong.

23 The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash.

This is a brief parenthetical note, filling out the line of Aram. The most notable name here is Uz, which is the land where Job lived. This reminds us that God's knowledge and dealings are not limited to the covenant line alone. He is sovereign over all these peoples, and He can raise up a man as righteous as Job in a land as far off as Uz. Nevertheless, the main narrative thrust quickly returns to the chosen line.

24 Arpachshad was the father of Shelah; and Shelah was the father of Eber.

The camera zooms in. Having listed the five sons of Shem, the author now follows only one of them: Arpachshad. And from Arpachshad, the line continues to Shelah, and then to Eber. We have now arrived at the man who was highlighted back in verse 21. Eber is a pivotal figure. He stands at a fork in the road of human history. He is the father of the Hebrews, the people who "cross over," the pilgrims and sojourners in the world.

25 Now two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

This is the central verse of the entire passage, a crucial historical marker. Eber has two sons, representing a great division. The name Peleg means "division," and the text tells us precisely why: "for in his days the earth was divided." This is a direct reference to the judgment of God at the Tower of Babel, which is recounted in detail in the next chapter. At Babel, mankind, in united, humanistic rebellion, sought to make a name for themselves. God's response was to divide their language and scatter them across the face of the earth. Peleg was born right around the time of this great scattering. His very name is a monument to God's judgment on human pride. The alternative theory, that this refers to a geological splitting of the continents, is fanciful and unnecessary. The division is linguistic, cultural, and political, a direct result of sin. And notice the contrast: Peleg means division, but it is through his line that God will bring the ultimate unity in Christ.

26-29 And Joktan was the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

Here we see the line of the other brother, Joktan. And what a line it is! He has thirteen sons listed here, a picture of great fruitfulness. These peoples largely settled in the Arabian peninsula. Names like Sheba and Ophir and Havilah are associated with wealth, gold, and spices. This demonstrates God's common grace. He blesses the line of Joktan with many sons and great material prosperity. But this is not the line of the covenant. The narrative gives us this long list and then leaves it. The history of redemption does not run through these thirteen sons, but through the one son, Peleg, whose name means division. God is not impressed by numbers or by earthly wealth. He has set His electing love on one particular line for the sake of His redemptive purposes.

30 Now their settlement extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east.

This verse provides the geographical boundaries for the descendants of Joktan, locating them in southern Arabia. It anchors this history in real-world space and time. This is not mythology; it is a record of how God populated the earth. These are real places on a map, part of the world that God created and over which He rules.

31 These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their tongues, by their lands, according to their nations.

This is the concluding formula, mirroring the summaries for Japheth (v. 5) and Ham (v. 20). It emphasizes the results of the scattering from Babel. Mankind is now fractured into four distinct categories: families (the basic social unit), tongues (the instrument of division), lands (the geographical result), and nations (the political result). This state of affairs, this divided world, is the direct consequence of sin. And it is this very world that God intends to redeem. The book of Acts will show the glorious reversal, when at Pentecost the Holy Spirit overcomes the division of tongues, and the book of Revelation will show the final result: a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, standing before the throne and worshiping the Lamb.

Application

First, we must learn to read the Bible as it is written. These genealogies are not filler. They are the structural beams of the entire edifice of Scripture. They teach us that our faith is grounded in history, in real events that happened to real people. God's salvation is not a set of good ideas, but a series of mighty acts in time and space. When we neglect these portions of Scripture, we are telling God that we think we know which parts of His Word are important, which is a profoundly arrogant posture.

Second, this passage screams of God's sovereign election. Out of all the sons of Noah, He chooses Shem. Out of all the sons of Shem, He chooses Arpachshad. Out of the two sons of Eber, He chooses Peleg. God is always narrowing the focus, choosing one to be the vessel of His special, redemptive grace. This should humble us. We are not saved because we are smarter, or more numerous, or more righteous than anyone else. We are saved because of God's free and sovereign choice. He did not choose the mighty Assyrians or the wealthy sons of Joktan; He chose the line of pilgrims, the "crossers-over." And if you are in Christ, it is because He has chosen you, a sojourner, out of the world.

Finally, we see the problem and the solution side-by-side. The problem is the division of mankind, memorialized in the name of Peleg and summarized in verse 31. Men are divided by family, language, land, and nation. The natural state of humanity after Babel is one of suspicion, hostility, and fragmentation. But the solution is found in the very line that bears the name of division. Through the line of Peleg comes Abraham, and through Abraham comes Christ. In Christ, there is no Jew or Greek, no Elamite or Assyrian, no son of Peleg or son of Joktan. He breaks down the dividing wall of hostility (Eph. 2:14) and creates in Himself one new man. The division at Babel was a great judgment, but it set the stage for a far greater redemption. God scatters the nations in His wrath so that He might gather them in His grace through the gospel of His Son.