Genesis 10:21-32 (NIV) - “Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber. The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek. Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan. Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country. These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations. These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.”
We’ll finish out the lineage of Noah and then take off on the beginnings of Abram’s family next week. The final son of Noah who walked off the ark and embarked on repopulating the earth is Shem. Abram is in Shem’s lineage.
The Sons of Shem
The family of Shem became known as the Semites. His ancestors became the people groups of Asia. Shem, himself, was identified as the next prophet after his father.1
Elam - the ancient country of Elam is located in what we now consider southern Iran. Most languages are divided into sections that bear similarities, but the Elamites had a language of their own.2 Genesis 14 mentions the king of Elam, Chedorlaomer, who is involved in a war during the time of Abraham.
Ashur - in last week’s lesson, we discussed a man by the name of Nimrod with a listing of several kingdoms which could be accredited to him. However, there are some scholars who credit Ashur with the building of Ninevah, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resin.3 This change in belief has come about after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Arphaxad - his name may also appear as Arpachshad. The Book of Jubilees identifies his wife as the granddaughter of his brother Elam.4 Some sources believe he founded the Ur of the Chaldees.
Shelah - many believe Arphaxad, his son Shelah, and then Shelah’s son Eber carry the “Seed of the Woman.”5 This stems back to the curse on Eve in which a descendant would bring enmity between the seed of Eve and the seed of the Serpent, in other words, the line leading to Jesus.6
Eber - many scholars believe this individual is where the origin of Hebrew comes from as both words reflect a meaning of “crossing over.”7 Muslims believe Eber refused to help with the building of the Tower of Babel, and therefore, his people group retained the original language.
Peleg - read Genesis 10:25 and describe what happened during the time of Peleg:
Some believe this division occurred after the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages.8 Others believe this is when the Pangaea (land was all one mass on the earth) split apart.
Joktan - he is associated with Southern Arabia. According to the Mongoloid Race Theory (MRT), he is the progenitor of the Mongoloid Race.9 Select one of the sons of Joktan to find further information (some have a bit of information).
Almodad
Sheleph
Hazarmaveth - inhabited Tibet, according to MRT. Others connect him to the south Arabian region of Hadhramaut.
Jerah
Hadoram
Uzal
Diklah - inhabited Japan, according to MRT.
Obal - inhabited China, according to MRT.
Abimael - inhabited Indochina, according to MRT.
Sheba - inhabited Deccan, according to MRT. Others connect him to the south Arabian kingdom of Saba.
Ophir - inhabited Indonesia, according to MRT.
Havilah
Jobab - inhabited Mongolia, according to MRT.
Lud - his inherited land was the entire peninsula of Anatolia.10 Muslim historians claim his wife was the daughter of his uncle Japheth. They also believe his son was the first king of Persia.
Aram - he is generally considered the founder of the Armenians.11 You’ll find the name Aram associated with several other lands throughout the Bible. David associates the name Aram in his 60th Psalm and Padan-Aram is another name for the city of Haran which will come up further when we study Abram and Sarai.
Uz - his land may have been in the Middle East and be where Job resided.12 Tse Tsan-Tai, an Australian Chinese revolutionary, believes the indigenous peoples of America are linked to his descendants.
Hul - while the Table of Nations links him to Aramean or Syrian tribes, Tse Tsan-Tai believes he was the link to the Austroasiatic and Austronesian people groups.13
Gether - Muslims link him to the prophet Salih, Josephus links him to the Bactrians, and Tse Tsan-Tai claims he originated the Polynesian people.14
Meshek - Tse Tsan-Tai believes he is a descendant of the people of Siberia.15
Keep hanging in there, we’ll eventually get through all of these genealogy lines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elam,_son_of_Shem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashur_(Bible)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpachshad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selah_(biblical_figure)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_of_the_woman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eber
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peleg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joktan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lud,_son_of_Shem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram,_son_of_Shem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uz,_son_of_Aram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hul
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gether
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_Hebrew_Bible_figures,_L%E2%80%93Z#Mash