Noah’s Nations Scattered – Genesis 10:1-11:9

Bethel Baptist Church, David Rising

Genesis 10:1-11:9; April 12, 2026 Sunday PM

Noah’s Nations Scattered

We come to Genesis 10 where we see a bunch of names. As with some chapters in the bible, we could respond with concern over boredom.

We will not wade through this all as if reading dry entries in an encyclopedia, but will try to highlight this chapter in a way that helps us see how indeed God allowed Noah and his family to multiply and replenish the earth.

As we study chapter 10, we also need to keep in mind 11:1-9 as it is the necessary account that tells us why there was such diversity and the dispersion of the people.

What takes place in 11:1-9 actually takes place chronologically before the dispersal of chapter 10. We also will see that 11:1-9 separates two genealogies of Shem, in part so that we see clearly in the second the direct connection with Abraham.

In other words, Moses has given to us selective history so that we see how things connect. Linking Abraham back through Noah to Adam is essential to the integrity of Gods promises and commands.

Gods blessing through Noah extended to all His sons. They were indeed able to procreate and begin to populate the earth. However, as 11:9 will remind us, their scattering abroad was because the Lord had to push them out as their intent was to come together in one place. Pray.

To help us navigate through Genesis 10, I thought it would be wise to give some visuals. You have before you four charts/maps that depicts the likely distribution of the people & nations as they are listed in the chapter.

Genesis 10 is the subject of countless studies, and it is the kind of chapter that is very intriguing to the one who wants to find a needle in a haystack. Bottom line is that much of this is unknown to us.

In general, the sons of Japheth ended up in Asia Minor and Europe those lands that are north of the Mediterranean Sea and south/southwest of the Black Sea.

The sons of Ham are located in northern Africa and in Canaan and southeast of Canaan, east of the Red Sea.

The sons of Shem are east of Canaan and around the Persian Gulf (Assyria, Persia, Iraq, Iran, etc).

(Logos Deluxe Map)

The chart shows the family of Noah and his sons and you can trace that out if you like.

The first map on your sheet shows a smaller area:

The next map shows a broader picture:

(Reformation Study Bible)

As we look at Genesis 10, you may find it handy to refer to these maps. And so lets get going:

1. Noah’s Nations (10:1-32)

10:1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.

This last sentence is explained in the content of this chapter. The chapter does not tell us every person it could, but it points out what is important as we move forward in Genesis.

Before we identify these people, what we will see in all these names and nations is the reality that so many of these people who descended from Noah became Israels enemies. There is in most commentaries the discussion about the godly line and the ungodly lines. Remember, again, that Moses wrote this during his lifetime, and from that point of view he could clearly make the connection between those current enemies and Israel.

What is interesting in this chapter is that Israel as a nation is not mentioned. Its existence is likely assumed since it is from that perspective the account is written.

One other interesting point to observe is that this chapter is adapted at the beginning of 1 Chronicles (1:4-23). You can read that on your own and see the comparisons & contrasts.

This chapter is written with the land of Canaan, Israels future homeland, as the point of reference. In general, the geographical distribution of Noahs sons is as follows:

The Japhethites are primarily associated with northern and western sites (Asia Minor and Europe); the Hamites with Egypt, Mesopotamia, and some of Arabia; and the Shemites with the areas of northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Arabia.[1]

Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 433). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The three times we have heard of Noahs sons up to this point it has been Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Here in the genealogy, this order is reversed.

And so let us now notice the family of Japheth.

a. Japheth (10:2-5)

2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

Some have said that by focusing first on Japheth, it allows for more focus on the next two sons as they play a bigger role in the history of Israel.

As we go through these names, some may stick out to us as sounding familiar. I cannot go through each name and make extended commentary because it would get rather long and I imagine yes a bit boring. This is the kind of chapter that is more conducive for a Sunday School or a personal study where you can really dig and see beyond what a sermon can present.

What we see here in verses 2-5 is a summary of names of Japheths sons and the commentary in verse 5 of their lineage. Beyond the list of names here, we have the comment that Japheths descendants were the Gentile coastland people.

As we noted, then, the descendants of Japheth are generally associated with the northern and western locations (Asia Minor and Europe).

Names that stick out to me were Magog (often noted in end-times passages such as Ezekiel 38:1), Ashkenaz (Ashkenazi Jews German, Eastern European Jews – noted at the end of the first millennium, associated with Yiddish in our day), Tarshish (associated with Jonahs story, southwestern Spain).

Next, we have Noahs son, Ham:

b. Ham (10:6-20)

6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

You can see Cush on the second map at the bottom near the Nile River. Now the descendants of Ham are noted:

8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

There is plenty here that sounds familiar. Nimrod is highlighted as one who obtained a reputation for his hunting skills. Here we see not just a place but a person. He is associated with Babylonia, and of course Babel is familiar as well as Assyria and the city of Nineveh. We hear elsewhere in scripture these places as well as the location of the land of Shinar (Daniel 1:2, Zechariah 5:11).

Obviously, for Israel, these were nations and people that were enemies and played a major role in the scattering of Gods people later in history. Moses wrote but of course does not know that yet.

Next we have Hams other son, Mizraim:

13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim).

Mizraim is Egypt and in fact in the Hebrew text, this is the word that is used. The other names of Mizraim are not familiar, but the parenthetical note pointing to the Philistines is of course familiar to us, but it merely points out to migration that took place, not lineage (BKC). It would be like saying that Israel is from Egypt (BKC).

The Philistines migrated from their Aegean homelands through Caphtor into the Delta of Egypt and finally to Palestine. This, however, appears to refer to an earlier group of Pelasgo-Philistine tribes, distinct from those in the 13th century b.c.[2]

Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 43). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

The son of Ham, Put, has no expansion here, but we do have mention of Canaan (Hams 4th, verse 6).

15 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; 16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. 19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

Sidon rings familiar, as the land of the Sidonians, along the northeastern coast of the Mediterranean in the land of Canaan. Heth refers to the land of the Hittites. Jebusites, Amorites, and Girgashites show up in lists in Joshua & Judges. Verse 19 gives us a map of Canaan much as we know it, and thus its name.

And so that is the family of Ham. Remember, it was Ham whose son, Canaan, was cursed and deemed a servant of servants to his brethren (9:25).

Now we have the third son of Noah, Shem, and the names we are to know something about here:

c. Shem (10:21-31)

21 And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder. 22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brothers name was Joktan. 26 Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. 31 These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.

It seems clear that there is special emphasis upon the family of Shem. When we get closer to the narrative about Abraham, we will clearly see why as well. This is the son of Noah that links with Gods unfolding plan in the rest of the bible.

And so what do we see in Shems family. Eber is featured here even before we know his father. Elam became a well-known city east of Babylon. Susa as the capital. Asshur was the land of Assyria. Arphaxad is uncertain with all details, but students place this northeast of Nineveh. You can see it on both maps. Well see this name appear in chapter 11 (10, 11, 12, 13). Lud appears in two different spots on your maps. Aram is north of Canaan as noted on both maps.

Verse 24 traces us now to Eber, the one noted in verse 21. Not much is known of Eber, but the narrator seems eager to mention the circumstances of his son, Peleg as the one in whose days the earth was divided. This appears to link his time with what we see in chapter 11 in the tower of Babel and Gods dispersion. Also, this would make the tower of Babel event five generations after the flood (BKC).

We then have Pelegs brother Joktan and verses 26-29 lists his 13 sons. Verse 30 identifies their location as from Mesha toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. The maps you have dont show this, but it would be toward the southern end of the Red Sea, close to the Arabian Sea. This would be near and in modern day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, etc. Somalia would be south of Yemen across the Arabian Sea.

Verse 32 wraps it up:

d. Summary (10:32)

32 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.

Obviously, much more could be said of this, but I wanted to give an overview of this so we could see the distribution of Noahs three sons and their locations.

What is critical to understand with the information of chapter 10 is the narrative of 11:1-9. This is the tower of Babel narrative that helps us understand WHY the sons of Noah and their sons ended up where they did.

We have all heard the tower of Babel taught, but let us understand it within the context of chapter 10.

2. Tower of Babel (11:1-9)

Notice how 11 begins:

a. Unity (11:1-2)

11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

Now at first read, this sounds like a very practical thing. One language. One speech. Everyone could communicate and understand each other. Sounds very practical. They all journey and gather in the land of Shinar. We were told about this land in 10:10 Noah-Ham-Cush-Nimrodkingdom in the land of Shinar. This is the land of Babylonia.

And so this mass of people all unified by language and purpose dwells there. We have another reference to the east, as noted in Genesis 2:14, 3:24, 4:16 references to location and banishment. By inference, we could observe that this collection people there is something outside of Gods blessing. This becomes clear as we hear the minutes from their urban planning meeting read:

b. Plans (11:3-4)

3 Then they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly. They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.

These verses reveal not only their desire to build something, but the reason for doing so. They talk about their building materials bricks, asphalt how they have the technology to build this city, a massive structure that will depict their greatness.

The narrator provides his Hebrew audience an explanation for the building practices of the Babelites. Unlike Mesopotamian structures, Israelite and Canaanite buildings were constructed of Palestines rocks that were ubiquitous [present everywhere] to the region. Production of brickware for construction was a common feature in early Mesopotamia. Its technology was invented in Babylonia during the fourth millennium and later exported to other countries. Both conventional mud bricks and baked (fired) bricks were used in monumental structures, as in the ancient ziggurat. Bricks for foundation walls and courts were set in asphalt. A representative group usually was inscribed with the name of the royal benefactor of the edifice. Akkadian linu, meaning brickworker, is cognate with Hebrew lan, to brick. As we have seen, this aspect of the towers construction was a persistent source of wordplay for the author of 11:19. He seized Mesopotamias prized accomplishment as a target for ridiculing its religious polytheism and cultural pride.[3]

Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 481). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

There is much discussion about what exactly they were going to build and what precisely it all meant, but it seems clear that their designs were to settle in this great city and symbolize their autonomy as a people by this great structure. They were going to build themselves this city, this tower, and they were going to have much to boast about.

The last phrase of verse 4 shows the motivation: lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.

It appears that their goal was NOT to scatter over the whole earth, as chapter 10 depicts. This helps us see here that the events of chapter 10 took place after the events here in chapter 11.

The inclination of sinful man is to pool resources and find a way to exist and thrive without any reference to God. There are many things we could consider as we ponder this setting. We know that in the end times, and even now, the push for one global world, a world without borders, etc, will be prevalent. I find it very fascinating that so many of the issues of our day were addressed long ago in the pages of Genesis. Nothing is new.

This was their desire to build, to make their name great. What does God think of this? Notice the contrast:

c. Gods condescension (11:5)

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

This verse is the center of a narrative that now will unravel. The first part heads in one direction, but God intervenes and undoes it all. Many have noted the chiastic structure of this narrative.

And so it would appear that these people had made their structure, but notice Gods perspective on it: he came down to see it. This is condescending language. Man builds up, but always God looks down. It is as if God had to come way down just so he could see this little tiny edifice that mankind had erected to his own glory.

d. Gods assessment (11:6)

6 And the Lord said, Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.

God speaks and sees their unity and their collective strength and purpose. What they accomplished is seen as exhibit A in what could be many more similar things that would build a world that is completely without God.

Gods assessment that they all had one language was that it was not good. Language, as we well know, is the key feature in communication that leads to just about everything we can do with others. The language we speak and understand is about the first thing we notice in others, and when there is confusion very little gets done.

Doug Phillips, when he was interacting in the past, mentioned he wanted to show a video depicting the humor in what could happen between languages. The video shows a German being trained in taking coast guard calls. A distressful calls comes in from some Russians who are sinking. The dispatcher thinks they said thinking instead of sinking and so replies: what are you thinking about?

In World magazine years ago there was a hilarious report of a Russian charity that had printed Christmas leaflets that were supposed to say do good. Instead, when the leaflet returned from the printer it read exterminate beavers.

Being able to understand language is important, which is why we also invest in several missionaries whose work is to help in this very field of language and communicating the truth of scripture.

What was Gods solution for the problem he discerned here at the tower? Verse 7:

e. Gods solution (11:7-9)

7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech.

Here we have language that depicts the godhead in agreement over the plan to introduce different languages with express purpose of introducing confusion. It was Gods express goal to have different languages so that they would not all understand one another.

If anyone wants to know where different languages originated, it is here with God. Sure, we can explain them in many ways through the charts in the dictionaries and the languages that have similar roots and so forth. But the blueprint for this idea was Gods so that it would require that people group together by language and nation all over the earth rather than just in one place together.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

Thus, the distribution you see on your map and in the record of Genesis 10 is the direct result of God scattering them abroad. They ceased to finish their plans to build since God thinned them out over a much larger territory.

This scattering is now explained in a name:

9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

We encounter this naming procedure often in the bible, and here we see it in this account. In regard to the name Babel

the name is phonologically related to the verb confused (bal), which occurs twice in the story (vv. 7, 9). the Babylonians themselves understood their city to mean gate of the gods (b-ili). Our authors sarcasm bites at the Babelites deluded aim of obtaining a name through the erection of the city (v. 4). We also point out the intriguing coincidence of Enuma Elish, where following the building of Babylon for the hero Marduk the assembly of the deities proclaims the fifty names of the god. Biblical Genesis shows that the appropriate name of BabylonBabbleis no commendation!

The significance of the Babel story for the Mosaic community would speak to the critical role its father Abraham played in the world of nations. Israel, as his successor, must take up the same role, serving as the appointed vehicle of Gods salvation among the Gentiles. Moreover, Babel exemplified the threat that the indigenous Canaanite cities presented for Israel. These cities were perceived as overwhelming fortresses (Num 13:28; Deut 1:28; 3:5; 9:1); nevertheless they would fall before the judgment of God. Any culture, such as Babel, that defied the moral will of God would meet with the same end as the tower.[4]

Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 486). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

There are many angles we could explore in this story as there are many extra-biblical parallels with accounts to some of these things, but the overall picture here is very clear. Gods will for mankind was not to coalesce and displace Him, but rather to scatter and depend upon His will for our lives. As well see next week, the genealogy picks up again and will lead us directly at the next great character in the book of Genesis, the patriarch Abraham.

What do we see in chapters 10 & 11:1-9? We see a sovereign God who is powerful, who directs our steps even in the face of mankind who desires to be autonomous. As we struggle with the difficulty of different languages, let us remember why they were given. They were the necessary gridlock implemented so that we do not do whatever we want and achieve whatever human greatness determines.

Thank God for His plan and purpose in distributing Noahs sons and nations all around the world.

There is an appropriate unity and oneness of purpose, and it is to give God glory and to worship Him forever. Ultimately, this is what the church is all about, and may we remember that from day to day.