Chapter 10

These were the descendants of Noe’s children, Sem, Cham and Japheth, through the sons that were born to them after the flood.

These were the sons of Japheth; Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Thubal, Mosoch and Thiras.

And these were Gomer’s sons, Ascenez, Riphath and Thogorma.

And these were Javan’s sons, Elisa, Tharsis, Cetthim and Dodanim;

who divided up the islands of the Gentiles, region by region. Each of these became separate nations, distinct in speech and in blood.

These were Cham’s sons; Chus, Mesraim, Phuth and Chanaan.

And these were the sons of Chus; Saba, Hevila, Sabatha, Regma and Sabatacha. And these were Regma’s sons, Saba and Dadan.

Chus was also the father of Nemrod, who was the first great warrior;

bold, too, by God’s grace,1 at the hunt, whence the proverb arose, By God’s grace, a huntsman bold as Nemrod.

His empire began with Babylon, Arach, Achad and Chalanne, in the country of Sennaar.

It was from that country Assur went out to build Nineve and its suburbs,2 and Chale;

and between Nineve and Chale he built the great city of Resen.

Mesraim was the father of the Ludim, the Anamim, the Laabim, and the Nephthuim;

the Phetrusim, too, and the Chasluim (from whom the Philistines sprang) and the Caphtorim.

Chanaan was the father of Sidon; this was his first-born son. From him, too, come Hethites,

Jebusites, Amorrhites, Gergesites,

Hevites, Aracites, Sinites,

Aradians, Samarites and Amathites; so, in later times, the Chanaanite peoples spread this way and that.

That Chanaanite territory, beginning at Sidon, reached as far as Gaza on the road to Gerara, and as far as Lesa on the road to Sodom, Gomorrha, Adama and Seboim.

These were the descendants of Cham; such were the tribes, the tongues, the branches, the countries, the peoples that came from him.

Sem, too, Japheth’s elder brother, had children; he is father of all who claim descent from Heber.

His sons were called Aelam, Assur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

These were Aram’s sons, Us, Hul, Gether and Mes.

Arphaxad was the father of Sale, and Sale of Heber.

Heber had two sons; one was called Phaleg, Division, because in his time the territory was divided up, and his brother’s name was Jectan.

This Jectan was the father of Elmodad, Saleph, Asarmoth, Jare,

Aduram, Uzal, Decla,

Ebal, Abimael, Saba,

Ophir, Hevila and Jobab. All these were Jectan’s sons,

and their territory reached from Messa to mount Sephar in the east.

These were the sons of Sem; such were their tribes and tongues and countries and peoples.

These were the descendants that sprang from Noe, divided according to their peoples and their races; this was how the nations were scattered over the earth after the flood.