Excavating Walls

I haven't been posting much, lately, although I have been working on a post about the nations descended from Ham. However, in one post I mentioned that the Bible always proves to be trustworthy, even though at times people question its authenticity. I said that time and archaeological efforts seem to overturn the naysayer's position every time, and that I would try to give some examples of this as I came across them. Here is a link to a story (Archaeologist sees proof for Bible in ancient wall) about the findings of an archaeologist named Eilat Mazar, who, in the words of the article's author Matti Friedman, "is leading the excavation of newly discovered excavations outside the Old City walls." These "date back 3,000 years to the time of the Bible's King Solomon and offer evidence for the accuracy of the Biblical narrative." Read this well-written article and marvel at the grace of God who gives us countless reasons to believe that what He says is true. Note: I can't seem to get the above link to function. I'm still too new at this to deal with it now, but you can probably find the story by googling Eilat Mazar's name.

Genesis 10:6-20 The nations descended from Ham

Ham had several sons: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan.

Cush's sons were: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. A son named Nimrod is also mentioned in verse 8. Some say Nimrod may be the Hebrew name for Sargon I, an early ruler of Akkad. In verses 8-12, Nimrod is said to be "a mighty warrior on the earth" (NIV), and "a mighty hunter before the LORD"(NIV). The centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in Shinar. Then he went on to build Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen.

Mizraim's sons are the following peoples: The Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites (the Philistines came from these) and the Caphtorites.

Put's sons are not named here, if he had any.

Canaan's sons are Sidon (his firstborn),and the following peoples: the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Scripture says that "Later, the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha." (v.18-19 NIV)

I suppose a map of some sort would be helpful for identifying where these nations/peoples are thought to have been located. I will try to find one that will allow reproduction here.

Genesis 10: The Nations of the World (Japheth)

Before settling in upon the life of Abraham in Genesis 11-12, chapter 10 gives us a whirlwind tour of the origins of the nations of the world. Genesis 10 takes the three sons of Noah (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and begins to tell of the nations that arose from their lines. Japheth's descendants are dealt with first.

Japheth had seven sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. Next, we are told of the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of Javan are next: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. (Note that those last two are peoples as opposed to individuals, although they each sprang from some son of Japheth.) We are also told that from these sons of Javan, the seagoing peoples spread out into other territories, each with its own language. In a way we are getting ahead of ourselves here, for we have not yet been told of the Tower of Babel incident, which comes in Genesis chapter 11. However, this is just an overview of the peoples who come from Japheth's line.

I am very interested in history and archaeology, especially as it relates to Biblical events. However, I am far from knowledgeable about many aspects. It seems that the consensus is that the following are the peoples indicated from the above sons of Japheth. I'll just put them into a list for now. Perhaps later, as I go along, I can get into a more detailed exploration of these people groups/nations. In a way, you are following me as I explore the book of Genesis and try to set out its connections with actual individuals or nations.

Japheth's sons and the nations/peoples that these represent:

Gomer - the Cimmerians (and others: see Genesis 10:3, where Askenaz (Scythians), Riphath and Togarmah are mentioned. All are near the Black Sea area.)

Magog - a Scythian people in the Caucasus and the area southeast of the Black Sea.

Madai - The Medes

Javan - Ionia (southern Greece) and western Asia Minor. Some sons of Javan mentioned in Genesis 10 are Elishah (either Alashia, which is an older name for Cyprus, or a reference to Sicily and southern Italy), Tarshish (southern Spain?), Kittim (a people living on Cyprus), and the Rodanim, whose name may be reflected in the Greek isle of Rhodes.

Tubal, Meshech - some say these are related to Tobolsk and Moscow in modern Russia. Some say that this is not the case, but that Tubal is possibly Pontus, and Meshech was in the Moschian Mountains. Sounds like a topic for further investigation, in a post of its own.

Tiras - possibly Thrace

As I mentioned in earlier posts, the Bible is not just a collection of moral stories or fables, but is rooted in actual history. I find it fascinating that the Bible has never been proven wrong when it speaks of individuals or events. Time after time, skeptics have held up certain elements of a Biblical account as false, only to have the steady march of time and archaeological exploration reveal that the account was indeed true. I'll try to give some concrete examples of that in later posts.

That is all I have on Japheth's sons for now.

Japheth

Genesis 9:27 (NIV) has this to say about Japheth: "May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave." Japheth's name sounds like the Hebrew word for 'extend', and he certainly seemed to live up to this name, as his territory extended up into Eurasia. One of the most intriguing aspects of the pronouncements which Noah made concerning Japheth is that he would 'live in the tents of Shem'. My immediate thoughts concerning this statement were that perhaps this meant that the peoples of these two brothers would intermarry. Another interpretation is that the Japhethites would share in the spiritual blessings given to Shem. Perhaps both aspects are implied.

One thing that nags me concerning the statements made by Noah concerning these three brothers (Shem,Ham and Japheth) is that, most likely, people from all three lineages intermarried, so how are we to interpret the statements made concerning each brother? Certainly there had to be God-fearing people even among Ham's descendants, and ungodly elements within both Shem and Japheth's peoples, so we can't be too quick to write off anyone just because he/she comes from a certain line. It may be that these pronouncements are meant to be a general characterization of these lines.

Shem

Let's move on to Genesis 9:26. In this verse, Shem seems to be given some sort of prominence in his relationship with God: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem.."(NIV). Of course, God is God to Ham and Japheth as well, but it seems that this line of Shem will have some sort of special closeness to God. Perhaps it would be more precise to say that it is through this line that God will continue to work to bring the promised Savior/Messiah. So, again, it is not that Shem's line is better in some way. The focus is upon God's choice of this line to carry out this certain aspect of His will and plan. We will go into more detail about this as it develops through the Biblical narrative, but it is through this line that Jesus Christ is eventually born.

There is some controversy as to whether Shem or Japheth is the oldest son of Noah. We have already established that Ham is the youngest son. (Genesis 9:24) I used to wonder why people had a struggle as to which of the other two, Shem or Japheth, was the oldest. It seemed that Genesis 10:21 (NIV) answered that question: "Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth...". Then I discovered that there is some debate as to whether that verse should read: "...to Shem, the older brother of Japheth". Ah, now I see. It could go either way. We might argue that the oldest son was the most likely to inherit the blessing of being the one through whom the promised Messiah was to come, so that Shem is likely the oldest. However, Scripture is full of places where the second or younger brother is given preeminence, almost as if to say that God will do as He sees fit regardless of human systems of hierarchy. So at this point, I just do not know which son is the oldest. Drop me an email/comment if you have further ideas on this topic.