I'm continuing my informal study of the Bible's numerous genealogies. Here is the third genealogy in Genesis: the sons of Noah. Genesis 10 is often called "the Table of the Nations." This translation is KJV, in the public domain.
Genesis 10. Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,
16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
I didn't even have to consult my Bible study books! I found this excellent Jewish source that explains these names and traditions.
https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-table-of-nations-the-geography-of-the-world-in-genesis-10
Here is the corresponding genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1:
5 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
6 And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
7 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
8 The sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
9 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth.
11 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
12 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim.
13 And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth,
14 The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
15 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
16 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.
17 The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.
18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber.
19 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother's name was Joktan.
20 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
21 Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah,
22 And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
23 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
One of my favorite books for study, The Torah: A Modern Commentary (Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981), has this (p. 77):
"The geographic area covered by the biblical table reaches from the Caucasus mountains in the north to Ethiopia in the south, from the Aegean Sea in the west to the highlands of Iran in the east. Broadly speaking, Japheth refers to the peoples at the northern and western periphery of the Fertile Crescent, including the Medes, the Cypriots, the Scythians, and the Ionians. The offspring of Ham dwell about the Red Sea and include Ethiopians, Egyptians, and Canaanites. The descendants of Shem live in the heart of the Crescent itself and include Arabs, Arabians, and Assyrians.
"This chapter represents the combinations of two separate traditions. The older one (Gen. 10:8-19, 21, 22-30) is concern primarily with tribes and cleans; the more recent one stresses the term (גוי goy, nation) and is maintained a catalogue of states and languages (as, for instance, in verses 5, 20, 31, 32)...
"No reference to 'race' or skin color can be detected in this list. This is not to say that the Bible is without prejudices or preferences... but it is totally devoid of any notion of racial superiority."
My Jewish Study Bible (Oxford, 2004) notes: "The fluidity of identity, which allows a name to refer both to an individual and to a nation, is characteristic of the Tanakh and especially prominent in Genesis... political relationships are at least as important as ethnicity and linguistic affinity in establishing lines of descent. Thus, the Canaanites are classed with Egypt... though the geographic and linguistic relations of the Canaanites ought to put them in the same class as Israel (who have not yet emerged), the class of Shimites. The genealogy probably reflects the political reality that for a long time prior to the emergence of Israel, Egypt had dominated Canaan" (p. 26).
That same source notes that the name Ashkenaz (descendant of Gomer, vs. 3) refers to the Scythians who lived north of the Black Sea. During the Middle Ages the term was reused to refer to Jews of central and northeastern Europe (pp. 26, 28).
Several of my books, including this one (p 28), speculate that the reference to Nimrod (10:8-12) was likely part of an older epic that has been much abbreviated by the J source. The first emperor was also the mighty hunter (v. 9).
Nimrod is also the name of one of Edward Elgar's famous "Enigma Variations," likely the most famous of them (https://www.classical-music.com/features/works/a-guide-to-nimrod-from-elgars-enigma-variations/). I read somewhere that the slang meaning of the name--a foolish person--comes from a Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs refers to the hunter Elmer Fudd as "poor little Nimrod."
There are genealogy pages from the 1629 Prayer Book for these families.
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