Chapter 10

Introduction This chapter brings in what has been called the Table of Nations. It gives the genealogy of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. From these sons nations were born. This is considered one of the most definitive and accepted genealogies given in the Bible. Dr. William F. Albright, universally acknowledged as the world’s leading authority on the archaeology of the Near East, though himself not a believer in the infallibility of Scripture, said concerning this Table of Nations: "It stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in genealogical framework. . . The Table of Nations remains an astonishingly accurate document." The grandsons and great-grandsons are mentioned with the nations they established. There is nothing more accurate found yet in archeology. Shem is the one to watch because of the extension of his family proceeds to Jesus. It is thought that Shem probably wrote down the information that was accumulated and put together with other writings by Moses. Shem's descendants are followed to six generations in this chapter. The other two brothers are followed through the third generation. One thing to keep in mind when reading the Bible with so many names, especially in the earliest days. The names, pronunciations, and spelling differ. The only way to get a handle on the spellings is to get the information out of relationships within other portions of the Bible or to obtain information from writer that have already completed that task.

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