Genesis 10:21-32 — Nations After the Flood | Daily Word

Explore Genesis 10’s genealogy of Shem and discover how God’s plan unfolded through the lineage of Noah’s son, tracing the ancestry of the Hebrew people and God’s purpose for nations.

Nations After the Flood

[Scripture]

[21] To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. [22] The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. [23] The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. [24] Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. [25] To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan. [26] Joktan fathered 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] The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east. [31] These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations. [32] These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood. (Gen 10:21-32, ESV)

[Daily Word]

# The Genealogy of Shem, Son of Noah

Looking first at verse 21, the text records that Shem was the ancestor of all the children of Eber and the older brother of Japheth. The name “Eber” derives from the word “avar,” meaning “to cross over,” which shares the same meaning and root as the word “Hebrew.” In other words, Shem is identified as the ancestor of all the Hebrews. In Gen 14:13, Abram is introduced as follows: “Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew.” This is the first time Abram is called a “Hebrew” in Scripture, and it confirms that Abram was a descendant of Shem.

Shem had five sons: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. Of these, the Bible records the descendants of Aram and Arpachshad. The sons of Aram, listed in verse 23, are Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber — the very ancestor of the Hebrew people — through the line of Arpachshad. Eber then had two sons, and one of them was named Peleg. The name Peleg means “to divide” or “to split.”

The reason for this name is given in the text: “for in his days the earth was divided.” This is understood to refer to the events of the Tower of Babel, when languages were confused and people were scattered across the earth in every direction. Thus, we can see that Peleg was born at the very time the world was being divided and scattered.

# From the Line of Peleg, Abraham — the Father of Faith — Is Born.

This genealogy is recorded in Genesis 11:10–26.

11:10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, two years after the flood, he fathered Arpachshad.

11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber.

11:16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he fathered Peleg.

11:24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he fathered Terah.

11:26 After Terah had lived seventy years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

# The Genealogy of Joktan, the Second Son of Eber

This is recorded in Genesis 10:26–30. Unlike his older brother Peleg, who became the ancestor of the Hebrew people, Joktan became the ancestor of the Arabian tribes. This is why verse 30 records that their dwelling place extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country of the east — a region that encompasses the Arabian Peninsula.

There is a reason the Bible clearly separates the genealogy of Peleg from the genealogy of Joktan. ① It is to ensure that the descendants of Peleg and the descendants of Joktan do not overlap. ② It is because, from the line of Peleg, those who call upon and look to the LORD would rise again. After the flood, God blessed Noah and his sons, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” And just as He had spoken, the whole earth was filled with the descendants of Noah. This signifies that human history has unfolded according to the will of God.

# A Human-Centered History Emerges.

In the midst of this, a powerful ruler named Nimrod rose up among humanity, and as a result, those who had been living God-centered lives began to drift toward a human-centered way of life. Those who had once been of one heart and one voice within God’s will now found themselves living in opposition to God, driven by human ambition. Yet this earth once again became a land of corruption, and God brought its disorder back into order. His means of doing so was to scatter and divide all the languages. And from among those divided nations, He chose one family through whom His will would be established on the earth once more.

This is God’s providence and His way of loving humanity. Therefore, we who are living a life of faith right now are truly special — we must believe that God is guiding our lives. Remember that a life lived solely in the Lord through this faith is a blessed life, and I pray that each of us would fix our eyes on the Lord alone throughout this day.

The genealogy of Shem, the descendants of Noah, the scattering of the nations, the diversity of languages, the providence of God

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com