Genesis 10:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

NIV: Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,

NASB: the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite,

CSB: as well as the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

NLT: Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,

KJV: And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

NKJV: the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite;

This verse continues a list of the sons of Canaan, Noah's great-grandsons through his son, Ham. These sons of Canaan will become the Canaanites, the peoples occupying the Promised Land, which the people of Israel will come to conquer after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 3:17). Unfortunately, while other nations had their flaws, the Canaanite peoples would become especially wicked. This, more than anything else, is what motivates God to send Israel as a form of judgment (Deuteronomy 9:3–6). This flows from the curse given to Canaan by Noah, on account of Ham's dishonoring of his father (Genesis 9:20–25).

Verse 16 mentions the Jebusites, the Amorites, and the Girgashites. The Jebusites settled in what would later become the city of Jerusalem (Judges 1:21; 1 Chronicles 11:4).

Genesis 10:6–20 details the descendants of Noah's son, Ham. The majority of these tribes settled in the regions south and east of the Promised Land. While Ham's son Canaan was cursed (Genesis 9:24–25), many of Ham's descendants established powerful nations. One of these is Mizraim, also known as Egypt. Though Canaan's sons were destined to fall to the sons of Shem, other sons of Ham would hold Israel captive for more than 400 years. This passage also contains an interesting aside about one particular man: Nimrod.

Genesis 10 is sometimes called the table of nations. It describes, in three sections, the peoples that descended from Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Japheth's people settled mostly to the north of what would be Israel. Ham's people became great nations in the region of the Middle East, including the people that would settle in the Promised Land before Israel drove them out. Shem's line would lead to Abraham and the Israelites.

Genesis 9 described events that happened between God, Noah, and his three sons after the flood. Genesis 11 will tell the story of the Tower of Babel and the dispersal of the nations. Between them, Genesis 10 is a table of the nations that come from Japheth, Ham, and Shem after God divides and disperses humanity.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 11/21/2024 10:47:27 AM