THE NEW EARTH After the renewal of the earth by the waters of the great flood, God filled it by the descendants of Noah. But, despite that renewal, man got back to abiding in evil that prevailed over the whole world. In this chapter, the divine inspiration presents to us a genealogy of Noah’s descendants, that reveals the origin of old nations. Professor Kautysch of Haile says that it is an absolutely unique record in this concern, that was supported by all archeological discoveries1. It was formerly claimed that there are certain discrepancies or flaws in that genealogy as far as the origin of peoples is concerned, but modern discoveries came to be in accordance with this chapter. The goal of this Scripture is not to display the origin of nations, as much as to introduce us to the origin of the old nation, from which the Lord Christ, Savior of world, came. 1- Descendants of Japheth 1-5. 2- Descendants of Ham 6-20. 3- Descendants of Shem 21-31. 1- DESCENDANTS OF JAPHETH ‘Japheth,’ meaning ‘Let it be enlarged or extended2,’ was born to the 500 years old Noah (Gen. 5:32; 6:10). When his father got drunk and naked, he, together with his brother Shem, behaved respectfully and wisely. That earned them a seemingly obscure blessing (Gen. 9:27). That proclaimed a movement of the non-Semitic nations (descendants of Japheth), to dwell in the tents of Shem, which, as some believe, refer to the movements, more than once, of certain peoples and nations, to the bosom of Christ or to His Church - He who came incarnated, a descendant of Shem, opening the doors of His Church before all peoples and nations. Japheth generally represents the Indo-European people3. Here, seven sons of Japheth were mentioned. After whose names several peoples were called, from which several others were derived. We shall not go here into their details. His seven sons are: (1) Gomer: a name that means in Hebrew ‘highest perfection,’ especially that of failure!4 The wife of the prophet ‘Hosea’ carried that same name ‘Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim.’ The descendants of Gomer inhabited the north, to be called by the Greek Historian Homer, ‘People of the far north5.’ Herodotus mentioned that they came to Asia from regions beyond the land of the Caucasians6, and settled down in Capaducia, where they presented a threat to the Assyrian Empire, until defeated by Aserheddon. Moving west, they occupied Asia Minor, where they entered more than once into battles with ‘Guges,’ the King of Lydia, at the end of which he was eventually killed. He was probably the one called by the Holy Scripture by the name . 1 الأرشدياكون نجيب جرجس: سفر التكوين، ١٩٧٣ ، ص ١٦١ 2 New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, p. 446; McKenzie: Dictionary of the Bible, p. 413. 3 New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, p. 446. . 4 للمؤلف: هوشع، صفحة ٢٠ 5 Odyssey 11:14. 6 Herod. 4:11-12. 4 of ‘Gog1.’ Afterwards, they were driven out of Asia (Lydia), by the Alyattes2. (2) Magog: A Hebrew name meaning ‘the land of Gog.’ The name Magog was connected to Gog; the two names symbolized opposition to Christian faith (Revelation 20: 7-9). In the Middle Ages, the Syrians called the land of the Tatar, ‘Magog;’ while the Arabs gave that name to the land located between the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea. (3) Madai: From whose descent the empire of the Mades, that united with Persia, came. They dwelt south and south-west of the Caspian Sea - of an area of about 150, 000 square miles; known as Mades or Media. (4) Javan: Father of the Greeks. the word ‘Javan’ in the Holy Scripture (Zechariah 9:13), means the Greek or Macedonian people, whose land was also called ‘Eonia.’ (5) Tubal: mentioned together with Javan (Isaiah 66:19) and Meshech (Ezekiel 27:13), in connection with slave trading. Gog had been the head of Meshech and Tubal, the two people have been connected together, and known in Assyrian history by the two names: ‘Mushbi’ and ‘Tabali,’ as very strong opponents of Assyria in the twelfth century B.C. The descendants of Tubal probably dwelt in the land east of Asia Minor. (6) Meshech: It is believed that his descendants dwelt in the region next to where Tigris and Euphrates rivers spring (Psalm 120:5; Ezekiel 32:26). Then moved to the vicinity of the Dead Sea and the Caspian Sea; they were traders with Tyre (Ezekiel 27:13). (7) Tiras: From whose descendants, the ‘Tirasian’ people came. They dwelt on the islands and coasts of the Aegean Sea; they are probably the pirates of Turusha, who invaded Egypt and Syria in the thirteenth century B.C., and were mentioned in the records of Ramses the Third3. From the descendants of these seven sons, came other peoples and nations, actually this is not the right place to discuss them. 2- DESCENDANTS OF HAM The word ‘Ham” means ‘hot.’ That is why the god of the sun was called ‘Hammu,’ because of the heat of the sun and its warmness. Ham was born to Noah when he was 500 years old (Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 9:24). He, and his son Canaan behaved unwisely toward Noah, bringing a curse to Canaan (9:23-27). From Ham, through his four sons, came peoples that dwelt in south Arabia, Nubia, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Land of Canaan; although Egypt had been called by the name of ‘Ham’’ in old poetry (Psalms 78:51; 105:23, 27; 106:22). His four sons are Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan: (1) Cush: The word ‘Cush,’ in Hebrew, means ‘black.’ Cush, the firstborn of Ham, gave birth to five sons who produced five peoples: Seba (meaning man), Havilah (meaning province), Sebta (meaning striker), Raamah (meaning trembling) and Sabtechah (meaning striker4). These peoples dwelt in mid and south Arabia. But .٢٦١ ¡ 1 راجع للمؤلف: حزقيال، ١٩٨١ ، ص ٢٦٠ 2 Herod. 1:16. 3 New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, p. 951. .١٦٧ ¡ 4 الأرشدياكون نجيب جرجس: سفر التكوين، ١٩٧٣ ، ص ١٦٦ 5 Seba departed to Africa (Ethiopia). That is why ‘Cush,’ in the Old Testament, mostly designates Ethiopia and Nubia (south of Egypt), and sometimes south and middle of the Arabian Peninsula. In several dictionaries of the Holy Bible, Cush is considered only as Ethiopia. The descendants of Ham generally produced peoples and nations that were opponents to the work of God and His people in the Old Testament. That is why the Old Testament came to proclaim the divine wrath on these peoples, being symbols of evil; Cush referred to the darkness of ignorance. And Egypt to the love of the world that enslaves the soul. Besides that Canaan refers to the devilish work etc. Yet prophecies of the Old Testament did not leave these peoples without hope, but proclaiming the rejection of God’s people of faith, they also proclaimed the entrance of these nations into the divine covenant. Thus, these nations that were under curse because of their idolatry and defilement, became the sanctified bride preparing for the eternal life in the bosom of the heavenly Father. If the Holy Bible reveals that through the seed of Shem, the Son of God would come incarnate as a descendant of Abraham, it likewise reveals the work of the evil one, especially through the descendants of ‘Nimrod,’ and through that of Canaan who represented who opposed the work of God. Concerning Nimrod, the son of Cush, it was said: “He began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said: ‘like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord’” (Gen. 10:8-9). That mighty hunter established a reigning dynasty in Babylon, Shinar and Accad. And, most probably, he was himself ‘Gelgamish’ the Accadian, or the Babylonian. Anyhow, Babylon turned to become later a symbol of pride and challenge to God, as well as to the spiritual fornication (Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:1-5). Babylon referred, according to St. Augustine1, to wickedness, and to the kingdom of the deceitful antichrist2. The word ‘Nimrod’ means ‘mighty’ or ‘Mutinous.’ As to the saying “A mighty hunter before the Lord,” it probably means that he was an arrogant, taking pride in his might in hunting and his opposition to the Lord. Strangely enough, many of those opponents to the Lord, were beast hunters like Esau; that is why St. Jerome says: [Esau also has been a beast hunter and a transgressor. In all the Holy Scripture, while we do not find a good hunter, we encounter many good fishermen3.] The kingdom of Nimrod was in the land of Shinar, meaning ‘Two Rivers,’ probably because of its location between Tigris and Euphrates, the plains of the land of Babylon. That kingdom included four principal cities at that time: Babylon, meaning ‘Gate of God;’ Erech meaning ‘permanent;’ Accad, meaning ‘straight;’ and Calneh, namely ‘a fortress.’ Nimrod and his tribe were not satisfied with that region, but set forth to Assyria, Nineveh ‘dwelling place of the god Nin,’ Rehoboth Ir ‘the spacious city,’ Calah ‘old age,’ and Resen. (2) Mizraim: This name in Hebrew designating a double sense, is attributed by some to Egypt being formed of two sections: Upper and Lower, or because the River Nile divides it into two sides: east and west. But the most accepted view is that it was called ‘Misr’ in Arabic, after ‘Mizraim’ in Hebrew, who inhabited it with his children, before extending to the neighboring lands. His children are: 1 On Ps. 26. .١٦٤ ¡ 2 راجع سفر رؤيا يوحنا اللاهوتي ١٩٧٩ ، ص ١٦٣ 3 On Ps. hom 20. 6 Ludim: From whom the people of Lud, or the Ludians came; they are different from the Luds, descendants of Shem (Gen. 10:22). They dwelt west of the Nile, close to Libya. Anamim: The tribe of his descendants dwelt in Libya. Lehabim: The tribe of Lehabim seems to be that of Lubim (the Lubians), Africans who originated in Egypt. Naphtuhim: His descendants dwelt in Middle Egypt, close to Memphis, center of god Petah: one of them might have immigrated to Ethiopia. Pathrusim: Dwelt in Phetros in Upper Egypt; the word ‘Phetros’ means the Land of the South. Casluhim: meaning ‘fortified;’ his descendants most probably dwelt in ‘Kesionis,’ a mountainous region east of ‘Balsam,’ on the frontier of Egypt with Palestine. From Casluhim came Philistines, whose descendants moved to Philistine, to form the old Philistinian people. The word ‘Philistine’ is probably derived from Philistines, meaning a foreigner or immigrant. From Casluhim also came “Caphtorim,’ meaning ‘crowns,’ whose descendants dwelt in Caphtor, thought by some to have been in Cappadocia in Asia Minor; while some others believe it to be Cyprus or the Island of Crete; still others believe that it has been in the Nile Delta near Memphis, where there was a city called ‘Capet-Hur,’ or most probably ‘Caphtor.’ (3) Canaan: The younger son of Ham; from whose descendants came the Canaanite tribes. We spoke concisely of some of these tribes in the introduction to the Book of Joshua1. 3- DESCENDANTS OF SHEM ‘Shem’ is a Hebrew name that means ‘high.’ Behaving wisely, together with his brother Japheth, when their father Noah drank and got naked, he was blessed by his father. His five sons dwelt in the region extending between the west of Asia and the east of the Mediterranean Sea. From his descendants came the Jews, the Arameans, the Assyrians, and the Arabs; That is why the languages spoken by the descendants of Shem, are called the Semite languages, like the Arabic and the Hebrew languages. The five sons of Shem are: Elam: In Acadian language, it means ‘heights.’ To him the Elamites and the Persians are referred. The land of Elam extends beyond the Tigris River, east of the kingdom of Babylon, south of Assyria and Media, and south-east of the kingdom of Persia. The capital city of that kingdom was ‘Shushan.’ Its people were thus the Elamites and were called the ‘Shushamites’.’ Elam was the center of an old empire that used to have an active political role in the history of the ancient empires of the east. Although the Elamites contributed to the fall of the kingdom of Babylon (Isaiah 21:2), yet the Medes included it in their empire (Persia and Medes), and made it a province of theirs, and made Shushan its capital (Daniel 8: 2). We hear about the Elamites in the day of the Pentecost (Acts 2:9); Now it constitutes a part of Iran, known as Khozestan. Asshur: He was the father of the Assyrians. Assyria is located at the upper reaches of River Tigris; its capital was Asshur, known today as ‘the citadel of Sharkat,’ on the west bank of the Tigris. The capital was moved later on to Nineveh. Assyria had been in continual conflict with the Babylonians in the south, and the Hittites in the north-west. Israel together with Judas, both submitted to Assyria, and .٣٠ – 1 يشوع، ١٩٨٢ ، ص ٢٣ 7 paid taxes to it. Israel fell under the captivity of Assyria as prophesied by Amos (Amos 5:27; 6:14), and by Hosea (Hosea 10:6; 11:5). God fought for Hezekiah, king of Judah, when attacked by Sennacherib, king of Assyria (Isaiah 36, 37). Finally, they were defeated by the Medes and the Babylonians. Arphaxad: The grandfather of the Arab Yaktan tribes. Josephus believes that he was also the grandfather of the Caldeans, who dwelt in the southern parts of the province of Mesopotamia. Lud: Grandfather of the Ludians; who were different from the other Ludians, descendants of Mizraim, who dwelt west of the River Nile in North Africa. Those, who were descendants of Shem, dwelt in the region of Lydia, west of Asia Minor. Aram: meaning the ‘high ground’: The Aramaic language was the old Syrian language. Aram has been a group of little countries or provinces, of which are, Aram, Mesopotamia (Gen. 24: 10), Aram, Damascus, Aram Soba (1 Samuel 14: 17), Aram Maaka (Joshua 12), and Aram Beth-Rehob (Judges 18:28) etc. Moses was keen to mention the descendants of Arphaxad, who begot Salah, who begot Eber, who begot Peleg, who begot Reu, who begot Serug, who begot Nahor, who begot Terah, who begot Abram (the Patriarch), who took Sarai as his wife. Moses also mentioned that Lot was the nephew of Abram, son of Haran, son of Terah. St. Augustine interpret the verse1, “The name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided “ (Gen. 10:25), that division referred to diversity of languages. As in the days of Peleg, many languages began to appear on earth, after they were speaking the single language that was spoken by all, later on was called “Hebrew.” 1 City of God 16:10, 11.
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