Genesis 10:20 kjv
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
Genesis 10:20 nkjv
These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.
Genesis 10:20 niv
These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
Genesis 10:20 esv
These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.
Genesis 10:20 nlt
These were the descendants of Ham, identified by clan, language, territory, and national identity.
Genesis 10 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 10:5 | From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each by his language, by their clans, and by their nations. | Similar summary for Japheth's descendants. |
| Gen 10:31 | These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, by their languages, by their lands, and by their nations. | Similar summary for Shem's descendants. |
| Gen 10:32 | 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. | Concludes the entire Table of Nations. |
| Gen 11:8-9 | So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth… Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. | God's active role in scattering and diversifying languages. |
| Deut 32:8 | When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. | God's divine ordination of national boundaries. |
| Acts 17:26 | And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. | Confirms divine ordering of nations and territories. |
| Num 1:18 | And they assembled the whole congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees by families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names... | Registering by families/clans. |
| Josh 7:16-17 | So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken... and then he brought the clan of the Zerahites near by families, and Zabdi was taken. | Identification by tribe, clan, family. |
| Judg 6:15 | And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” | Importance of "clan" (mishpachah) in identity. |
| Ps 33:10 | The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. | God's sovereignty over all nations. |
| Ps 78:55 | He drove out nations before them; he apportioned for them an inheritance by measurement and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. | God gives lands as inheritance. |
| Isa 2:4 | He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares... neither shall they learn war anymore. | Prophecy of peace among nations in the Lord's future reign. |
| Zeph 3:9 | “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure language, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord." | Future linguistic unity in worship of God. |
| Matt 28:19 | Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. | The Great Commission extends to all nations (ethne). |
| Rom 15:10-12 | And again it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him."... For the root of Jesse will come... in him will the Gentiles hope. | Inclusion of Gentiles/nations in God's redemptive plan. |
| Eph 2:14-16 | For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his dividing wall of hostility... that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, thus making peace... | Christ unites diverse peoples. |
| Col 3:11 | Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. | Cultural/ethnic distinctions are secondary in Christ. |
| Rev 5:9 | ...for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. | Redemption for all linguistic and ethnic groups. |
| Rev 7:9 | After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb... | The ultimate ingathering of diverse peoples in worship. |
| Rev 21:24 | By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. | Nations bring their unique glory into the New Jerusalem. |
Genesis 10 verses
Genesis 10 20 Meaning
Genesis 10:20 provides a concluding summary for the lineage of Ham's descendants, organizing them into distinct societal categories: their extended family groups (clans), their distinct means of communication (languages), the geographical territories they inhabited (lands), and their comprehensive collective identities (nations). This verse emphasizes the diverse and ordered peopling of the earth by Ham's family after the Flood, leading to the establishment of the varied peoples and cultures originating from him.
Genesis 10 20 Context
Genesis chapter 10 is widely known as the "Table of Nations," serving as an ethnological map detailing the origins and dispersion of the world's peoples after the great Flood. It begins with a general heading in verse 1, outlining that the descendants of Noah's three sons—Japheth, Ham, and Shem—would populate the earth. The chapter is structured with distinct sections for each son: Japheth's line (vv. 2-5), Ham's line (vv. 6-20), and Shem's line (vv. 21-31).
Within this structure, verse 20 serves as the concluding summary for the Hamitic peoples. Following the detailed listing of Ham's sons—Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan—and their respective descendants who went on to form various nations, this verse brings a logical conclusion to their section, preparing the reader for the transition to Shem's genealogy. The verse emphasizes that these diversifications were ordered, laying a foundational understanding of distinct people groups and territories before the pivotal narrative of the Tower of Babel in chapter 11, which explains the confusion of languages and further scattering of humanity.
Historically and culturally, the ancient world identified peoples based on kinship (clans), shared language, geographical domain, and collective national identity. Genesis 10, including verse 20, reflects this ancient worldview, asserting that all humanity originated from a single ancestral family (Noah) and dispersed into an ordered, albeit diverse, set of nations under God's overarching providence, rather than emerging from chaotic, spontaneous generation or multiple, unconnected origins. This provides a theological framework that challenges contemporary pagan myths of localized national origins or deified pantheons of specific ethnic groups.
Genesis 10 20 Word Analysis
- These (אֵלֶּה, 'elleh): A demonstrative pronoun. It functions here as a resumptive connector, pointing back to the preceding comprehensive list of Ham's descendants, effectively signaling the conclusion and summation of their section within the Table of Nations.
- are the sons of Ham (בְּנֵי־חָם, bnei-cham): "Sons of" (בְּנֵי, bnei) directly indicates the paternal lineage from Ham (חָם, Kham). The name Ham itself is of uncertain meaning, sometimes associated with "hot" or "burnt," potentially relating to regions settled by his descendants, such as Egypt and Canaan, which have warmer climates. This phrase unequivocally ties the ensuing divisions back to one patriarch.
- by their clans (לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם, lemishpakhōtam): The preposition "by" (לְ, le-) denotes accordance or classification. "Clans" (מִשְׁפָּחָה, mishpachah) refers to a family group larger than a household but smaller than a tribe, representing an extended family or subdivision of a tribal unit. This highlights a fundamental social and kinship-based organizing principle of ancient societies, crucial for identity and social cohesion. It emphasizes familial connections as foundational to national identity.
- by their languages (לִלְשֹׁנֹתָם, llishōnotām): The word for "languages" (לְשֹׁנוֹת, leshonot, plural of לָשׁוֹן, lashon) literally means "tongues." This specifies linguistic distinction as a key differentiator between people groups. While the dramatic confusion of languages is narrated in Gen 11 at Babel, this verse suggests an underlying pre-ordained diversity of communication, which was then heightened or redistributed through Babel's judgment. It reveals God's plan for diverse communication from the outset of the nations' formation.
- by their lands (בְּאַרְצֹתָם, be'aratzotam): The preposition "by" here is (בְּ, be-), meaning "in" or "by means of." "Lands" (אֲרָצוֹת, aratsot, plural of אֶרֶץ, eretz) refers to geographical territories or countries. This indicates that these distinct peoples inhabited specific, identifiable geographical regions, linking their identity directly to their dwelling places. It points to a divine allocation of territorial boundaries, an idea explicitly stated later in Scripture.
- and by their nations (לְגוֹיֵהֶם, leghoyeyhem): "Nations" (גוֹיִם, goyim, plural of גּוֹי, goy) refers to ethnic, political, and cultural groups. This is the broadest category, encompassing all the preceding elements (clans, languages, lands) into a comprehensive national identity. The formation of "nations" (ethne) underscores God's plan for the dispersion and ordered establishment of diverse peoples across the earth, foundational to later biblical narratives of salvation and mission to all peoples.
Words-group Analysis:
The repetitive phrase "by their..." (לְ...לְ...בְּ...לְ...) highlights the four fundamental categories by which the Hamitic descendants (and indeed all nations) are delineated. This structure serves as a systematic organizational principle, emphasizing that the differentiation of humanity was not chaotic but followed distinct and observable criteria: kinship, language, territory, and a comprehensive national identity. This structured differentiation serves a theological purpose, showing God's ordered world from which He would call a chosen people (Israel) to be a light to these diverse nations.
Genesis 10 20 Bonus Section
- Anticipation of Babel: While Gen 10 speaks of languages and nations already diversified, Gen 11 elaborates on how that dispersion became more dramatic and comprehensive through divine intervention at Babel. Verse 20 provides the fact of diversification; Gen 11 explains a significant mechanism for it, reinforcing that God is behind the scattering and establishment of nations.
- Significance for Anthropology: The criteria listed in this verse (clans, languages, lands, nations) remain fundamental categories in modern anthropological and ethnographic studies for defining human groups, underscoring the ancient biblical text's profound insight into human societal organization.
- Global Mission Imperative: The existence of distinct "nations" (Gentiles) from the earliest post-Flood history lays the groundwork for God's ultimate redemptive plan, which encompasses all peoples. From Gen 12 (Abrahamic blessing for all nations) to Matt 28:19 (the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations) to Rev 7:9 (multitude from every nation), the reality of distinct peoples (introduced early in Gen 10) forms the stage for God's universal salvation.
Genesis 10 20 Commentary
Genesis 10:20 provides a foundational theological and anthropological statement, not merely a genealogical record. It confirms that the diversity of humanity into distinct groups (nations, tribes, peoples) is part of God's sovereign ordering following the Flood. By categorizing Ham's descendants by "clans, languages, lands, and nations," the verse presents a holistic view of national identity that includes social organization (clans), communication (languages), geography (lands), and collective socio-political entity (nations). This framework asserts a singular origin for all humanity while acknowledging and explaining the development of diverse cultural, linguistic, and territorial distinctions. It subtly prefaces the subsequent account of the Tower of Babel by affirming pre-existing divisions that were then intensified. This divine ordering of nations is crucial for understanding later biblical narratives, particularly God's covenant with Abraham, through whom "all the nations of the earth shall be blessed," foreshadowing a future redemption that transcends these very distinctions by bringing people from every "nation, tribe, people, and language" to worship God.