Ancient Society

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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How is Theology different from Mythology?

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of concepts of God and of the nature of religious ideas, but can also mean the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university, seminary, or school of divinity. It is the scientific study of information related to religious studies. Theology is not a fantasy but rather a careful study of archeology, science, society, history, and culture in order to learn about God.

Richard Hooker defined "theology" in English as "the science of things divine". The term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (philosophical, ethnographic, historical, spiritual and others) to helpunderstand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any of myriad religious topics.

Mythology

Mythology is a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition of a group of people–their collection of stories they tell to explain nature, history, and customs–or the study of such myths. A myth is a legendary lore, store or tale and "mythology" was similarly used to mean a moral, a fable, an allegory, or a parable.

Alan Dundes defined myth as asacred narrative which explains how the world and humanity evolved into their present form, "a story that serves to define the fundamental worldview of a culture by explaining aspects of the natural world and delineating the psychological and social practices and ideals of a society". Recently some have rejected often viewing myths just as fake stories but rather representing inaccurate historical accounts or that they might express some general psychological, cultural or societal truths. This means that even though the events might not be truly accurate they think there was some history account that led people to talk about a hero and build a moral principle around the story, often times inflating the truth surrounding an event to make it more fantastic and impressive to the people. Myths still exist today involving ancient stories and stories all around us. You might have heard them called by names like Urban Myth. Historians work to great length to find substantiating evidence in archeology, hisotrical texts, eyewitness accounts in order to seperate facts from myths. You also can find the evidence around you to make your own mind as to what is a Myth and what can be supported as a fact.

Biblical Timeline

We can find validation from research scientists who study human genetics. They claim that lineages derived from known people groups did in fact appear to have migrated from the "Near East", "Middle East" or "Mesopotamia" (also called the "Cradle of Civilization" or the "Cradle of Mankind") sometime during prehistory. This information is derived from DNA haplogroups. Haplogroups are used in DNA tests for markers that give a broad or regional picture; haplotypes are one person's results on various DNA tests. Data comes from either Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) passed down from a father, or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) passed down from a mother. Both can be used to define genetic populations from one generation to the next intact. Here we attest there was a first pair, Adam and Eve. Scientists have traced the mitochondrial DNA in all living humans back to a single female, and similarly, genetic markers in all males in the world today can be traced back to a single male. Y-chromosome Adam and mitochondrial Eve are connected to everyone now living by an unbroken father-to-son or mother-to-daughter line (including everyone else in their generations who's ancestors are connected through one or more father-to-daughter or mother-to-son links). Haplogroup classifications are based on identification of genetic markers which a population of individuals share, passed down from an ancient but common ancestor. These genetic markers are evolving as new markers are found, sometimes resulting from occasional mutations to DNA. Different populations carry distinct markers.

In the most basic sense, the Bible timeline is endless and eternal, as it chronicles creation (date unknown; Genesis 1:1-31) and the end of ages (Matthew 28:20). From a more practical viewpoint, the Bible timeline on which most scholars agree begins with Abram’s birth, renamed Abraham by God (Genesis 17:4-6) in the year 2166 BC and ends with the writing of the book of Revelation in approximately AD 95. Prior to Abraham’s birth, the Bible timeline beginning in Genesis contains a rich history of creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, extensive genealogies, stories of human travails leading up to Noah and the Great Flood (date also unknown), and much more.

Of course, this raises the question of how literally to interpret dates and other statements in the Bible. Genesis says that God created the world and everything in it in six days (Genesis 1:31). Yet the Bible also says that with God a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day (2 Peter 3:8). And as Jesus told His disciples to forgive people not only seven times but seventy times seven times (490), the context seems clear that Jesus exhorts us to offer limitless forgiveness to those who trespass against us (Matthew 6:9-13). So, the most accurate and practical way to regard biblical time is that only God knows the true beginning and end of His universe (Mark 13:32).

Yet, within the period between Abraham’s birth and the apostle John’s writing of the book of Revelation, history clearly documents and verifies many of the events and people addressed in the Old and New Testaments. For example, Moses was estimated to be born in 1526 BC, Joshua entered the Promised Land approximately 1400 BC, and the period of Israel’s ten judges lasted until 1050 B.C, or until the onset of King Saul’s reign, when most scholars agree that concrete, historically verifiable dating is possible.

From there, Israel’s first king, Saul, the famous King David—from whose family Jesus Christ would be born—and David’s son, the wise King Solomon, presided over a united kingdom until 930 BC. After King Solomon’s reign, Israel experienced a divided kingdom. Kings ruled the north (kings of Israel) and the south (kings of Judah) until the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 BC and the fall of Jerusalem (in the southern kingdom), which resulted in the Jews being exiled to Babylonia in 586 BC.

This exile lasted until 538 BC when Persian King Cyrus directed Ezra to return to Israel and build a temple for God at Jerusalem in Judah (Ezra 1). The Jews restored Israel between this time and approximately 432 BC, when the last book of the Old Testament (Malachi) was written. What followed was a period of approximately 430 years, often referred to as “the time between the testaments.”

In approximately 6 BC, Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel, was born in Bethlehem and left soon thereafter for Egypt. After the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, Jesus and His parents left Egypt and returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23). Nothing is recorded for the next ten years, until we see Jesus astounding the teachers in the temple at age twelve (Luke 2:40-52). This was followed by approximately nineteen years of silence until Jesus began His public ministry in circa AD 27, which included His baptism (Matthew 3:13-17), temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), first miracle in Cana (John 2:1-12), the first cleansing of the Temple (John 2:13-25) and early Judean ministry (John 3:1–4:43). The following year in Galilee, He called His disciples (Luke 6:13-16), preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–8:1), spoke in parables, did many miracles, including healings (Matthew 8:23–9:34), and sent forth the twelve (Matthew 9:35–11:1).

In the period AD 29-30, Jesus spent most of His time in Judea, preaching, teaching, performing miracles—including the raising of Lazarus from the dead—and further equipping the disciples to continue on after His death. Early in the year 30, He set His face toward Jerusalem. During the last week of His life, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His friends, where He instituted the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:14-20) and gave His farewell discourse, including His High Priestly prayer (John 17:1-26). Finally, He was betrayed, arrested, tried, crucified and resurrected (Matthew 26:36–28:8). After that, the risen Christ began a 40-day ministry, was seen by many, and finally ascended to heaven (Acts 1:3-11; 1 Corinthians 15:6-7).

Shortly after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, His apostles and followers wrote what we now call the New Testament, a collection of books composed comparatively soon after His earthly ministry. Many scholars proficient in studying ancient texts believe that the concurrency of accounts plus the enormous number of copies produced and replicated over subsequent years makes the New Testament the most historically reliable document of all ancient texts. The first book of the New Testament to be written (either Galatians or James) could have been written as early as AD 49, or within two decades of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This meant that the original texts were written by eyewitnesses providing firsthand accounts of what took place. The final book of the New Testament, Revelation, was written in approximately AD 95.

Theological Study of Human Migration after the deluge and from the descendants of Noah.

The family tree of the Biblical figure Abraham is connected by several stories. Though Abraham's forefathers were from southern Mesopotamia, the LORD led (then named) Abram on a journey to the land of Canaan, which he promised to his descendants. He is known as the patriarch (father) of the Jewish people of today through Isaac, the son born to him and Sarah in their old age, in fulfillment of a promise from God. Many Arab people claim descent from Abraham through his son Ishmael, born to Abraham and his wife’s servant Hagar.

The home of Abram’s father Terah was Ur. Ur was an important Sumerian city that is now known as Tell el-Mukayyar. Terah took his son Abram and grandson Lot (son of Haran) to the city of Haran. The people there were not related to those of Mesopotamia.

When Abram was 75 years old, the LORD told him to move to a new place he would show him. He told Abram that he would make of him a great nation, that his descendants would multiply greatly and that whoever blessed Abram would be blessed and whoever cursed him would be cursed. One of Abram’s first stopping places was the land of Canaan. There God promised the land to Abram’s descendants.

Abram and Sarai prospered materially but had no children. Abram thought to leave his estate to a trusted servant, but God promised him a son and heir. When he was 86 years old, Sarai suggested and Abraham agreed, that a practical way to have a child was through Sarah’s servant Hagar. Hagar conceived right away and in time Ishmael was born. This situation brought strife rather than happiness between Hagar and Sarah. Nevertheless, God saw Hagar’s suffering and promised that though this was not the child promised to Abraham, he would nevertheless make Ishmael’s descendants into a great nation also. In Genesis chapter 17 "Almighty God" changed Abram’s name to Abraham, for he would be a father of many nations. And his wife Sarai's name was called Sarah, for she would be a mother of nations.

Three visitors came to Abraham and said that he would have a son. Sarah believed she was too old to have a child and laughed. Yet she did conceive (Genesis 21:1-7) and had a baby named Isaac, whose name means laughter. Later, Abraham’s loyalty to God was tested when he was asked to give up Isaac as a sacrifice. The account in Genesis 22 suggests that Abraham expected that God would give Isaac back to him somehow. A ram, caught in a thicket, was provided instead of Isaac.

THE STORY BEHIND ABRAHAM'S NAME CHANGE:

Abram: The name means exalted father, which could have felt like a cruel joke to him. He had no children. It's was his desire to have a son...an heir.

Abraham: At 99 years of age God made a covenant with him. See the stars in the sky? See the dust of the earth? He would make him a father of many nations. He changed his name from "Abram" to Abraham." Some take that to mean that Ham was somehow involved. Or that Abraham might be black. Not true. "Ham" actually means many or multitude-- Father of many nations. Then Isaac was born. His name was a promise.

While the following heirchy does not contain all the names that might have relations to these individuals the names included are those that are found through Biblical, scholary, and archelogical sources. We cannot know if the lines of each of the sons of Adam were crossed between the peoples who lived on earth during those times but we can make hypothesis that in order to fully populate the earth they surely must have at some poin in hisotry giving rise to the various nations that later would distinguish themselves as apart from the line of Seth. While there is no record to show any descendants to Abel, we cannot be certain that he did not have any.

Descendants of Humanity

Migration of the Descendants of Noah

When Noah and his family stepped out of the Ark, they were the only people on Earth. It fell to Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives, to repopulate the Earth through the children that were born to them after the Flood. Of Noah’s grandchildren, 16 grandsons are named in Genesis chapter 10.

God has left us ample evidence to confirm that these 16 grandsons of Noah really lived, that the names the Bible gives were their exact names, and that after the Babel dispersion (Genesis 11) their descendants fanned out over the earth and established the various nations of the ancient world.

The first generations after the Flood lived to be very old, with some men outliving their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This set them apart. The 16 grandsons of Noah were the heads of their family clans, which became large populations in their respective areas. Several things happened:

People in various areas called themselves by the name of the man who was their common ancestor.
They called their land, and often their major city and major river, by his name.
Sometimes the various nations fell off into ancestor worship. When this happened, it was natural for them to name their god after the man who was ancestor of all of them, or to claim their long-living ancestor as their god.

All of this means that the evidence has been preserved in a way that can never be lost, and all the ingenuity of man cannot erase. We will now examine it.

The Generations of Noah or Table of Nations (Genesis 10 of the Hebrew Bible) is a traditional ethnology representing the expansion of humankind from the descendants of Noah and their dispersion into many lands after the Flood. The 70 names in the list express symbolically the unity of the human race, corresponding to the 70 descendants of Israel who go down into Egypt with Jacob at Genesis 46:27, and the 70 elders of Israel who visit God with Moses at the covenant ceremony in Exodus 24:1-9.

The list introduces for the first time a number of well known ethnonyms and toponyms important to biblical geography such as Noah's three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, from which is derived Semitic, Hamitic and Japhethic, certain of Noah's grandsons including Elam,Ashur, Aram, Cush, and Canaan, from which Elamites, Assyrians, Arameans, Cushites and Canaanites, as well as further descendants including Eber (from which Hebrew), the hunter-king Nimrod, the Philistines and the sons of Canaan including Heth, Jebus and Amorus, from which Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites.

The Flood story tells how Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, together with their wives, were saved from the Deluge to repopulate the Earth.

Shem's name means "name" or "fame". Through Eber he became the ancestor of Abraham and thus of the Israelites. In the view of some 17th-century European scholars (e.g., John Webb), the people of China and India descended from Shem. Both Webb and the French Jesuits belonging to the Figurist school (late 17th-early 18th century) went even further, identifying the legendary Emperor Yaoof Chinese history with Noah himself.
Ham is the forefather of Cush, Egypt, and Put, and of Canaan, whose lands include portions of Africa, Arabia, Syria-Palestine and Mesopotamia. The etymology of his name is uncertain; some scholars have linked it to terms connected with divinity, but a divine or semi-divine status for Ham is unlikely.
Japheth is apparently the youngest son, although his line is given first. His name is associated with the mythological Greek Titan Iapetos, and his sons include Javan, the Greek-speaking cities of Ionia. In Genesis 9:27 it forms a pun with the Hebrew root ypt: "May God make room [the hiphil of the yph root] for Japeth, that he may live in Shem's tents and Canaan may be his slave."

Geanology of Shem

Five Sons of Shem (see map below):
    1. Elam (Arabia)
   2. Asshur (Assyria)
   3. Lud (Lydians)
   4. Aram (Aramaic, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria)
   5. Arphaxad (From which Abraham descended)

Shem

Position in Noah's Family:

His Name: The eldest son of Noah, from whom the Jews, as well as the Semitic ("Shemitic") nations in general have descended. When giving the names of Noah's three sons, Shem is always mentioned first (Genesis 9:18; 10:1, etc.); and though "the elder" in "Shem the brother of Japheth the elder" (Genesis 10:21 margin) is explained as referring to Shem, this is not the rendering of Onkelos.

His five sons peopled the greater part of West Asia's finest tracts, from Elam on the East to the Mediterranean on the West. Though generally regarded as meaning "dusky" (compare the Assyr-Babylonian samu--also Ham--possibly = "black," Japheth, "fair"), it is considered possible that Shem may be the usual Hebrew word for "name" (shem), given him because he was the firstborn--a parallel to the Assyr-Babylonian usage, in which "son," "name" (sumu) are synonyms (W. A. Inscriptions, V, plural 23, 11,29-32abc).

2. History, and the Nations Descended from Him (26 Nations came out of Shem):

Shem, who is called "the father of all the children of Eber," was born when Noah had attained the age of 500 years (Genesis 5:32). Though married at the time of the Flood, Shem was then childless. Aided by Japheth, he covered the nakedness of their father, which Ham, the youngest brother, had revealed to them; but unlike the last, Shem and Japheth, in their filial piety, approached their father walking backward, in order not to look upon him. Two years after the Flood, Shem being then 100 years old, his son Arpachshad was born (Genesis 11:10), and was followed by further sons and daughters during the remaining 500 years which preceded Shem's death.

Noah's prophetic blessing, on awakening from his wine, may be regarded as having been fulfilled in his descendants, who occupied Syria (Aramaic), Palestine (Canaan), Chaldea (Arpachshad), Assyria (Asshur), part of Persia (Elam), and Arabia (Joktan). In the first three of these, as well as in Elam, Canaanites had settled (if not in the other districts mentioned), but Shemites ruled, at some time or other, over the Canaanites, and Canaan thus became "his servant" (Genesis 9:25,26). The tablets found in Cappadocia seem to show that Shemites (Assyrians) had settled in that district also, but this was apparently an unimportant colony. Though designated sons of Shem, some of his descendants (e.g. the Elamites) did not speak a Semitic language, while other nationalities, not his descendants (e.g. the Canaanites), did.

Geanology of Japheth

Seven Sons of Japheth:
    1. Javan also known as Ion (Greece, Romans, Romance -- French, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese)
   2. Magog (Scythians, Slavs, Russians, Bulgarians, Bohemians, Poles, Slovaks, Croatians)
   3. Madai (Indians & Iranic: Medes, Persians, Afghans, Kurds)
   4. Tubal (South of Black Sea)
   5. Tiras (Thracians, Teutons, Germans, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Jutes)
   6. Meshech (Russia)
   7. Gomer (Celtic)

Japeth

Etymologies of Japheth:

This name, in Genesis 9:27, seems to be explained by the phrase "may God make wide (yapht, the American Standard Revised Version "enlarge") for Japheth," where yapht and Japheth are represented by the same consonants, but with different vowel-points. The root of yapht is pathach, "to make wide."

This etymology, however, is not universally accepted, as the word-play is so obvious, and the association of Japheth with Shem ("dark") and Ham ("black") suggests a name on similar lines--either gentilic, or descriptive of race. Japheth has therefore been explained as meaning "fair," from yaphah, the non-Sem and non-Hamitic races known to the Jews being all more or less whiteskinned. The Targum of Onkelos agrees with the English Versions of the Bible, but that of Jonathan has "God shall beautify Japheth," as though from yaphah.

2. His Descendants (14 Nations came out of Japheth):

The immediate descendants of Japheth were seven in number, and are represented by the nations designated Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Mesech, and Tiras; or, roughly, the Armenians, Lydians, Medes, Greeks, Tibarenians, and Moschians, the last, Tiras, remaining still obscure. The sons of Gomer (Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah) were all settled in the West Asian tract; while the sons of Javan (Elisah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim or Rodanim) occupied the Mediterranean coast and the adjacent islands. Early history shows the Japhethites split into two groups. One group settled in the region of present-day India and Central Asia, and the other group in the European theater. Indo-European languages originate from those people groups who migrated throughout western Eurasia (Europe, the Near East, Anatolia, and the Caucasus). Together they form what is known as the "Indo-European" family of nations. Both of these divisions trace their ancestry back to Japheth. For example, early Aryans knew him as Djapatischta (chief of the race), Greeks referred to Japheth asIapetos or Japetos, East Indians called him Jyapeti or Pra-Japati, Romans used Ju-Pater or Jupiter, the Saxons perpetuated his name as Iafeth, subsequently transliterated as Sceaf (procounced "sheef" or "shaif" - and recorded his name in their early genealogies as the son of Noah, the forebear of their various peoples), and the variant Seskef was used by early Scandinavians. All of these peoples, we must remember, were pagans whose knowledge or even awareness of the book of Genesis had been lost, or was non-existent.

3. His Place among the Sons of Noah:

In Genesis 9:27, as in other passages, Japheth occupies the 3rd place in the enumeration of the sons of Noah, but he is really regarded as the 2nd son, Ham being the youngest. In the genealogical table, however (Genesis 10:1), the descendants of Japheth are given first, and those of Shem last, in order to set forth Semitic affinities at greater length. Though this would seem to indicate that the fair races were the least known to the Jews, it implies that the latter were well disposed toward them, for Japheth was (ultimately) to dwell in the tents of Shem, and therefore to take part in Shem's spiritual privileges.

Geanology of Hamitic

Four Sons of Ham:
    1. Mizraim (Egypt)
   2. Cush (Sudan, Ethiopia)
   3. Put (Lybia)
   4. Canaan (Hivites, Jebusites, Arvadites, Girgashites, Amorites, Arkites, Sinites, Hittites

CURSE OF CANAAN
   1. Canaan was cursed, not Ham. (Gen. 9:25, "...cursed be Canaan..."
   2. Genesis 9:25-27 "...servitude to his brothers..."
   3. Exodus 20:5 --" A curse lasts three to four generations..."
   4. Canaan does not exist as a nation today. Other three nations exist -- Egypt, Ethiopia
and Lybia.

HAM

1. The Youngest Son of Noah:
The youngest son of Noah, from whom sprang the western and southwestern nations known to the Hebrews. His name first occurs in Genesis 5:32, where, as in 6:10 and elsewhere, it occupies the second place. In Genesis 9:18 Ham is described as "the father of Canaan".

2. Ham as a Nationality (30 Nations came out of Ham):

The name given, in Psalms 105:23,17; 106:22 (compare 78:51), to Egypt as a descendant of Ham, son of Noah. As Shem means "dusky," or the like, and Japheth "fair," it has been supposed that Ham meant, as is not improbable, "black." This is supported by the evidence of Hebrew and Arabic, in which the word chamam means "to be hot" and "to be black," the latter signification being derived from the former.

It is interesting to note that the Biblical record defines Egypt as the Land of Ham.
-- Psalm 105: 23 "Israel also came into Egypt...the land of Ham."

3. Meaning of the Word:

That Ham is connected with the native name of Egypt, Kem, or, in full pa ta' en Kem, "the land of Egypt," in Bashmurian Coptic Kheme, is unlikely, as this form is probably of a much later date than the composition of Gen, and, moreover, as the Arabic shows, the guttural is not a true kh, but the hard breathing h, which are both represented by the Hebrew cheth.

4. The Nations Descending from Ham:

First on the list, as being the darkest, is Cush or Ethiopia (Genesis 10:6), after which comes Mitsrayim, or Egypt, then PuT or Libyia, and Canaan last. The sons or descendants of each of these are then taken in turn, and it is noteworthy that some of them, like the Ethiopians and the Canaanites, spoke Semitic, and not Hamitic, languages--Seba (if connected with the Sabeans), Havilah (Yemen), and Sheba, whose queen visited Solomon. Professor Sayce, moreover, has pointed out that Caphtor is the original home of the Phoenicians, who spoke a Semitic language.

The explanation of this probably is that other tongues were forced upon these nationalities in consequence of their migrations, or because they fell under the dominion of nationalities alien to them. The non-Sem Babylonians, described as descendants of Nimrod (Merodach), as is well known, spoke Sumerian, and adopted Semitic Babylonian only on account of mingling with the Semites whom they found there.

Another explanation is that the nationalities described as Hamitic--a parallel to those of the Semitic section--were so called because they fell under Egyptian dominion. This would make the original Hamitic race to have been Egyptian and account for Ham as a (poetical) designation of that nationality. Professor F. L. Griffith has pointed out that the Egyptian Priapic god of Panopolis (Akhmim), sometimes called Menu, but also apparently known as Khem, may have been identified with the ancestor of the Hamitic race--he was worshipped from the coast of the Red Sea to Coptos, and must have been well known to Egypt's eastern neighbors. He regards the characteristics of Menu as being in accord with the shamelessness of Ham as recorded in Genesis 9:20.

In Flavius Josephus

Geographic identifications of Flavius Josephus, c. 100 AD

The 1st-century Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews Book 1, chapter 6, was among the first of many who attempted to assign known ethnicities to some of the names listed in Genesis chapter 10. His assignments became the basis for most later authors, and were as follows:

Gomer: "those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites".
- Aschanax (Ashkenaz): "Aschanaxians, who are now called by the Greeks Rheginians".
- Riphath: "Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians".
- Thrugramma (Togarmah): "Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians".
Magog: "Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians".
Madai: "the Madeans, who are called Medes, by the Greeks".
Javan: "Ionia, and all the Grecians".
- Elisa: "Eliseans... they are now the Aeolians".
- Tharsus (Tarshish): "Tharsians, for so was Cilicia of old called". He also derives the name of their city Tarsus from Tharsus.

Elam: "Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians".

Arphaxad: "Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans".
Aram: "Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians".
Judadas (Dedan): "Judadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians".

Hippolytus of Rome, in his Diamerismos (c. 234, existing in numerous Latin and Greek copies), made another attempt to assign ethnicities to the names in Genesis 10. It is thought to have been based on the Book of Jubilees.

Its differences versus that of Josephus are shown below:

Gomer – Cappadocians
- Ashkenaz – Sarmatians
- Riphath – Sauromatians
- Togarmah – Armenians
Magog – Galatians, Celts
Javan
- Elishah – Siculi (Chron Pasc: Trojans and Phrygians)
- Tarshish – Iberians, Tyrrhenians
- Kittim – Macedonians, Romans, Latins
Tubal – "Hettali" (?)
Meshech – Illyrians
Misraim
- Ludim – Lydians
- Anamim –Pamphylians
- Pathrusim –Lycians (var.: Cretans)
- Caphtorim – Cilicians
Put –Troglodytes
Canaan –Afri and Phoenicians
- Arkite –Tripolitanians
Lud –Halizones
Arpachshad
- Cainan – "those east of the Sarmatians" (one variant)
  - Joktan
    - Elmodad – Indians
    - Saleph – Bactrians
    - Hazamaveth, Sheba – Arabs
    - Adoram –Carmanians
    - Uzal –Arians (var.:Parthians)
    - Abimael –Hyrcanians
    - Obal – Scythians
    - Ophir – Armenians
    - Deklah –Gedrosians
Aram – "Etes"?
- Hul – Lydians (var: Colchians)
- Gether – "Gaspeni"?
- Mash –Mossynoeci (var: Mosocheni)

The seven sons of Japheth

Genesis 10:1–2 reads:

‘Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.’

The first of Noah’s grandsons mentioned is Gomer. Ezekiel locates the early descendants of Gomer, along with Togarmah (a son of Gomer), in the north quarters (Ezekiel 38:6). In modern Turkey is an area which in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records that the people who were called Galatians or Gauls in his day (c. AD 93) were previously called Gomerites.

They migrated westward to what are now called France and Spain. For many centuries France was called Gaul, after the descendants of Gomer. North-west Spain is called Galicia to this day.

Great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia all have strong historical links to the Biblical figures connected with the sons of Noah. Most, if not all, tribes and nations can be traced to these men through their descendants.

A huge carved statue of the great pharaoh Ramesses II of Egypt (left). Ruins from the ancient Nabatean city of Petra (right).

Some of the Gomerites migrated further to what is now called Wales. The Welsh historian, Davis, records a traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Gomer ‘landed on the Isle of Britain from France, about three hundred years after the flood’. He also records that the Welsh language is called Gomeraeg (after their ancestor Gomer).

Other members of their clan settled along the way, including in Armenia. The sons of Gomer were ‘Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah’ (Genesis 10:3). Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Armenians traditionally claim to be descended from Togarmah and Ashkenaz.3 Ancient Armenia reached into Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from Togarmah. Others of them migrated to Germany. Ashkenaz is the Hebrew word for Germany.

The next grandson mentioned is Magog. According to Ezekiel, Magog lived in the north parts (Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2). Josephus records that those whom he called Magogites, the Greeks called Scythians. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the ancient name for the region which now includes part of Romania and the Ukraine was Scythia.

The next grandson is Madai. Along with Shem’s son Elam, Madai is the ancestor of our modern-day Iranians. Josephus says that the descendants of Madai were called Medes by the Greeks. Every time the Medes are mentioned in the Old Testament, the word used is the Hebrew word Madai (maday). After the time of Cyrus, the Medes are always (with one exception) mentioned along with the Persians. They became one kingdom with one law—‘the law of the Medes and Persians’ (Daniel 6:8, 12, 15). Later they were simply calledPersians. Since 1935 they have called their country Iran. The Medes also ‘settled India’.

The name of the next grandson, Javan, is the Hebrew word for Greece. Greece, Grecia,or Grecians appears five times in the Old Testament, and is always the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel refers to ‘the king of Grecia’ (Daniel 8:21), literally ‘the king of Javan’. Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4), all of whom have connections with the Greek people. The Elysians (an ancient Greek people) obviously received their name from Elishah. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in the region of Cilicia (modern Turkey).

Encyclopaedia Britannica says that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus. The people who initially settled around the area of Troy worshipped Jupiter under the name of Jupiter Dodonaeus, possibly a reference to the fourth son of Javan, with Jupiter a derivative of Japheth. His oracle was at Dodena. The Greeks worshipped this god but called him Zeus.

Next is Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech (Ezekiel 39:1). Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria in about 1100 BC, refers to the descendants of Tubal as the Tabali. Josephus recorded their name as the Thobelites, who were later known as Iberes.

‘Their land, in Josephus’ day, was called by the Romans Iberia, and covered what is now (the former Soviet State of) Georgia whose capital to this day bears the name Tubal as Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus mountains, this people migrated due north-east, giving their tribal name to the river Tobol, and hence to the famous city of Tobolsk.’

Meshech, the name of the next grandson, is the ancient name for Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia, and the region that surrounds the city. To this day, one section, the Meshchera Lowland, still carries the name of Meshech, virtually unchanged by the ages.

According to Josephus, the descendants of grandson Tiras were called Thirasians. The Greeks changed their name to Thracians. Thrace reached from Macedonia on the south to the Danube River on the north to the Black Sea on the east. It took in much of what became Yugoslavia. World Book Encyclopaedia says: ‘The people of Thrace were savage Indo-Europeans, who liked warfare and looting.’ Tiras was worshipped by his descendants as Thuras, or Thor, the god of thunder.

The four sons of Ham

Next we come to the sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6).

The descendants of Ham live mainly in south-west Asia and Africa. The Bible often refers to Africa as the land of Ham (Psalms 105:23,27;106:22). The name of Noah’s grandson Cush is the Hebrew word for old Ethiopia (from Aswan south to Khartoum). Without exception, the word Ethiopia in the English Bible is always a translation of the Hebrew word Cush. Josephus rendered the name as Chus, and says that the Ethiopians ‘are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites’.

Noah’s next grandson mentioned was Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt. The name Egypt appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with one exception) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. E.g. at the burial of Jacob, the Canaanites observed the mourning of the Egyptians and so called the place Abel Mizraim (Genesis 50:11).

Phut, the name of Noah’s next grandson is the Hebrew name for Libya. It is so translated three times in the Old Testament. The ancient river Phut was in Libya. By Daniel’s day, the name had been changed to Libya (Daniel 11:43). Josephus says, ‘Phut also was the founder of Libia [sic], and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself’.

Canaan, the name of Noah’s next grandson, is the Hebrew name for the general region later called by the Romans Palestine, i.e. modern Israel and Jordan. Here we should look briefly at a few of the descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:14–18). There is Philistim, obviously the ancestor of the Philistines (clearly giving rise to the name Palestine [ed. note: but see Origins of the word “Palestine”, 2011]), and Sidon, the founder of the ancient city that bears his name, and Heth, the patriarch of the ancient Hittite empire. Also, this descendant is listed inGenesis 10:15–18 as being the ancestor of the Jebusites (Jebus was the ancient name for Jerusalem—Judges 19:10), the Amorites, the Girgasites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites, ancient peoples who lived in the land of Canaan.

The most prominent descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babel (Babylon), as well as of Erech, Accad and Calneh in Shinar (Babylonia).

The five sons of Shem

Last we come to the sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram (Genesis 10:22).

Elam is the ancient name for Persia, which is itself the ancient name for Iran. Until the time of Cyrus the people here were called Elamites, and they were still often called that even in New Testament times. In Acts 2:9, the Jews from Persia who were present at Pentecost were called Elamites. The Persians are thus descended from both Elam, the son of Shem, and from Madai, the son of Japheth. Since the 1930s they have called their country Iran.

It is interesting to note that the word ‘Aryan’, which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word ‘Iran’. Hitler wanted to produce a pure Aryan ‘race’ of supermen. But the very term ‘Aryan’ signifies a mixed line of Semites and Japhethites!

Asshur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Every time the words Assyria or Assyrian appear in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Asshur. He was worshipped by his descendants.

‘Indeed, as long as Assyria lasted, that is until 612 BC, accounts of battles, diplomatic affairs and foreign bulletins were daily read out to his image; and every Assyrian king held that he wore the crown only with the express permission of Asshur’s deified ghost.’

Arphaxad was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. This ‘is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, which render the name as Arip-hurra—the founder of Chaldea.’ His descendant, Eber, gave his name to the Hebrew people via the line of Eber-Peleg-Reu-Serug-Nahor-Terah-Abram (Genesis 11:16–26). Eber’s other son, Joktan, had 13 sons (Genesis 10:26–30), all of whom appear to have settled in Arabia.

Lud was the ancestor of the Lydians. Lydia was in what is now Western Turkey. Their capital was Sardis—one of the seven churches of Asia was at Sardis (Revelation 3:1).

Aram is the Hebrew word for Syria. Whenever the word Syria appears in the Old Testament it is a translation of the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Arameans, and their language is called Aramaic. Before the spread of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26 ff). On the cross, when Jesus cried out, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ (Mark 15:34), He was speaking Aramaic, the language of the common people.

Conclusion

We have only taken the briefest glance at Noah’s sixteen grandsons, but enough has been said to show that they really did live, that they were who the Bible says they were, and that their descendants are identifiable on the pages of history. Not only is the Bible not a collection of myths and legends, but it stands alone as the key to the history of the earliest ages of the world.

Now let's look at the second part of Noah’s blessing to Japheth; “and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” To Shem (the Jews) was given the primacy of Spiritual teachings, but there comes a time when Japheth enters that field and will “dwell in the tents of Shem”, and philosophy will be married to theology. All of this points us to the Cross, and when the spiritual guidance of humanity will be passed from the Jews to the Gentiles.

After God, through Moses, lists the genealogy of Japheth’s sons, he gives us more information about these descendants; “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; everyone after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.” (Gen. 10:5). The posterity of Japheth is allotted to the isles of the Gentiles; all places beyond the sea from Judea are called isles, and this directs us to understand that promise in Isaiah 42:4; “the isles shall wait for his law”, the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ.

Ham (body)

Ham was the youngest son of Noah. Ham is the most notorious of the sons because of his act of incest with his mother. Because the Lord has already blessed Ham, as one of Noah’s sons, Noah could not curse Ham directly. Instead he curses Canaan, Ham youngest son, the product of that sinful union.

Why would Noah curse Canaan, and not Ham’s other sons? Can Noah justify cursing Canaan if Canaan was the offspring of the union between Ham and his Sethic wife? No, he could not unless Canaan was somehow connected to Ham’s sin. As we have discussed before, God points out Canaan as Ham’s youngest son at the time that they leave the Ark. Long before Ham commits the act; long before he has 3 others sons; and long before Noah tilled the earth and produced the vineyard, which produced the wine that made him drunk.

God does this, to call our attention to the fact that Canaan was a really bad seed produced out of Ham’s shameful act. Canaan became the accursed seed, just as Cain was a bad seed. The incestuous act of Ham brought forth Canaan, and Canaan brought forth the “giants” this side of the Flood. Hence, it is very plain that Noah was justified in cursing Canaan. Ham’s heart of rebellion had been exposed. Not only was it rebellion against his father’s authority, but ultimately, it was rebellion against God and His authority. This attitude of rebellion in Ham would one day expose itself, not only in Ham, but also in Ham’s descendants.

Consequently, Ham will become a servant to the other two sons of Noah. The curse, though pronounced on Canaan, was a Hamitic curse, aimed at Ham and all his descendants, not only Canaan. The sons of Ham are Cush, Mizaim, Phut, and Canaan, and it is from this line that the servants of Shem and Japheth will come. This curse, and the resentment it caused, will eventually create much tension between the descendants of the sons of Noah.

Let us now look at sons of Ham, and their descendants, to find where this all leads. Ham’s first son is named Cush; he becomes the father of the Ethiopians, Arabians, and the Babylonians. Cush, in the Bible, is the same as “Ethiopia”. The people of Cush first moved southward, into Arabia and then crossed the Red Sea into modern day Ethiopia.

The most memorable of Cush’s sons is Nimrod, who founded his kingdom in Babel. He was the chief architect of the Tower of Babel, trying to build a tower to reach the heavens. He and his descendants settled down in the Tigris- Euphrates river valley.

The second son of Ham is named Mizraim. Mizraim will become the father of the Egyptians and the Philistines. Mizraim is the ancestor of the Egyptians and in Scripture is used to identify Egypt. In Psalms 105:23 Egypt is called “the land of Ham”. Many scholars take this to indicate that Ham accompanied Mizraim in the initial settlement of the Nile Valley.

The last of Mizraim’s sons is named Caphtorim and he becomes the father of the Philistines. The Caphtorim are twice associated with the Philistines in the Bible; in Amos 9:7 and Jeremiah 47:4. The Philistines are generally thought to have migrated from the island of Crete, as Caphor is identified in secular writings as Crete. From Crete they eventually migrated across the Mediterranean, landing on the eastern shore of Can’nann, settling into the land known in Biblical times as Philistia.

Of all the descendants from the sons of Noah, few have had the impact and influence on Ancient Israel as the Philistines have. One of the most famous of all Bible stories involves a faceoff between a young David and a giant named Goliath, who was a Philistine from Gath in Philistia.

The third son of Ham is Phut. “Phut” is the same as Libya when mentioned in the Bible. The region of Libya applied to Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. Therefore, Phut became the father of the Libyans and the Sabeans.

Last, but certainly not least, is Ham’s fourth son, Canaan. He becomes the father of the Canaanite Tribes. Canaan’s descendants, according to Scripture, “spread abroad” (Gen 10:18). Of all the lines descending from Noah’s sons, these people migrated perhaps more than any other. It would be Canaan who would become the father of the Holy Land, the backdrop against which the drama of Israel would unfold. It would be his sons that would become the originators of the peoples that would populate and inhabit the Holy Land throughout the Bible.

The contributions, made by the descendants of Ham, the youngest of Noah’s sons, are staggering. As we might recall, Ham represents the body and the physical world. They become the builders of civilization, the “mighty men” in both size (as with Canaan, the giant) and in intellect, and “religious” (as opposed to spiritual) worship.

They were the first explorers, and the first cultivators of the basic food groups. They discovered and invented medicines, and the first surgical practices. They were the first to develop fabrics, and the devices used to sew these fabrics. They were the inventors of mathematics, surveying, and navigation. “These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.” (Gen. 10:20).

Shem (spirit)

Shem is the eldest son of Noah, whom is listed last in the genealogy of Noah’s sons. When the generations of Shem are mentioned, in Genesis 10:21, he is given two titles.

“Unto Shem, also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him was children born.”

First and foremost, Shem is considered the “father of all the children of Eber”. Shem has five sons, and Eber is the grandson of Shem’s fifth son; so why is Eber so important? The Lord is telling us that Abraham (father of all the Hebrew tribes and of God’s covenant people) not only descended from Eber (Heber), but after him was called the Hebrews. We know that from Abraham’s bloodline the Messiah will come. Therefore, Eber, just like Canaan, is pointed out as a very important character, long before he is born, or even conceived. We will look at Eber more in depth, later.

Shem’s second title is “elder brother of Japheth”. Why would this also be part of Shem’s description? Most likely this was intended to signify the union of the Gentiles with the Jews in the church. Moses mentions that it was Shem’s honor to be the father of the Hebrews; but, lest Japheth seed should therefore be looked upon as forever cast out from the church, he here reminds us that Shem was the brother of Japheth, not in birth only, but in blessing; for Japheth was to “dwell in the tents” of Shem.

Shem, whose name means “name” in Hebrew, becomes the father of the Hebrews. This is very significant information, yet, what about his other sons and their genealogy? His first son is named Elam and his descendants will populate Arabia. His second son is named Asshur and his descendants will populate Assyria. His third son is named Lud and his descendants shall populate Lydia and be called the Lydians. His fourth son is named Aram and his descendants shall populate Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Syria.

His fifth son is named Arphaxad, and as we have seen, his descendants become the Hebrews, through his grandson, Eber. Eber himself, we may suppose, was a man eminent for the truth in a time of general apostasy, as we will see, includes the building of the Tower of Babel. He was most likely a great example of piety to his family, and the Hebrew language was probably retained by his family, amid the confusion of Babel. The Lord did this as a special token of His favor toward Eber, and from him the professors of religion were called the “children of Eber”.

Shem’s most honorable title is the father of the Hebrews. Yet, when Moses wrote this, the Hebrew people were a poor and despised people; bond- slaves in Egypt. Still, they were God’s people and it was an honor for a man to be akin to them. As Ham, though he had many sons, is disowned by being called the “father of Canaan”, on whose seed the curse was entailed, so Shem, though he had many sons is dignified by the title “father of Eber”, on whose seed the blessing was entailed.

Noah’s prophetic blessing, on awakening from his wine, may be regarded as having been fulfilled in Shem’s descendants, who occupied Syria, Palestine, Chaldea, Assyria, part of Persia and Arabia. In the first of these three, as well as in Elam, Canaanites had settled, but Shemites ruled, at some time or other, over the Canaanites, and Canaan thus became Shem’s servant, just as foretold by Noah in Gen. 9:25-26.

Shem’s genealogy brings to a close Chapter 10 of Genesis, the chapter that describes the descendants of Noah’s three sons. We are told in the last few lines of this chapter that the descendants of these sons would populate the earth.

“These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations; and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.” (Gen. 10:32)

Let’s review what we now know about these families. The descendants of Japheth become the Gentiles, these are the “fair skinned” people that will one day inhabit Europe and America, but also they will be spiritually linked with the descendants of Shem, thus sharing Noah’s blessing. So Japheth can be called the father of the fair skinned peoples of the world.

The descendants of Ham are the dark skinned people of Egypt, and the descendants of Ham’s son Cush are even darker skinned, to the point of being called “black”. Cush’s descendants are the black races of people, the people of Ethiopia and Africa. Shem, we know is the father of the Hebrews, and his first son, Elan means “dusky” in that language. These people have darker shin than the people of Japheth, but lighter than the people of Ham. This would reflect the skin tone of the Arabians and the Syrians which is “dusky” in color, somewhere between “fair” and “black”.

Could the descendants of these three sons, along with representing different races, also represent different religions? We know that the descendants of Shem are the Jewish people, and it is most likely that the descendants of Japheth, (the Greeks, Europeans and eventually the Americans) would come to represent the Gentiles that “dwell in the tents of Shem”, thus representing Christianity; an offshoot of the Jewish faith.

Ham’s descendants, on the other hand, represents the people who populated the areas that we know today are mainly populated with the Muslim people.

We see three races of people and we see three religions being foreshadowed by the information of where these races settled, and their descendants that followed.

Theology of the Future Tribes of the World

Many legends of the Lost Tribes relate to the future fate of the Jewish nation and the world. Based on Biblical passages, Midrashic literature paints scenarios of mass return of Jews to the Land of Israel preceding the coming of the Messiah and of further ingathering by the Messiah himself.

The word "Messiah," "the redeemer," is derived from the Hebrew wordmashiach meaning "anointed to serve as king." He reestablishes the kingdom, being from the line of David of the Tribe of Judah. Gentile nations will bring their Jewish inhabitants back to their homeland in Israel.

Messiah and Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) will sort out unknown lineages and reestablish Tribe identity

. According to the prophecy of Ezekiel, the Land of Israel will once again be divided into tribal regions, with the renewal of the Temple service in Jerusalem. At this time, unity will once again reign as the House of Judah and the House of Israel will be at peace in their land. And the Divine Presence shall once again rest upon the Nation. ([4] Yirmiyahu 31,[5] Ezekiel 37)