Genesis 10:1–11:9

The Table of Nations

10These are the family records ^qof Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They also had sons after the flood.

²Japheth’s sons: ^rGomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ³Gomer’s sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁴And Javan’s sons: Elishah, Tarshish, ^sKittim, and Dodanim. ^t5The coastland peoples spread out into their lands. These are Japheth’s sons by their clans, in their nations. Each group had its own language.

⁶Ham’s sons: ^uCush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. ⁷Cush’s sons: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And Raamah’s sons: Sheba and Dedan.

⁸Cush fathered Nimrod, who was the first powerful man on earth. ⁹He was a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord. That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord.” ¹⁰His kingdom started with Babylon, ^vErech, ^wAccad, ^xand Calneh, ^yin the land of Shinar. ^za11From that land he went to Assyria ^band built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, ¹²and Resen, between Nineveh and the great city Calah.

¹³Mizraim ^cdfathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹⁴Pathrusim, Casluhim (the Philistines came from them), and Caphtorim. ^e

¹⁵Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, then Heth, ¹⁶the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ^f17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁸the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the Canaanite clans scattered. ¹⁹The Canaanite border went from Sidon going toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and going toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.

²⁰These are Ham’s sons, by their clans, according to their languages, in their own lands and their nations.

²¹And Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons. Shem was the father of all the sons of Eber. ^g22Shem’s sons ^hwere Elam, Asshur, ⁱArpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

²³Aram’s sons: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

²⁴Arpachshad fathered ^jShelah, ^kand Shelah fathered Eber. ²⁵Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided; ^lhis brother was named Joktan. ²⁶And Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were Joktan’s sons. ³⁰Their settlements extended from Mesha to Sephar, the eastern hill country.

³¹These are Shem’s sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.

³²These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their family records, in their nations. The nations on earth spread out from these after the flood. ^m

The Tower of Babylon

11At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. ⁿ²As people ^omigrated from the east, ^pthey found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. ^q3They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. ^r4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. ^sLet us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵Then the Lord came down ^tto look over the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let Us go down there and confuse ^utheir language ^vso that they will not understand one another’s speech.” ^w8So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, ^xand they stopped building the city. ⁹Therefore its name is called Babylon, ^yzfor there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.