conviction that all should live together in peace as members of one family. These genealogies were worked out by reference to the geographical positions of the various nations, similarity of names, and popular traditions about certain heroes (as in the case of Nimrod in v. 8). However, the main thing about this list is that it is a way of showing how God’s blessing on Noah has come true: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (9:1); also, it shows the gratuitous nature of the Lord’s choice