Genesis 10:20

Genesis 10:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
• New International Version (NIV)These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
• English Standard Version (ESV)These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.
• New King James Version (NKJV)These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

Context of Genesis 10:20

18Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. The Canaanite clans eventually spread out, 19and the territory of Canaan extended from Sidon in the north to Gerar and Gaza in the south, and east as far as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha. These were the descendants of Ham, identified by clan, language, territory, and national identity. 21Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber. 22The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

Genesis 10:20 word by word

אֵ֣לֶּה בְנֵי־חָ֔ם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לִלְשֹֽׁנֹתָ֑ם בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖ם בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Hamחָםchâm · HamH2526
• after their familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• after their tonguesלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongue: languageH3956
• in their countriesאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• in their nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471

Cross-references for Genesis 10:20

• Genesis 10:6The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
• Genesis 11:1At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words.

Commentaries on Genesis 10:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20These are the sons of Ham after their families - No doubt all these were well known in the days of Moses, and for a long time after; but at this distance, when it is considered that the political state of the world has been undergoing almost incessant revolutions through all the intermediate portions of time, the impossibility of fixing their residences or marking their descendants must be evident, as both the names of the people and the places of their…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-20Verses 6-20 - XXXII. Ham 6. מצרים mı̂tsrayı̂m “Mitsraim.” מצר mētser “straitness, limit, pressure.” מצור mātsôr “distress, siege, mound, bulwark; Egypt.” מצרים mı̂tsrayı̂m “perhaps double Egypt, lower and upper.” פוּט pûṭ “Put, troubled.” 7. סבא sebā' “Seba, drinking (man, Ethiopian).” סבתה sabtâh “Sabtah.” רעמה ra‛mâh “Ramah, shaking, trembling.” סבתכא sabtekā' “Sabtekha.” שׁבא shēbā' “Sheba, captive?” דדן dedān “Dedan, going slowly?” 8. נמרד…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-32Verses 15-32 The posterity of Canaan were numerous, rich, and pleasantly seated; yet Canaan was under a Divine curse, and not a curse causeless. Those that are under the curse of God, may, perhaps, thrive and prosper in this world; for we cannot know love or hatred, the blessing or the curse, by what is before us, but by what is within us. The curse of God always works really, and always terribly. Perhaps it is a secret curse, a curse to the soul, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-32This section explains where the ancient Near Eastern nations came from. Ham was at the center (10:6–20)while the descendants of Japheth and Shem spread out to the surrounding regions of Greece, Crete, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Madai, the Arabian peninsula, and northeast Africa. The list is selective in focusing on nations important to Israel. The 70 names (seven times ten) indicate completeness (see 46:27; Deuteronomy 32:8). These names represent the whole…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-321. sons of Noah--The historian has not arranged this catalogue according to seniority of birth; for the account begins with the descendants of Japheth, and the line of Ham is given before that of Shem though he is expressly said to be the youngest or younger son of Noah; and Shem was the elder brother of Japheth (Ge 10:21), the true rendering of that passage. generations, &c.--the narrative of the settlement of nations existing in the time of Moses…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 10:20

• Ham
• Language
• Tongue

In the dictionaries

• Ham
• Arabia
• Canaanites
• Dispersion
• Dodanim
• Japheth
• Mighty
• Noah
• Adam in the Old Testament
• Amalek; Amalekite

Commentaries on Genesis 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings