In this chapter we don’t know the lifespan of all the individuals like in the previous chapters.
Now the flood has been estimated to have happened approximately 2350 BC. which stands for two thousand three hundred and fifty years before Christ.
This date comes from the genealogies written in previous chapters where the years they lived all the way back to Adam have been recorded.
Verse 1
Genesis 10 is a record of the families of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Many of the men mentioned in this chapter is important because they were leaders of great nations and significant cities historically.
Verses 2-5
Japheth had 7 sons and their families made their homes in the coastlands.
Verses 6-20
Ham had 4 sons: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan. Cush fathered Nimrod who is described as a mighty man on the earth. He was king of several cities listed in this chapter including Babel which is Babylon and today modern day Iraq.
Nimrod means rebellion or against and he was a tyrannical leader. Cruel and wicked.
The Philistines were descendants of Ham’s son Egypt.
Canaan’s descendants were the nations that are mentioned in other books of the Bible like Joshua and Judges.
Verses 21-32
Shem had 5 sons and details about his family will be in the next chapter.
These genealogies are important details that help us acquire a Biblical timeline. It doesn’t just give us the dates in history of civilizations mentioned in these scriptures but the names of the individuals who founded those nations and cities.
After the flood Noah’s sons and descendants dispersed throughout many regions and lands and created new societies. This chapter would seem insignificant except it sets up the backdrop of the upcoming chapters and books of the Bible.
God orchestrates the details just like he orchestrates our steps. Nothing is random.
Psalm 37:23 & 24 says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
