10–2: Who are the descendants of Ham?

Here’s a little tip for you when studying the Bible.

Many times, you will encounter the same person or place in Scripture but with different names.

Many factors come into play here. The name could change depending on which nation the person resided in.

There may be a huge gap between when a given event occurred and when it was recorded.

Names, cultures, and languages evolve and change over the years, and such variation needs to be taken into account when studying the Bible, especially since it spans over 4000 years of history.

So from verse 6, the genealogy of Ham is reported.

Decoded into modern-day names, Cush became Ethiopia, Mizraim became Egypt, Put became Libya, and Canaan became what is today Israel.

However, Israel still has yet to conquer all of the land that God bequeathed to them.

The truth is that many of the folks residing in the Middle East today come from the cursed line of Ham.

However, the Arabs are an exception and do not stem from the line of Ham.

They come from the Godly line of Shem.

However, a good majority of them have given up their Godly heritage by worshipping the God of Islam, whom they call Allah.

This brings up a good point that bears repeating.

It doesn’t matter which line you were born into.

Even if you were born into the cursed line of Ham, you don’t have to stay in that line.

Back in the days of Moses and even today, one could become an Israelite by choosing to identify with them by converting.

The opposite is also true.

One can join the line of Ham and unwittingly make oneself an arch-enemy of God.

The German people did this during the days of Hitler, and now many Arabs have also done so.

Moving on, we are told that Cush (modern-day Ethiopia) was the father of Nimrod.

This may or may not come as a surprise to some, but Cush was a black man.

Both Jewish tradition and many ancient miniature statues and sketches testify to Nimrod’s negroid features.

We are told that Nimrod was the first mighty empire builder.

He founded Bavel, which became Babylon.

We are told that Bavel was located in the Land of Shinar, which is modern-day Iraq.

Take a look at verses 9–11.

He was a mighty hunter before Adonai — this is why people say, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Adonai.” His kingdom began with Bavel, Erekh, Akkad and Kalneh, in the land of Shin‘ar. Ashur went out from that land and built Ninveh, the city Rechovot, Kelach,…-Genesis 10:9–11

So who in the heck is “Asshur?"

“Asshur” is actually the Assyrian name for Nimrod.

Nimrod is a Babylonian name.

So verses 10 and 11 are actually talking about the same man using two different languages.

Let’s take a look at verses 13 and 14.

“And the Lehabites and the Naphtuhites, and the Pathrusites, and the Casluhites, and the Caphtorites from whom the Philistines emerged.”

Here is an interesting fact that maybe you did not know.

The modern word for the “Philistines” is Palestine.

However, most of the self-proclaimed Palestinians are actually Arabs who came to Israel seeking primarily manual labor on factories and farms.

Nevertheless, though stemming from the line of Shem, these Arabs have made a calculated and deliberate decision to identify themselves as Palestinians, since the ancient Philistines were the mortal arch-enemy of Israel.

© Richoka