Genesis 10 Introduction

Genesis 10

 ¹Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
 ²The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
 ³And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
 ⁴And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
 ⁵By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
 ⁶And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
 ⁷And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
 ⁸And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
 ⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
 ¹⁰And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
 ¹¹Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
 ¹²And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
 ¹³And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
 ¹⁴And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
 ¹⁵And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,
 ¹⁶And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
 ¹⁷And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
 ¹⁸And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
 ¹⁹And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
 ²⁰These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
 ²¹Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
 ²²The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
 ²³And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
 ²⁴And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
 ²⁵And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
 ²⁶And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
 ²⁷And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
 ²⁸And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
 ²⁹And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
 ³⁰And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
 ³¹These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
 ³²These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.


Genesis 10 gives the list of the descendants of Noah . Chapter 11 then tells how they came to be seperated : 

Genesis 11

 ¹And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
 ²And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
 ³And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
 ⁴And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
 ⁵And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
 ⁶And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
 ⁷Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
 ⁸So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
 ⁹Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Now many "scholars" including Bible ones would try to tell you that the Genesis 10 list is incomplete even my own Archaeological Bible made this claim. The problem with that claim is that it is calling God a liar because chapter 11 makes it clear that they were scattered over the whole Earth. They say this because they believe they can trace most if not all the names to the region of the Middle East but honestly if you use logic that makes sense the families would first settle by each other and Genesis 11 makes it clear that they were trying not to be seperated. We also know in more than one spot that the Nations in Genesis 10 have spread out over the Earth for example in Ezekiel 38 Togarmah is said to be from the "far North". Also in the book of Kings it took the ships of Tarshish 3 years to return from Ophir (1 Kings 9 and 10) .