THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
Let us now reflect on the lineage of the sons of Noah and what might be necessary to discuss regarding them, as we contribute to this narrative, which illustrates the gradual development of both the terrestrial and celestial realms. The Scripture commences with the youngest son, Japheth. His name is associated with eight sons, and his descendants through two of them include seven grandsons: three from one and four from the other; thus, a total of fifteen are mentioned. On the other hand, Ham, Noah's middle son, has four sons named, with five grandsons from one son, and two great-grandsons from one grandson; altogether, this counts to eleven.
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When the names are tallied, it seems as if a return is made to the start with the mention of Hush, who fathered Nimrod: this individual "began to be a mighty one in the earth." He displayed exceptional strength "before the Lord," thus it is recorded that he was a formidable giant among men. His dominion initiated with Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. From this land, Asshur emerged and constructed Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen, positioned between Nineveh and Calah, which is noted as a great city (Gen. 10:8-12). Hush, the progenitor of the mighty Nimrod, is acknowledged first among Ham’s sons, with already five sons and two grandsons listed. It is conceivable that Nimrod was born after the birth of his grandsons; however, it is more likely the Scripture highlights him separately due to his notable renown, also recognizing his kingdom, which commenced with the illustrious city of Babylon and its name-bearing regions. Asshur’s emergence from the land of Shinar, where he established Nineveh and other cities mentioned, occurred much later and is briefly noted because of the prominence of the Assyrian kingdom, significantly expanded by Nim, the son of Bel, who was the founder of Nineveh. The city's name derives from ‘Nin.’ Noteworthy is that Asshur, from whom the Assyrians took their name, was not a descendant of Ham, Noah's middle son, but rather a son of Shem, Noah's eldest son. This illustrates that from Shem's lineage arose those who eventually claimed dominion over the territory of the aforementioned giant, moving further to establish other cities, including the renowned Nineveh.
The historian then shifts focus to another son of Ham, Mitzrayim, where he lists the nations birthed from him—not individual names but seven nations. It appears that among these, the sixth nation corresponds to those we recognize as the Philistines, bringing the total nations to eight. The account then returns to Canaan, the son who incurred the curse upon Ham, mentioning the eleven that descended from him and detailing the known cities they occupied. All in all, when tallying the sons and grandsons, Ham's descendants sum up to thirty-one individuals. Now we turn our attention to the sons of Shem. This account begins with the youngest and gradually unfolds to him, yet, where Shem’s sons are first introduced, there exists a certain obscurity deserving of clarification, particularly as it closely ties to our present study. The passage states: "There were children also to Shem, the father of all the sons of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth" (Gen. 10:21). Shem is thus represented as the patriarch of all his lineage the writer intends to discuss, be they his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, or later kin. Importantly, Shem did not father Eber himself; instead, Eber is notably mentioned fifth in the genealogical line descending from him. Among his sons, Shem gave rise to Arphaxad, who further fathered Cainan, followed by Salah, who in turn begot Eber. The significance of Eber's position as first in the genealogy, even preceding his sons, is evident; historically, the Hebrews, or Heberians, are believed to have derived their name from him. Alternatively, some suggest their name originates from Abraham, but ultimately, it is clear that they are named after Eber—Eberites—later evolving into Jews through a minor alteration. Eventually, the Hebrew term distilled down to a singular nation, Israel, where the presence of God was realized among the saints, and in collective representation, God’s glory was manifested within the nation.
Following this, the six sons of Shem are first listed, along with four grandsons from one of them. Another son also had a grandson, who subsequently had a great-grandson, leading to Eber. Eber produced two sons, naming one Falek, which translates as "the one who divides," with the reasoning provided in Scripture: "for in his days the earth was divided" (Gen. 10:25). Further elucidation on this matter will follow. The other son born to Eber fathered twelve sons. Hence, the total descendants from Noah's three sons amounts to seventy-three when counting: fifteen from Japheth, thirty-one from Ham, and twenty-seven from Shem. The Scripture concludes with the account stating, "These are the sons of Shem according to their tribes, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations." From these lineages, the nations dispersed across the earth following the flood (Gen. 10:31-32). This leads us to assert that at that time, there were seventy-three, or perhaps, as will be demonstrated later, seventy-two distinct nations rather than individuals. For earlier, while enumerating Japheth's sons, it was stated that "From these the islands of the nations were inhabited in their lands, each according to his language, according to his tribes, in his peoples" (Gen. 10:5). Several sons remain unmentioned not because they were childless but because, upon their birth, they seamlessly integrated into other nations without establishing their own. The lack of recorded offspring from the eight sons of Japheth or the four sons of Ham suggests that those not named joined existing nations without founding new ones.
In a similar context, when listing the genealogies of Noah's sons, it is stated: "These are the sons of Ham, according to their tribes, according to their tongues, in their lands, in their nations" (Gen. 10:20). Likewise, for Shem: "These are the sons of Shem, according to their tribes, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations" (Gen. 10:31). In addition, it is recorded: "These are the tribes of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations." From these, the nations expanded across the earth following the flood. A singular language and one dialect permeated the entirety of the earth (Gen. 10:32-11:1). Thus, from the addendum about the existence of one language and one dialect that covered the earth, we may deduce that during the time of mankind’s expansion, all spoke a common tongue. This stands in contradiction to the prior statement regarding their tribes and languages. For it would be inconsistent to claim separate tribes had distinct tongues while a shared language existed. Hence, the account wraps up by explaining how this singular language fragmented into various tongues. It subsequently recounts the construction of a tower, during which God’s judgment fell due to pride, ultimately leading to the scattering of people across the earth, each according to their own language.