1 Chronicles 1:8

THE SONS OF HAM, THE DARK-SKINNED OR SWARTHY (1Ch_1:8-16).

(8) Cush.—The Greek Meroë, Assyrian Miluhha, or Kûsu, south of Egypt, in our Bibles often called Ethiopia (Isa_19:1). The Arabic gives Habesh, i.e., Ethiopia.

Mizraim.—The common Hebrew name of Egypt: strictly, “the two Miçrs”—i.e., Upper and Lower Egypt. But the name should rather be spelt Mizrim—the Egyptians; the form Mizraim being probably a mere fancy of the Jewish punctuators. The Assyrians wrote Muçum, Muçru, Muçur. The Inscription of Darius has Miçir. Maçôr was the name of the wall which protected Egypt on the north-east. Hence it gave its name to the whole of Lower Egypt.—Cush and Muçur are coupled together in the inscriptions of Esarhaddon and his son Assurbanipal.

Put.—Perhaps the Egyptian Punt, on the east coast of Africa. King Darius mentioned Pûta and Kûsu as subject to him (Behist, Inscr.). Comp. Nah_3:9; Jer_46:9; Eze_30:5. The Arabic has Kibtu, i.e., Coptland.

Canaan.—There are many proofs of an early connection between Egypt and Canaan. The Philistines were colonists from the Delta (1Ch_1:12), and Ramses II. (cir. 1350 or 1450 B.C. ) had wars and made alliance with the Hittites.

(9) Seba.—Capital of Meroë. The other names represent Arabian tribes and their districts.

Sheba.—The famous Sabaeans, whose language, the Himyaritic, has quite recently been deciphered from inscriptions.

(10) Cush begat Nimrod.—Micah (Mic_5:6) speaks of the “land of Nimrod” in connection with the “land of Asshur.” The land of Nimrod is plainly Babylonia; and some have supposed the primitive inhabitants of Babylonia—“the black-headed race” (zalmat qayqadi) as they styled themselves—to have been akin to the peoples of Muçur and Cush. At all events, Cush in this table of races appears as father of a series of mixed populations, ramifying from the north-west of the Persian Gulf in a southernly direction to the coast of Arabia. The Asiatic Cush represents that primitive Elamitic Sumerian race which occupied the north-west and north coast of the Persian Gulf; or rather that portion of it which attained to empire in Babylonia.

The name Nimrod appears to be identical with Merodach, the Accadian Amar-utu, or Amar-utuki, Assyrian Maruduk. Merodach was the tutelar deity of Babylon, as Asshur was of Assyria; and many Babylonian sovereigns bore his name. (Comp. Merodach-baladan, Isa_39:1.)

He began to be.—He was the first to become. Tradition made Nimrod the first founder of a great Oriental empire. The statement about his four cities (Gen_10:10), the first of which was Babel (Babylon), is omitted here.

Mighty.—Literally, a hero, warrior (gibbôr); a title of Merodach.

(11, 12) The names in these verses are all in the masculine plural, and obviously designate nations. Mizraim, the two Egypts, is said to have begotten the chief races inhabiting those regions—a common Oriental metaphor. The Ludim are the Ludu, or Rudu, of the hieroglyphs (Prof. Sayce thinks, the Lydian mercenaries of the Egyptian sovereigns); the Anamim are perhaps the men of An (On, Gen_41:50), Lehabim, the Lybians. The Naphtuhim seem to get their name from Noph, i.e., Memphis, and the god Ptah. Perhaps, however, the name is to be recognised in the town Napata.

(12) Pathrusim.—The men of the south (Egyptian, pe-ta-res, “the southland”), or Upper Egypt.

Casluhim . . . Caphthorim.—The men of Kaftûra, or the Delta. (See Amo_9:7 : “Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Mizraim? and the Philistines from Caphtor?” and comp. Deu_2:23.) The Caluhim may have been a leading division of the Caphthorim.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 8. The sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim] "Arabia and Egypt." - T.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8, 9 (= Gen_10:6-7). The Sons of Ham

8. The sons of Ham] Passing over for the present the Central “zone,” the writer now describes the Southern.

Cush] The Heb. name here transliterated Cush is several times translated “Ethiopia” (e.g. 2Ki_19:9; Isa_18:1) no doubt rightly. On the inscriptions of Assur-bani-pal frequent mention is made of Ku-su (Ku-u-su) “Ethiopia” in connexion with Mu-ṣur “Egypt.” The Cushites were not Negroes but a brown race like the modern Nubians (Soudanese).

Mizraim] is without doubt Egypt. In form the word seems to be dual, and it is generally said to mean the two Egypts, Upper and Lower. A singular “Mâzôr” is translated “Egypt” In 2Ki_19:24 (R.V.). Neither form is the native name of the kingdom.

Put] In Gen_10:6 “Phut” (R.V. Put). This people is mentioned among the helpers of Egypt in Jer., in Ezek. (twice) and in Nahum; “the Libyans” A.V. In Eze_27:10 it appears among the auxiliary troops of Tyre; “Phut” A.V. In all these passages R.V. has “Put.” “Put” is probably the Punt of the Egyptian monuments, i.e. the Somali coast with the parts of the coast of Arabia nearest to it.

Canaan] In Gen_9:25-27 “Canaan” is not the son of Ham, but takes Ham’s place among the sons of Noah. Canaan (“lowland”) is applied to the whole country W. of Jordan including the Hill Country of Judah and Ephraim, but perhaps the name was originally given to the sea-coast only. This coastland (including both Philistia and Phœnicia) had close political connexions with Egypt, being indeed Egypt’s highway to the E., and hence Canaan is described as the brother of Mizraim, although no near ethnological relationship existed between the mass of the population of Canaan and the Egyptians.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 8-16. C. LIST OF THE SONS, GRANDSONS, AND GREATGRANDSONS OF HAM. This list consists of four sons of Ham, of six grandsons, including Nimrod, through Cush, the eldest son of Ham; of seven grandsons through Mizraim, the second son of Ham; of eleven grandsons through Canaan, the fourth son of Ham; of two great-grandsons through Raamah, Cush"s fourth son; thirty descendants in all. No issue is given of Put, the third son of Hem. The parallel list is found sw. (Gen_10:6-20) The names agree in the Authorized Version, with minute differences, e.g. Put here for Phut there, and so the Philistines for Philistine, Caphthorim for Caphtorim, Girgashite for Girgasite. They are similarly in agreement in the Hebrew text of the two places, with minute differences, e.g. aTb here for hTbsw there amrw for hmrw for hmrw for wOdyxi for doyxi yqirh. However, in Genesis the following statements are added to Nimrod"s name: was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty. hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; the same is a great city." And again, at the close of the enumeration of sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, follow the statements, "And afterwards were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comsat to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

All of the names here are names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

Cush

Canaan

Sheba

earth

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.