-- And Canaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth,
Genesis 10 lists the nations that spread out after the flood. Verse 15 names the sons of Canaan — a line already under Noah's curse, and the peoples Israel would meet later in the land God had promised.
Noah's curse had already marked this branch of the family. Yet its early history looked nothing like a curse at work.
The youngest branch of Ham's family now comes before us, already branded with the curse (Gen. 9:25), and the lowest of servants to his brothers. Yet for a long time no doom seemed more unlikely. They were more enterprising than anyone, and as ready to leave home as the sons of Cush. Who spread out as widely as they did? The name Canaan covered the whole group, but it belonged in a special way to the "lowlanders" of the country.
Commentators are careful here about timing. The curse was not a fortune-teller's prediction of the next few years, and its full outcome runs far past Genesis.
No doubt an evident curse, which none could deny but an unbeliever, fell on Canaan, when because of their enormous wickedness the guilty cities of the Plain were destroyed by fire out of heaven. But even this was far from being an event of Noah's age… Yet Scripture is plain that both the curse and the blessing are not complete till Israel re-enter the land under Messiah and the new covenant, to be rooted there and blessed as long as the earth endures.
Sidon and Heth stand apart from the rest of the list. The first name belongs to a man and to a city.
Of these races we need dwell on no more than the first two. These two can be separated more easily, because only they are personal names; the rest are names of nations. The name of the first, Sidon, means "fishing," and so does Saida, its modern name. The city stood on the northern slope of a spur that juts into the sea, and its citadel stood behind it on the south… In time Tyre, its daughter city, outshines it, as the later prophets show. In earlier days we hear of "great Zidon" (Joshua 11:8; 19:28)… They were skilled in manufacturing then, and later famous for their ships and their trade. But they corrupted even Solomon's house by their abominations.
The second son gives his name to a people Israel would know well — and whom Abraham would deal with face to face.
The descendants of Heth, a son of Canaan, and so descendants of Ham: a large race who lived in Palestine. In God's covenant with Abraham, his descendants were to take over their land (Gen. 15:20). When Sarah died, Abraham bought the field and cave of Machpelah from the Hittites. His dealings and contract with them show that they were a civilised race, used to commercial transactions (Gen. 23:3-20).
The name itself carries a lesson, drawn out from the burial ground Abraham purchased.
He reminds his sons that the purchase of the cave and the field had been made from the children of Heth, which means "fear." Those who are unsaved are the children of fear, who, through fear of death, are all their lifetime subject to bondage (Heb. 2:15).
The names are given in unusual detail because of where these people settled. God's plan for that ground had already been fixed.
Verse 15 speaks of Canaan and his descendants, who took up the land that God had already decided would be Israel's (v. 19)… God's sovereign choice for His people was absolute from the beginning. Whoever held their land in the meantime, this would have no effect on Israel owning it in the end. And God was clearly righteous when He drove out the Canaanites at the proper time, because of their idolatry and demon worship.
That later judgment was not random. It rested on what these nations had become.
Now the races of Canaan occupied that land which Jehovah intended for Israel… They were openly vile, worst of all the cities of the plain, whose wickedness was too shameful to name… Every unnatural evil, and idolatry too, had become their "customs," and Israel had to be kept clear of them. This was no question of cruelty. Israel was at fault for not removing them as fully as Jehovah commanded, so the ones they spared trapped and corrupted the chosen people into the same shame.
The two names of verse 15 reappear at the far end of the Bible's story — and not in judgment.
She belonged to a city which God had held up as a most guilty city (Matt. 11:21). She was a Syrophoenician — a Canaanite — from a race the Old Testament calls accursed (Gen. 9:25-27), a race no one could expect repentance from. The Lord comes into the region of Tyre and Sidon, peopled by the descendants of Canaan ("Cursed be Canaan"). That is where grace ever comes. And she was one of these outcasts in the fullest sense of the word. She had no privileges, no claims.
- Cursed — Noah's words marked this line from the start. Yet for a long time no people looked less doomed; they travelled and traded more than anyone.
- Named — Sidon means "fishing," a coastal city Tyre later outshone. Heth means "fear," and his descendants sold Abraham a burial field.
- Placed — these families settled on ground God had already assigned to Israel. No one else holding it could change that.
- Judged — God was righteous to remove them, because of what they had become. Israel spared some, and those left dragged the nation into the same evils.
- Reached — the Lord went to the region of Tyre and Sidon and met a woman with no claim at all. That is where grace always comes.
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
Genesis 10:16 sits inside a family list, but its three names — Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites — are peoples Israel would later meet in the land God had promised. Why does Scripture record these branches of Canaan's family, and what did God plan to do about them?
One writer follows each of the three families into Israel's later history:
The Jebusites held Jerusalem. Joshua defeated them, but they were not driven out until David. The Amorite lived in the hill country of Judah, but pushed east. After their fall and expulsion, the two and a half tribes settled east of the Jordan. The Girgashites disappeared from view.
These families settled on land God had already marked out for someone else:
Scripture carefully points them out as races which took possession of the land destined for Israel. As the song of Moses puts it (Deut. 32:8), "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel."
The chapter before records Noah's curse on Canaan. The sons listed here are where that curse begins to work out:
We must also remember that Noah spoke as a prophet when he said it. The later history of Canaan and his descendants fully justified his solemn words. Genesis 10 gives us the sons of Canaan. From them came the nations that lived east of the Mediterranean and just north of Egypt. That is how the region became known as the land of Canaan.
The list gives these families more attention than others. That detail has a purpose:
The record of the Canaanite families is more detailed, because God had in view His people, whose duty it was to execute judgment and drive them out of the promised land. They might be "spread abroad" or scattered, and seen to flourish for a while. Still the curse was on them. It rested on them from the first on moral grounds. At last their outrages against God and man made it worse — crimes which in His eyes called for extermination.
The Amorite of this verse marks God's timing. Judgment fell not when the sin began, but when it was full:
The races of Canaan were strikingly vile, most of all the cities of the plain, whose wickedness was not to be named... But at last the cup of the Amorites was full. The land became so unclean that the LORD had to visit its iniquity. So He was pleased to make Israel the executioner of His vengeance. It was no question of cruelty. It was Israel's fault not to wipe them out as completely as the LORD commanded, so that those they spared went on to trap and corrupt the chosen people into the same disgrace.
The delay was no one-off. Another writer sees the same principle at work today:
God was going to let the Amorites fill up the cup of their iniquity before He ejected and destroyed them. This is always the way He takes in His holy government. It accounts for the patience He extends to the guilty world we are living in. He knows the full nature of man's evil from the start. But He lets it develop fully, so that when His judgment falls in full severity, all created beings will see that it is just.
One writer takes the meanings of these names as a picture of what still hinders believers:
The names here, as everywhere, are surely significant. They suggest those powers of evil which occupy the ground and would keep us from enjoying our God-given inheritance in Christ... The Girgashites are "dwellers in clay." Sadly, we are prone to settle down in the dust of earth instead of rising to our heavenly portion. The Amorite is "the talker," not the doer of the Word... while the Jebusite, "the treader down," never rests until all divine things are put under his feet. All these are to be cast out. We must refuse any alliance with them.
The doom was real, but it was not sealed:
As to the literal history, even the doomed Canaanites might have escaped their doom. The way out was such a repentance and turning to God as was found in Rahab. The prophet later announced this principle openly (Jer. 18:7-8). It was a gospel of fact for every nation, before there could be a gospel of words.
- Curse — Noah spoke over Canaan as a prophet. The sons listed here are the first proof that his words came true.
- Squatters — the Jebusite, Amorite and Girgashite settled land the Most High had already assigned to Israel. They only ever borrowed it.
- Patience — judgment waited until the cup of the Amorites was full. The same patience explains why God bears with the world today.
- Pattern — the three names also picture evils that keep us from enjoying our inheritance in Christ: settling for earth, talking instead of doing, trampling on holy things.
- Mercy — Rahab shows the door was never shut. Repentance could have spared any Canaanite from that doom.
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
Genesis 10:17 lists three more families descended from Canaan, the son of Ham. They are bare names to most readers — so why keep the record, and what became of them?
The list changes as it goes. One commentator marks where the names stop being men.
Of these races we need dwell on no more than the first two. These can be more easily distinguished, since they alone are personal names, the rest are names of peoples.
One of these three still has a known home on the map.
A tribe descended from Canaan, son of Ham. It probably lived in Arca, in the north of Phoenicia, about 15 miles north of Tripoli, now called Tell Arka. Gen. 10:17; 1 Chr. 1:15.
The Sinites are harder to trace, and writers admit it instead of guessing.
A tribe of unknown Canaanites, probably in the far north. Gen. 10:17; 1 Chr. 1:15. The Targums give Orthosia, a town on the coast to the north-east of Tripolis.
Of the three, the Hivites have the fullest later history — and it ends badly for Israel, not only for them.
One of the races found early in Palestine: they were descendants of Ham through Canaan. Gen. 10:17. Jacob, on his return to Palestine, found Shechem occupied by the Hivites. Gen. 34:2. They also possessed Gibeon, and found means to deceive Joshua into making a league with them. Joshua 9:3, 7... Israel suffered because they did not carry out God's directions to drive out these and the other peoples of the land. These peoples led Israel into idolatry.
Noah's word against Canaan hangs over this whole branch of the family. Yet at this stage nothing in their expansion looked like a curse at work.
The youngest branch of the Hamitic race now comes before us, already branded with curse (Gen. 9:25), and a servant of servants to his brothers. Yet for a long time no doom seemed less likely. They were enterprising beyond any, and no more inclined to stay at home than the sons of Cush. Who spread themselves abroad as they did? ... They are carefully pointed out as races which took possession of the land destined for Israel.
Why does this branch get so much detail? One writer answers that God was looking ahead to Israel.
The notices of the Canaanite families are more detailed. God had His people in view, and it was their duty to carry out judgment and drive these families out of the promised land. However much they might be "spread abroad" or scattered, and seem to flourish for a while, the curse was on them. It rested on them from the first on moral grounds. At last it grew worse through outrages against God and man, which in His eyes called for extermination.
The Hivites of Gibeon lied their way into a treaty with Joshua. They survived it, but not untouched, and not because they were clever.
It is true that God allowed them to bear a certain mark of degradation as a result. They were enslaved, as the only course left open in righteousness... After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. The name of the Lord had been solemnly given, and no one can trifle with that. But on the other hand, the Gibeonites were reduced to the most menial services for the sanctuary of Jehovah. So it was plain that nothing preserved them but His name.
Some writers read these tribal names as pictures of what keeps believers from what God has given them. On that reading, even the word "Hivite" carries a warning.
The names here, as everywhere, are surely significant. They suggest powers of evil that occupy the ground first. They would stop us enjoying our God-given inheritance in Christ... the Amorite, "the talker," rather than the doer of the Word. The Canaanite, "the trafficker"... the Hivite, "the villager," suggesting a false humility. The Jebusite, "the treader down," never rests until everything divine is under his feet.
- Named. Hivite, Arkite and Sinite are names of peoples, not of men, unlike the first two names in Canaan's line.
- Placed. The Arkites settled near modern Tell Arka, in the north of Phoenicia. No one can place the Sinites for certain, and writers admit it.
- Cursed. Canaan's line already lay under a curse, yet it spread far and looked successful. It settled the very land promised to Israel.
- Recorded. Scripture lists these families in such detail because Israel would later have to drive them out. Their moral state is what brought that judgment.
- Spared. Hivites from Gibeon won a treaty by deceit, and nothing but the Lord's name kept them alive. Later, Israel's failure to drive such peoples out drew Israel into idolatry.
and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. And afterwards the families of the Canaanites spread themselves abroad.
Genesis 10 lists the nations that came from Noah's sons, and this verse ends Canaan's branch with three little-known families. Why does Scripture track this one line so closely, and why did a people already under a curse spread the fastest?
Only the last of these three names comes up often later in Scripture. Its story runs from Genesis to the days of Assyria.
A district and a well-known city in the north of Syria. We read of the HAMATHITE as early as Genesis 10:18. The district lay north of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. It perhaps extended southward too, since Scripture speaks of the northern border of Israel as "the entrance of Hamath." Toi, king of Hamath, sent to congratulate David on his victory over Hadadezer. It was more than a hundred miles farther north than Dan, but it became tributary to Solomon and he built store cities there. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Assyrians.
The other two are little more than names with a map reference. The Zemarites were "a tribe descended from Ham, and one of 'the families of the Canaanites'" (Morrish Bible Dictionary). The Arvadites are "doubtless connected with the island of Arvad" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
Genesis gives other branches of this table a single line. Canaan's it lists family by family. One writer explains why — and what their spreading abroad came to in the end.
The notices of the Canaanite families are more detailed, because God had His people in view. Their duty was to carry out judgment and dispossess these families of the promised land. However much they might be "spread abroad" or dispersed, and however much they seemed to flourish for a while, the curse was on them. It rested on them from the first on moral grounds. At last their outrages against God and man made it worse, and in His eyes these called for extermination.
Nothing about this family looked cursed. They spread further than anyone — yet inside limits God had already fixed.
The youngest branch of the Hamitic race now comes before us, already branded with curse, and a servant of servants to his brothers. Yet for a long time no doom seemed more unlikely. They were enterprising beyond any other people, and no more inclined to stay at home than the sons of Cush. Who spread themselves abroad as they did? … They are carefully pointed out as the races which took possession of the land destined for Israel. The song of Moses puts it strongly: "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God."
Kelly's older translation reads "the sons of Israel" there. God sets bounds for every nation, and one writer traces the world's wars to men crossing them:
Acts 17:26 makes it clear that the earth's surface is enough for people to live on. It also shows that God has set the bounds of the nations. Suppose men had respected these God-appointed bounds and been content with the "place in the sun" that He had given them. Then there would have been no wars. But they found no satisfaction in what they had, and they refused to feel after God for it. So they have cast covetous eyes on their neighbours' share and have broken the bounds God appointed — and from that come the bloodshed and the sorrow.
Ham's descendants led the early world in power and trade. One writer grants them all of it, then names what they lacked.
Looking back over the descendants of Ham, we cannot help seeing this. None rose so early into prominence of earthly power and rule. None carried civilisation forward so fast and so widely in earliest times. No other peoples were so marked at first by material grandeur … and they were long the only pioneers of commerce in west and east, north and south. But the true God was absent from their souls. And not only that: they outran all other races in their empty thoughts. They ungratefully abandoned Him when they knew Him, and their foolish heart darkened first.
God's reason for clearing the land had nothing to do with who would move in.
Every landlord has a perfect right to evict bad tenants. The nations of Canaan had not only failed to pay their rent, as we say. They had damaged and defiled the property so badly that God could no longer endure them. So He was going to drive them out, quite apart from who the incoming tenants were.
- Named. Three obscure families close Canaan's list. Only Hamath grew into a city and district on Israel's northern border.
- Traced. Canaan's line gets the most detail. God had in view the people who would dispossess them.
- Spread. No people of that day spread further. Yet a curse already rested on them, on moral grounds, from the start.
- Bounded. God fixed the borders of the peoples. When nations covet more and break those bounds, war follows.
- Evicted. Early greatness in power and trade counted for nothing with the true God absent from their souls. He evicted them like a landlord removing tenants who have ruined the property.
And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as one goes to Gerar, up to Gazah; as one goes to Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, up to Lesha.
The names in this verse are not decoration. They mark the border of Canaan, and every one of those places would later matter to Israel.
The list of nations in Genesis 10 is not just a map. One writer sees a purpose behind where each nation ended up.
Israel was, and will yet be, God's centre on earth. It is a fact of the deepest interest that from the very start, as we see in Genesis 10, the Creator and Governor of the world formed the nations and fixed their borders. He did this by His own sovereign will, and with direct reference to Abraham's seed and to that narrow strip of land they are to hold, under the everlasting covenant made with their fathers.
That explains why Canaan's line gets more detail than any other branch in the chapter.
The Canaanite families are listed in closer detail, because God had His people in view, whose task it was to carry out judgment and take the promised land from them. The Canaanites might spread out and scatter, and seem to flourish for a while. Still the curse was on them. It rested there from the first on moral grounds, and was made worse at the end by outrages against God and man which in His eyes called for their destruction.
The border has four corners. Writers differ over the last name in the list.
The border is traced from Sidon in the north-west, and from Gerar and Gaza in the south-west, and from the four doomed cities of the plain in the south-east to Lasha. Lasha was probably Laish or Leshem in the north-east. Jerome takes it to be Callirrhoe on the east of the Dead Sea, and Bochart a city the Arabs called Lusa in the south of Judah.
Reference works agree only that Lasha marked the limit and was likely east of the Dead Sea:
Place which marked the limit of the country of the Canaanites. It was probably on the east of the Dead Sea.
Here Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim only mark a boundary. What ruined them was not poverty but plenty.
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim were all caught in the blow. Sodom and the cities around her had enjoyed unusual prosperity, but their prosperity became their ruin. "Pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease" bred sin that a righteous God would not put up with for ever.
Canaan's line began under a curse. Their early success gave no sign of it.
The youngest branch of Ham's family now comes before us. He was already marked with a curse, and made a servant of servants to his brothers. Yet no doom ever seemed less likely. They were more enterprising than any, and no more willing to stay at home than the sons of Cush. Who spread out as widely as they did? The name Canaan covered the whole country, but it applied more particularly to the "lowlanders" in it. They are carefully pointed out as the races that took possession of the land meant for Israel.
The sentence fell on them for what they did, not for who they were. One writer adds that Israel's failure to carry it out cost Israel dearly:
They were a highly civilised race, but steeped in shameless idolatry and every moral evil. So, according to righteousness on earth, they were given up to destruction. They deserved it, and their removal also guarded Israel from being drawn into the same sins. Israel failed to carry out His sentence, and proved this to their own sin, shame, and cost.
Ham's line rose first in the world, and lost God fastest.
No people rose so early to power and rule on earth. None carried civilisation forward so fast and so far in the earliest times. No others stood out at first with such wealth and splendour, both in the plain of Shinar and in that remarkable country along the Nile — in Asia and in Africa alike. For a long time they were the only pioneers of trade in west and east, north and south. But the true God was absent from their souls.
- Bounds. Canaanite strength did not set this border. God fixed the limits of the nations from the start, with Abraham's seed and their land in view.
- Detail. Canaan's family gets more space than any other line in the chapter. Israel would one day have to face these peoples and take the land from them.
- Reach. Canaan spread further and faster than any other line. For centuries the curse spoken over him looked impossible.
- Ruin. The four cities named at the border — Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim — were destroyed together. Plenty, not hardship, bred the sin that ruined them.
- Warning. Early power without God ended in judgment. Israel failed to carry that judgment out, and fell into the very sins it was meant to remove.