Noah (per Bisshop Ussher's Annals of the World): Flood ~ 2349

1. Asshur or Assyria Genesis 10:22

a. Territory: The fertile heartland of Assyria lay between the Syrian Desert, Anatolia, and the Kurdish hills and was separated from its southern neighbors Babylonia by the Hamrin hills. Genesis 10:12

b. History

The king-list tradition is of early nomads under Asshur who founded the city that carry his name (2800 BC)

Genesis 10:11, 12 records the foundation of Asshur, Nineveh and Calah (modern Nimrud)

c. Famous Kings:

Shalmaneser I –1274-1245 BC (2 King 17: 3 And 2 King 18:9)

Tiglath-pilester III –745-727 BC (2King 15:29; 2King 16:7,10)

Sargon II –722-705 (Isaiah 20:1)

Sennacherib –705-681 (2King 18:13, 19:16; 19:36; 2Chronicles 32:1, 9, 10; 32:22; Isaiah 36:1; 37:17, 21, 37

d. Archeology:

Early travelers reported the site of biblical Nineveh opposite to Mosul-The ruins were examined in 1820 for the first time by C.J. Rich.

e. Sociological development.

Beginning with Shalmaneser (1264-1245) Assyrian rulers often deported conquered peoples and resettled their lands with their own or other conquered peoples, a tactic apparently adopted from the 3^rd dynasty of Ur. Such colonization was use by God who allows the Assyrians to carry away Israel.

f. Language.

The Language of ancient Assyria and Babylonia, called Assyro-Babylonian or Akkadian belongs to the East Semite Group of languages.

The system is the world’s oldest written language. This “cuneiform” script is not alphabetic but is ideographic and phonetic.

They were 600 characters, each of which had one or more values. The combination of two characters could also have several values.
The characters were inscribed in the soft clay of the writing tablets with a wedge-shaped instrument.

This language is the earliest recorded Sem. Language and extends from 2400BC to the first century AD. and has been found anywhere from Persepolis to Egypt.

Aram

Background

Noah (per Bisshop Ussher's Annals of the World): Flood ~ 2349 - 2348 BC (Camping ~5000 BC)

Shem: 2 years after the Flood, Shem was 100 years old. Shem died 500 years after the birth of Arphaxad.

2446 BC to 1846 BC (600 years old).

Arphaxad (Aram's brother):

Gen 11

10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.

12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah.

13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

'Sons' (or those that were begat) noted in the Bible: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram (Genesis 10:22)

Arphaxad lived from 2346 BC - 1908 BC (438 years old) per the Bishop Ussher's model.

Presumably Aram lived somewhere in this timeframe.

Ref #1: Aram is the Hebrew word for Syria. Whenever the word Syria appears in the Old Testament it is a translation of the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Arameans, and their language is called Aramaic. Before the spread of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26 ff). On the cross, when Jesus cried out, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ (Mark 15:34),13 He was speaking Aramaic, the language of the common people.

Ref #2: Aram: He was the founder of the Aramaeans, know to the Akkadians s the Aramu, but who were later known to the Greeks as the Syrians (from Serug?). In an Assyrian inscription of Tiglath-pilesar I, from ca 1100 BC, the Aramaeans are depicted as living to the east of the river Tigris. By the time of Tiglath-pileser III, however, some 400 years later, they were living all over Mesopotamia. After this they settled to the west, occupying roughly the same area that makes up modern Syria. A clay tablet from Ur bears the name of Aramu, and it is of interest to note that Aramaic is still spoken today.

Ref #3: A’ram

(Heb. Aram', µr;a}, prob. from µr;, high, q. d. highlands; Sept. and N.,T.

Ajra>m see Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 151; Forbiger, Alte Geogr. 2, 641,

Anm.), the name of a nation or country, with that of its founder and two or

three other men. SEE BETHARAM. Comp. SEE CUNEIFORM

INSCRIPTIONS.

1. ARAMAEA (Sept. and later versions SYRIA) was the name given by the

Hebrews to the tract of country lying between Phoenicia on the west,

Palestine on the south, Arabia Deserta and the River Tigris on the east, and

the mountain range of Taurus on the north. Many parts of this extensive

territory have a much lower level than Palestine; but it might receive the designation of “highlands,” because it does rise to a greater elevation than

that country at most points of immediate contact, and especially on the side

of Lebanon. Aram, or Aramaea, seems to have corresponded generally to

the Syria (q.v.) and Mesopotamia (q.v.) of the Greeks and Romans.

Aram's sons (or Begatees) were: Uz (Job came from here), Hul, Gether, and Mash

Genesis 10:23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

Reference #1:

The sixteen Grandsons of Noah by Harold Hunt with Russell Grigg

First published in: Creation Ex Nihilo 20(4):22–25

September–November 1998)

When Noah and his family stepped out of the Ark, they were the only people on Earth. It fell to Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives, to repopulate the earth through the children that were born to them after the Flood. Of Noah’s grandchildren, 16 grandsons are named in Genesis chapter 10.

God has left us ample evidence to confirm that these 16 grandsons of Noah really lived, that the names the Bible gives were their exact names, and that after the Babel dispersion (Genesis 11) their descendants fanned out over the earth and established the various nations of the ancient world.

The first generations after the Flood lived to be very old, with some men outliving their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This set them apart. The 16 grandsons of Noah were the heads of their family clans, which became large populations in their respective areas. Several things happened:

People in various areas called themselves by the name of the man who was their common ancestor.

They called their land, and often their major city and major river, by his name.

Sometimes the various nations fell off into ancestor worship. When this happened, it was natural for them to name their god after the man who was ancestor of all of them, or to claim their long-living ancestor as their god.

All of this means that the evidence has been preserved in a way that can never be lost, and all the ingenuity of man cannot erase. We will now examine it.

The seven sons of Japheth

Genesis 10:1–2 reads:

‘Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.’

The first of Noah’s grandsons mentioned is Gomer. Ezekiel locates the early descendants of Gomer, along with Togarmah (a son of Gomer), in the north quarters (Ezekiel 38:6). In modern Turkey is an area which in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records that the people who were called Galatians or Gauls in his day (c. AD 93) were previously called Gomerites.

They migrated westward to what are now called France and Spain. For many centuries France was called Gaul, after the descendants of Gomer. North-west Spain is called Galicia to this day.

Some of the Gomerites migrated further to what is now called Wales. The Welsh historian, Davis, records a traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Gomer ‘landed on the Isle of Britain from France, about three hundred years after the flood’. He also records that the Welsh language is called Gomeraeg (after their ancestor Gomer).

Other members of their clan settled along the way, including in Armenia. The sons of Gomer were ‘Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah’ (Genesis 10:3). Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Armenians traditionally claim to be descended from Togarmah and Ashkenaz. Ancient Armenia reached into Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from Togarmah. Others of them migrated to Germany. Ashkenaz is the Hebrew word for Germany.

The next grandson mentioned is Magog. According to Ezekiel, Magog lived in the north parts (Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2). Josephus records that those whom he called Magogites, the Greeks called Scythians. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the ancient name for the region which now includes part of Romania and the Ukraine was Scythia.

The next grandson is Madai. Along with Shem’s son Elam, Madai is the ancestor of our modern-day Iranians. Josephus says that the descendants of Madai were called Medes by the Greeks. Every time the Medes are mentioned in the Old Testament, the word used is the Hebrew word Madai (maday). After the time of Cyrus, the Medes are always (with one exception) mentioned along with the Persians. They became one kingdom with one law — ‘the law of the Medes and Persians’ (Daniel 6:8, 12, 15). Later they were simply called Persians. Since 1935 they have called their country Iran. The Medes also ‘settled India’.

The name of the next grandson, Javan, is the Hebrew word for Greece. Greece, Grecia, or Grecians appears five times in the Old Testament, and is always the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel refers to ‘the king of Grecia’ (Daniel 8:21), literally ‘the king of Javan’. Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4), all of whom have connections with the Greek people. The Elysians (an ancient Greek people) obviously received their name from Elishah. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in the region of Cilicia (modern Turkey).

Encyclopædia Britannica says that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus. The Greeks worshipped Jupiter under the name of Jupiter Dodanaeus, possibly a reference to the fourth son of Javan, with Jupiter a derivative of Japheth. His oracle was at Dodena.

Next is Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech (Ezekiel 39:1). Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria in about 1100 BC, refers to the descendants of Tubal as the Tabali. Josephus recorded their name as the Thobelites, who were later known as Iberes.

‘Their land, in Josephus’ day, was called by the Romans Iberia, and covered what is now (the former Soviet State of) Georgia whose capital to this day bears the name Tubal as Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus mountains, this people migrated due north-east, giving their tribal name to the river Tobol, and hence to the famous city of Tobolsk.’

Meshech, the name of the next grandson, is the ancient name for Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia, and the region that surrounds the city. To this day, one section, the Meschera Lowland, still carries the name of Meshech, virtually unchanged by the ages.

According to Josephus, the descendants of grandson Tiras were called Thirasians. The Greeks changed their name to Thracians.1 Thrace reached from Macedonia on the south to the Danube River on the north to the Black Sea on the east. It took in much of what became Yugoslavia. World Book Encyclopedia says: ‘The people of Thrace were savage Indo-Europeans, who liked warfare and looting.’ Tiras was worshipped by his descendants as Thuras, or Thor, the god of thunder.

The four sons of Ham

Next we come to the sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6).

The descendants of Ham live mainly in south-west Asia and Africa. The Bible often refers to Africa as the land of Ham (Psalms 105:23,27; 106:22). The name of Noah’s grandson Cush is the Hebrew word for old Ethiopia (from Aswan south to Khartoum). Without exception, the word Ethiopia in the English Bible is always a translation of the Hebrew word Cush. Josephus rendered the name as Chus, and says that the Ethiopians ‘are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites’.

Noah’s next grandson mentioned was Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt. The name Egypt appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with one exception) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. E.g. at the burial of Jacob, the Canaanites observed the mourning of the Egyptians and so called the place Abel Mizraim (Genesis 50:11).

Phut, the name of Noah’s next grandson is the Hebrew name for Libya. It is so translated three times in the Old Testament. The ancient river Phut was in Libya. By Daniel’s day, the name had been changed to Libya (Daniel 11:43). Josephus says, ‘Phut also was the founder of Libia [sic], and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself’.

Canaan, the name of Noah’s next grandson, is the Hebrew name for the general region later called by the Romans Palestine, i.e. modern Israel and Jordan. Here we should look briefly at a few of the descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:14–18). There is Philistim, obviously the ancestor of the Philistines (clearly giving rise to the name Palestine), and Sidon, the founder of the ancient city that bears his name, and Heth, the patriarch of the ancient Hittite empire. Also, this descendant is listed in Genesis 10:15–18 as being the ancestor of the Jebusites (Jebus was the ancient name for Jerusalem — Judges 19:10), the Amorites, the Girgasites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites, ancient peoples who lived in the land of Canaan.

The most prominent descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babel (Babylon), as well as of Erech, Accad and Calneh in Shinar (Babylonia).

The five sons of Shem

Last we come to the sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram (Genesis 10:22).

Elam is the ancient name for Persia, which is itself the ancient name for Iran. Until the time of Cyrus the people here were called Elamites, and they were still often called that even in New Testament times. In Acts 2:9, the Jews from Persia who were present at Pentecost were called Elamites. The Persians are thus descended from both Elam, the son of Shem, and from Madai, the son of Japheth (see above). Since the 1930s they have called their country Iran.

It is interesting to note that the word ‘Aryan’, which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word ‘Iran’. Hitler wanted to produce a pure Aryan ‘race’ of supermen. But the very term ‘Aryan’ signifies a mixed line of Semites and Japhethites!

Asshur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Every time the words Assyria or Assyrian appear in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Asshur. He was worshipped by his descendants.

‘Indeed, as long as Assyria lasted, that is until 612 BC, accounts of battles, diplomatic affairs and foreign bulletins were daily read out to his image; and every Assyrian king held that he wore the crown only with the express permission of Asshur’s deified ghost.’

Arphaxad was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. This ‘is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, which render the name as Arip-hurra — the founder of Chaldea.’ His descendant, Eber, gave his name to the Hebrew people via the line of Eber-Peleg-Reu-Serug-Nahor-Terah-Abram (Genesis 11:16–26). Eber’s other son, Joktan, had 13 sons (Genesis 10:26–30), all of whom appear to have settled in Arabia.

Lud was the ancestor of the Lydians. Lydia was in what is now Western Turkey. Their capital was Sardis — one of the seven churches of Asia was at Sardis (Revelation 3:1).

Aram is the Hebrew word for Syria. Whenever the word Syria appears in the Old Testament it is a translation of the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Arameans, and their language is called Aramaic. Before the spread of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26 ff). On the cross, when Jesus cried out, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ (Mark 15:34),13 He was speaking Aramaic, the language of the common people.

Conclusion

We have only taken the briefest glance at Noah’s sixteen grandsons, 14 but enough has been said to show that they really did live, that they were who the Bible says they were, and that their descendants are identifiable on the pages of history. Not only is the Bible not a collection of myths and legends, but it stands alone as the key to the history of the earliest ages of the world.

References

Josephus: Complete Works, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, ‘Antiquities of the Jews’, 1:6:1 (i.e. book 1, chapter 6, section 1).

J. Davis, History of the Welsh Baptists from the Year Sixty-three to the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy, D.M. Hogan, Pittsburgh, 1835, republished by The Baptist, Aberdeen, Mississippi, p. 1, 1976.

Encyclopædia Britannica, 2:422, 1967.

Encyclopædia Britannica, 20:116, 1967.

A.C. Custance, Noah’s Three Sons, Vol.1, ‘The Doorway Papers’, Zondervan, Michigan, p. 92, 1975.

Encyclopædia Britannica 3:332, 1992.

Bill Cooper, After the Flood, New Wine Press, Chichester, England, p. 203, 1995.

World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 18, p. 207, 1968.

Ref. 1, 1:6:2.

Ref. 7, p. 170.

Ref. 7, p. 172.

Ref. 5, p. 117.

Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 quote the Aramaic form of Psalm 22:1, but Matthew reconverted Eloi to the Hebrew Eli.

For example, we made no attempt here to trace the origins of the Chinese. For evidence on this subject see ‘The original, "unknown" God of China’, Creation 20(3):50–54, 1998. See also how ancient Chinese Characters show that the ancient Chinese knew the Gospel message found in the book of Genesis.

Answers in Genesis is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

Appendix 1

6. Aram: He was the founder of the Aramaeans, know to the Akkadians s the Aramu, but who were later known to the Greeks as the Syrians (from Serug?). In an Assyrian inscription of Tiglath-pilesar I, from ca 1100 BC, the Aramaeans are depicted as living to the east of the river Tigris. By the time of Tiglath-pileser III, however, some 400 years later, they were living all over Mesopotamia. After this they settled to the west, occupying roughly the same area that makes up modern Syria. A clay tablet from Ur bears the name of Aramu, and it is of interest to note that Aramaic is still spoken today.

7. Uz: There is still considerable disagreement as to the precise area in which the descendants of Uz settled, and given the somewhat nomadic nature of the Aramaeans (Aram was the father of Uz), this is hardly surprising. Northern Arabia, between Babylon and Edom, seems the most likely area of settlement. [Josephus, probably correctly, identifies it as the classical Trachonitis - a rugged region to the east of the Sea of Galilee, or Jordan.]

8. Huk: His descendants settled to the north of the sea of Galilee, where they gave their name to the lake an vale of Hulch (the biblical Waters of Merom, which were known to Josephus as Ul). The place was notorious amongst Victorian explorers of Palestine for its tribes of Bedhouin robbers, and its far from healthy marshes and swamps which today have been drained, the reclaimed land being farmed and settled. The modern Israelis have also set up a nature reserve there, and know the place under its ancient name of the vale of Hula. The lake of Hula is formed by the accumulation of water from the two sources of the Jordan before beginning their descent to Galilee.

9. Gether: His descendants (known to Josephus as Gather) settled to the south of Damascus. Josephus identifies them as the latter-day Bactrians, famous amongst other things for a breed of camel. Whether this identification is correct of not cannot now be determined. It should, however, be noted that Bactria was populated by Aryan, or Japhetic, tribes in late Assyrian times, whereas the children of Gehter were, or course, Semites.

10. Mash: The Akkadians rendered the name Mashu, which in turn was known to the Egyptians as Msh'r. It was also rendered Mishal, all of which names referred to a people that dwelt in Lebanon. However, in 1 Chronicles 1:17, the name is rendered Meshech, and this should not be confused with the Japhetic Meshech. Such confusion arises in Josephus and later in the 9^th century historian Nennius.

Reference #3: Strongs McClintock Encyclopedia

A’ram

(Heb. Aram', µr;a}, prob. from µr;, high, q. d. highlands; Sept. and N.,T.

Ajra>m see Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 151; Forbiger, Alte Geogr. 2, 641,

Anm.), the name of a nation or country, with that of its founder and two or

three other men. SEE BETHARAM. Comp. SEE CUNEIFORM

INSCRIPTIONS.

1. ARAMAEA (Sept. and later versions SYRIA) was the name given by the

Hebrews to the tract of country lying between Phoenicia on the west,

Palestine on the south, Arabia Deserta and the River Tigris on the east, and

the mountain range of Taurus on the north. Many parts of this extensive

territory have a much lower level than Palestine; but it might receive the designation of “highlands,” because it does rise to a greater elevation than

that country at most points of immediate contact, and especially on the side

of Lebanon. Aram, or Aramaea, seems to have corresponded generally to

the Syria (q.v.) and Mesopotamia (q.v.) of the Greeks and Romans. We

find the following divisions expressly noticed in Scripture. SEE CANAAN.

1. ARAM’-DAMME’SEK; qc,M,Di µria}, the “Syria of Damascus” conquered

by David. <100805>2 Samuel 8:5, 6, where it denotes only the territory around

Damascus; but elsewhere “Aram,” in connection with its capital

“Damascus,” appears to be used in a wider sense for Syria Proper

(<230701>Isaiah 7:1, 8; 17:3; Amos 1:5). At a later period Damascus gave name

to a district, the Syria Damascena of Pliny (v. 13). To this part of Aram

the “land of Hadrach” seems to have belonged (<380901>Zechariah 9:1). SEE

DAMASCUS.

2. ARAM’I-MAAKAH’, hk;[}mi µria} (<131906>1 Chronicles 19:6), or simply

Maakah (<101006>2 Samuel 10:6, 8), which, if formed from Ë[im;, to "press

together," would describe a country enclosed and hemmed in by

mountains, in contradistinction to the next division, Aram-beth-Rehob, i.e.

Syria the wide or broad, tyBe being used in Syria for a “district of

country.” Aram-Maachah was not far from the northern border of the

Israelites on the east of the Jordan (comp. <050314>Deuteronomy 3:14, with

<061311>Joshua 13:11, 13). In <101006>2 Samuel 10:6, the text has “King Maachah,”

but it is to be corrected from the parallel passage in <131907>1 Chronicles 19:7,

“king of Maachah.” SEE MAACHAH.

3. ARAM’-BEYTH-RECHOB’, b/jr] tyBe µria}, the meaning of which may

be that given above, but the precise locality cannot with certainty be

determined (<101006>2 Samuel 10:6). Some connect it with the Beth-rehob of

<071828>Judges 18:28, which Rosenmüller identifies with the Rehob of

<041321>Numbers 13:21, situated “as men come to Hamath,” and supposes the

district to be that now known as the Ardh el-Hhule at the foot of Anti-

Libanus, near the sources of the Jordan. A place called Rehob is also

mentioned in <070131>Judges 1:31; <061928>Joshua 19:28, 30; 21:31; but it is doubtful

if it be the same. Michaelis thinks of the Rechoboth-han-Nahar (lit. streets,

i.e. the village or town on the River Euphrates) of <013637>Genesis 36:37i but

still more improbable is the idea of Bellermann and Jahn that Aram-beth-

Rehob was beyond the Tigris in Assyria. SEE REHOB.

4. ARAM’-TSOBAH’, hb;/x µria} or, in the Syriac form, ab;/x, Tsoba

(<101006>2 Samuel 10:6). Jewish tradition has placed Zobah at Aleppo (see the

Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela), whereas Syrian tradition identifies it with

Nisibis, a city in the north-east of Mesopotamia. Though the latter opinion

long obtained currency under the authority of Michaelis (in his Dissert. de

Syria Sobaea, to be found in the Comment. Soc. Gotting. 1769), yet the

former seems a much nearer approximation to the truth. We may gather

from <100803>2 Samuel 8:3; 10:16, that the eastern boundary of Aram-Zobah

was the Euphrates, but Nisibis was far beyond that river; besides that in the

title of the sixtieth (supposing it genuine) Aram-Zobah is clearly

distinguished from Aram-Naharaim, or Mesopotamia. It is true, indeed,

that in <101016>2 Samuel 10:16, it is said that Hadarezer, king of Zobah, brought

against David “Aramites from beyond the river,” but these were auxiliaries,

and not his own subjects. The people of Zobah are uniformly spoken of as

near neighbors of the Israelites, the Damascenes, and other Syrians; and in

one place (<140803>2 Chronicles 8:3) Hamath is called Hamath-Zobah, as

pertaining to that district. We therefore conclude that Aram-Zobah

extended from the Euphrates westward, perhaps as far north as to Aleppo.

It was long the most powerful of the petty kingdoms of Arammea, its

princes commonly bearing the name of Hadadezer or Hadarezer. SEE

ZOBAH.

5. ARAM’-NAHARA’YIM; µyirih}ni µria}, i.e. Aram of the Two Rivers, called

in Syriac “Beth-Nahrin,’ i.e. “the land of the rivers,” following the analogy

by which the Greeks formed the name Mesopotami>a, “the country

between the rivers.” For that Mesopotamia is here designated is admitted

universally. The rivers which enclose Mesopotamia are the Euphrates on

the west and the Tigris on the east; but it is doubtful whether the Aram-

Naharaim of Scripture embraces the whole of that tract or only the

northern portion of it (<012410>Genesis 24:10; <052304>Deuteronomy 23:4; <070308>Judges

3:8; <131906>1 Chronicles 19:6; <196001>Psalm 60, title). A part of this region of

Aram is also called Paddan'-Aram', µr;a} ˆDiPi, the plain of Aram

(<012520>Genesis 25:20; 28:2, 6, 7; 31:18; 33:18), and once simply Paddan

(<014807>Genesis 48:7), also Sedeh'-Aram', µr;a} hdec], the field of Aram

(<281213>Hosea 12:13), whence the “Campi Mesopotamiae” of Quintus Curtius

(3:2, 3; 3:8, 1; 4:9, 6). SEE PADAN; SEE SADEH. But that the whole of

Aram-Naharaim did not belong to the flat country of Mesopotamia appears

from the circumstance that Balaam, who (<052304>Deuteronomy 23:4) is called

a native of Aram-Naharaim, says (<042307>Numbers 23:7) that he was brought

“from Aram, out of the mountains of the east.” The Septuagint, in some of

these places, has Mesopotami>a Suri>av, and in others Suri>a Potamw~n,

which the Latins rendered by Syria Interamna. SEE MESOPOTAMIA.

6. But though the districts now enumerated be the only ones expressly

named in the Bible as belonging to Aram, there is no doubt that many more

territories were included in that extensive region, e.g. Geshur, Hul, Arpad,

Riblah, Hamath, Helbon, Betheden, Berothai, Tadmor, Hauran, Abilene,

etc., though some of them may have formed part of the divisions already

specified. SEE ISH-TOB.

A native of Aram was called yMiria}, Arammi', an Aramaean, used of a

Syrian (<120520>2 Kings 5:20), and of a Mesopotamian (<012520>Genesis 25:20). The

feminine was hY;Miria}, Arammiyah', an Aramitess (<130714>1 Chronicles 7:14),

and the plural µyMiria}, Aramminm (<120829>2 Kings 8:29), once (<142205>2

Chronicles 22:5) in a shortened form µyMiri, Rammim'. SEE ARAMAEAN

LANGUAGE. Traces of the name of the Aramaeans are to be found in the

&Arimoi and Ajramai~oi of the Greeks (Strabo, 13:4, 6; 16:4, 27; comp.

Homer’s Iliad, 2, 783; Hesiod, Theogn. 804). SEE ASSYRIA. The religion

of the Syrians was a worship of the powers of nature (Jude. 10:6; <142823>2

Chronicles 28:23; see Creuzer, Symbol. 2, 55 sq.). They were so noted for

idolatry, that in the language of the later Jews atwymra was used as

synonymous with heathenism (see the Mischna of Surenhusius, 2:401;

Onkelos on Levit. 25:47). Castell, in his Lexic. Heptaglott. col. 229, says

the same form of speech prevails in Syriac and Ethiopic. The Hebrew

letters r, resh, and d, daleth, are so alike, that they were often mistaken by

transcribers; and hence, in the Old Testament, µra, Aram, is sometimes

found instead of µda, Edom, and vice versa. Thus in <121606>2 Kings 16:6,

according to the text, the Aramaeans are spoken of as possessing Elath on

the Red Sea; but the Masoretic marginal reading has “the Edomites,”

which is also found in many manuscripts, in the Septuagint and Vulgate,

and it is obviously the correct reading (Gesenius, Thes. Heb. s. vv.).

It appears from the ethnographic table in the tenth chapter of Genesis (ver.

22, 23) that Aram was a son of Sham, and that his own sons were Uz, Hul,

Gether, and Mash. If these gave names to districts, Uz was in the north of

Arabia Deserta, unless its name was derived rather from Huz, son of

Nahor, Abraham’s brother (<012221>Genesis 22:21). Hul was probably Coele-

Syria; Mash, the Mons Masius north of Nisibis in Mesopotamia; Gether is

172

unknown. Another Aram is mentioned (<012221>Genesis 22:21) as the grandson

of Nahor and son of Kemuel, but he is not to be thought of here. The

descent of the Aramaeans from a son of Shem is confirmed by their

language, which was one of the branches of the Semitic family, and nearly

allied to the Hebrew. Many writers, who have copied without

acknowledgment the words of Calmet, maintain that the Aramaeans came

from Kir, appealing to <300907>Amos 9:7; but while that passage is not free

from obscurity, it seems evidently to point, not to the aboriginal abode of

the people, but to the country whence God would recover them when

banished. The prophet had said (Amos 1:5) that the people of Aram should

go into captivity to Kir (probably the country on the River Kur or Cyrus), a

prediction of which we read the accomplishment in <121609>2 Kings 16:9; and

the allusion here is to their subsequent restoration. Hartmann thinks

Armenia obtained its name from Aram. (See generally Michaelis, Spicileg.

2:121 sq.; Wahl, Alt. u. N. Asien, 1, 299 sq.; Gatterer, Handb. 1, 248;

Rosenmüller, Alterth. I, 1:232 sq.; Ritter, Erdkunde, 10:16; Lengerke,

Kenaan, 1:218 sq.). SEE SYRIA.

2. The first named son of Kemuel and grandson of Nahor (<012221>Genesis

22:21), B.C. cir. 2000. He is incorrectly thought by many to have given

name to Syria, hence the Sept. translates Su>roi. By some he is regarded as

same with RAM SEE RAM of <183202>Job 32:2.

3. The last named of the four sons of Shamer or Shomer of the tribe of

Asher (<130734>1 Chronicles 7:34), B.C. cir. 1618.

4. The Greek form among the ancestors of Christ (<400103>Matthew 1:3, 4;

<420333>Luke 3:33) of the Heb. RAM SEE RAM (q.v.), the son of Hezron and

father of Amminadab (<130209>1 Chronicles 2:9, 10).

THE SONS OF NOAH: SHEM, HAM, AND JAPETH

Genesis 9:24-27 (King James Version)

24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

26And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

27God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

i. Canaan is the son of Ham. These verses seem to indicate that the Jewish descendents of Shem entered the land of Canaan with Joshua in fulfillment of Noah’s prophecy regarding the house of their cousin Ham.

Shem is the father of the semetic peoples.
Arphaxad - Was the progenitor of the Chaldeans.

i. The Assyians knew his descendants as the Kaldu: adept astrologers, magicians and mathematicians.

Eber – Supposedly gave his name to the Hebrew race. If this is true then all of Eber's descendants are technically Hebrew; including many of the Arabic peoples.

Peleg and Joktan: the two sons of Eber

Genesis 10:25-30 (King James Version)

25To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

28Obal,[f] Abimael, Sheba,

29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

30And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.

Joktan - the progenitor of thirteen southern Arabian tribes.

i. He is remembered by modern Arabs as Yaqtan.

ii. Only the purest Arabs, it is still maintained, are those Semitic Arabs descended from Joktan; whilst Hamitic (sons of Ham) Arabs are referred to somewhat disdainfully as Musta 'rabs, that is, pretend Arabs. These would include the Canaanites.

iii. Joktan's name is preserved in the ancient town of Jectan, near present-day Mecca.

Peleg – The grandfather of Abram.

i. In his (or his father’s) day was the earth divided by language. The meaning of his name in Hebrew is 'division.'

ii. We see in the genealogy that the scattering of the nations from Babel thus occurred in the fourth or fifth generation after the Flood.

ISHMAEL: THE FIRST SON OF ABRAHAM, BY HAGAR.

Genesis 16 (King James Version)

8And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

Hagar – The Egyptian handmaid to Sarai.

i. She was Egyptian and therefore in all likelihood a descendent of Ham through Egypt: the brother of cursed Canaan.

Kedar – one of the sons of Ishmael.

i. Through him the prophet Mohammed traces his lineage back to Abram.

ISAAC: THE “ONLY SON” OF ABRAHAM

Genesis 22:1-2 (King James Version)

1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Isaac continues the line in fulfillment of the prophecy of Noah concerning Shem.

ESAU: EDOM - FATHER OF EDOMITES.

Genesis 28:8-9 (King James Version)

8And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

9Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Genesis 36:1-5 (King James Version)

1Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

2Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

3And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

4And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;

5And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

Esau is likely the father of the present day Palestinians as well as the inhabitants of Turkey.

JACOB AND THE TWELVE TRIBES:

Gensis 49:10

10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Genesis 49:22-24

22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)