Refer to Table 3 and Map 4.
The progenitor of all the Semitic races. The name, Shem, is rendered as Sumu in the Akkadian inscriptions. At the time of the scattering of the nations from Babel, the descendants of Japheth (see 1) migrated to the north and north-west of Shinar, mainly towards Europe. They also migrated to the south-east towards the Indian sub-continent, and thence to the Far East. The descendants of Shem and Ham however, shared between them the southern and central regions of Asia Minor and Arabia, with Ham's descendants subsequently spreading onto the African continent. This, of course, meant that a certain amount of intermingling took place between the posterities of Shem and Ham and it is consequently sometimes difficult to assess whether certain early nations were predominantly Semitic or Hamitic.
Sometimes, for example, a people descended from Ham would adopt a Semitic language. Sometimes, a Semitic people would adopt an Indo-European (Japhetic) tongue, and this has naturally led to some confusion over certain archaeological or documentary aspects of the evidence. It has also, sadly, allowed the charge to be rashly made that the Table of Nations is replete with alleged 'scribal errors' and other types of mistake or fraud. A careful study of the following notices, however, should quell such fears.
The confusion that currently reigns, though, is especially prevalent amongst the early Arab nations. For example, Sheba and Dedan (see 22 and 23) are recorded in the genealogy as the grandsons of Cush, and were thus the progenitors of two Hamitic nations. Later in the genealogy, however there are yet two other founders of Arab tribes named Sheba and Dedan (see 95 and 96), both of whom, being descended from Abraham through Jokshan, are thus of Semitic origin. (There is also a third Sheba - see 70 - but he is extraneous to the point that we are now considering.) They are recorded in all instances as distinct and separate peoples. The problem, therefore, is deciding whether the later nations of Sheba and Dedan were so named after their Semitic or Hamitic ancestors.
The linguistic evidence is hardly decisive, as types of language were often adopted from outside the tribal or national sphere. Therefore, we are left with the chronological evidence which tells us, in this particular instance, that the tribes of Sheba and Dedan were originally of Hamitic descent, as the grandsons of Cush quite obviously lived several generations (eight to be precise) earlier than the sons of Jokshan. Thus, the later Semitic tribes of Sheba and Dedan were so named after the lands and Hamitic people amongst whom they settled. Indeed, it is of special interest for us to note in this context that the Hebrew word for Arab (that is 'rab') is derived from the same root as 'ereb,' meaning a mixed multitude. Furthermore, even today the Semitic tribes of the Arabian peninsula will speak disdainfully of their Hamitic neighbours as Musta 'rabs, or pretended Arabs.
However, whilst such problems are by means insuperable, we must be careful not to apply solutions that are too simplistic. National boundaries, in these early times, if they existed at all, were notoriously elastic. Some peoples would merge with neighbouring tribes and nations if only for the mutual protection that this afforded them in an often hostile world; the classic example being the merging of the peoples of Magog and Ashchenaz (see 3 and 6) to make up together the fierce and war-like Scythian peoples. At other times they may be conquered and dispersed or assimilated within conquering tribes beyond any further recognition. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that some should be lost to us altogether, whilst certain others should be of an entirely mysterious provenance. For the most part, though, these various peoples are still traceable in the ancient records, their historical reality, at least, being thus firmly demonstrated, even if their precise areas of settlement should sometimes be too vague to be accurately assessed.
SHEM (48) ------------------|------------------ Elam Asshur Arphaxad Lud Aram (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) | | | | (58) Shelah ------------------------ | Uz Hul Gether Meshech | (54) (55) (56) (57) | (59) Eber | -------------- (74) Peleg Joktan (60) | | ---------------------- | (75) Reu ------------------------------------------------------------ | | Sheleph | Jerah | Uzal | Obal | Sheba | Havilah | | | (62) | (64) | (66) | (68) | (70) | (72) | (76) Serug | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Almondad Hazarmaveth Hadoram Diklah Abimael Ophir Jobab | (61) (63) (65) (67) (69) (71) (73) | (77) Nahor | (78) Terah | ------------------ Abram Nahor Haran (84) (83) (79) | | | Lot (80) | ---------- | Moab Benammi | (81) (82) -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- Ishmael Isaac Zimran Jokshan Medan Midian Ishbak Shuah (100) (99) (98) (94) (93) (87) (86) (85) | | -----------¿ | ---------- ---------------------- | Sheba Dedan Ephah | Henoch | Eldaah | (95) (96) (88) | (90) | (92) | | Epher Abidah | | (89) (91) | -----------|----------- | Asshurim Letushim Leummim | (97) ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nebioth Kedar | Mibsam Mishma Dumah | Hadad Tema | Naphish Kedemah (101) (102) | (104) (105) (106) | (108) (109) | (111) (112) Adbeel Massa Jetur (103 (107) (110)
TABLE 3. THE LINEAGE OF SHEM, THE FATHER OF ALL THE SEMITIC RACES.
The founder of the Elamites, which people were known to the Babylonians as the Elamtu, to the Greeks as Elymais, and whom the Romans knew as Elymaei. The Elamites recorded their own name as the Haltamti. Subsequently, the Old Persian inscriptions rendered their name as (h)uju, and the Middle Persian inscriptions speak of huz, which is simply the archaic form of the modern Persian name for Khuzistan, which now covers what used to be the land of Elam (see Figure 8) (see Map 2).
The founder of the nation to whom he gave his name, to wit Assyria. It may be possible to identify Asshur in the early king-lists of Assyria as Puzur-Asshur I. According to these lists, Puzur-Asshur I would have lived and reigned c. 1960 BC, which accords rather well with the biblical chronology. Asshur was one of the earliest men to be deified and worshipped by his descendants. Indeed, as long as Assyria lasted, that is until 612 BC, accounts of battles, exploits, 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. On an even more fanciful level, in Jewish rabbinical literature he is said to have been the only righteous man in the days of the building of Babel, moving away when he learned the sinful nature of the enterprise. But this is so unlikely, and is at such variance with the vary nature of even his earliest descendants that it can be safely dismissed (see Map 2).
(51 ) Arphaxad
He was the progenitor of the Chaldeans, his name being equivalent to 'arpkeshed', that is, the boundary of Chaldea. That he was indeed the forebear of the Chaldeans is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, which render the name as Arip-hurra - the founder of Chaldea. The name was also known to the Akkadians as Arraphu. Some scholars have endeavoured to treat his name as a derivative of the Assyrian phrase 'arba-kishshatu', meaning the four corners of the world; but given the somewhat localized nature of the Chaldean people, confining themselves for the most part to southern Mesopotamia, this derivation is unlikely. The Assyians knew his descendants as the Kaldu, adept astrologers, magicians and mathematicians. Ptolemy, however, recorded the name of their land as Arrapachitis, whilst it was known to others as Arphaxitis. The very earliest settlement of the children of Arphaxad, however, appears to have been what is today a two and a half acre ruin called Arpachiya. It lies some four miles to the east of ancient Nineveh, and is the remains of a very early farming community (see Map 2).
The early descendants of Lud, the Ludim, were known to both the Assyrians and Babylonians as the Ludu. Josephus tells us that their land was later known as Lydia , a direct Greek derivation of the name of Lud) which lay in western Asia Minor. The Lydians were famed in the old world for the skill of their archers. They spoke an Indo-European language, some examples of which are in the form of certain items of graffiti that currently defiles certain Egyptian monuments. The land of Lydia however, was finally conquored by Cyrus, king of Persian the year 546 BC (see Map 4).
He was the founder of the Aramaeans, known to the Akkadians as the Aramu, but who were later known to the Greeks as Syrians (from Serug?, see 76). In an Assyrian inscription of Tiglath-pileser I, c. 1100 BC, the Aramae are described as living to the east of the river Tigris. About the time of Tiglath-pileser III, however, they are living all over Mesopotamia; after which, of course, they settled to the west, occupying roughly the same area that makes up modern Syria. A cuniform tablet from Ur bears the name of Aramu, and it is of interest to note that Aramaic is still spoken today (see Figure 9) (see Map 2).
There is considerable disagreement as to the precise area in which the descendants of Uz settled; and given somewhat mobile nature of the Aramaeans (Aram was the father of Uz, see 53) this is hardly surprising. Northern Arabia, between Babylonia and Edom, seems the most likely area of settlement (see Map 2).
His descendants settled north of the Sea of Galilee, where they gave their name to the lake and vale of Huleh (the biblical Waters of Merom). The place was notorious amongst Victorian explorers of Palestine for its tribes of Bedhouin robbers, and its far from healthy marshes 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 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 (see Map 4).
His descendants settled to the south of Damascus. Josephus identifies them as the latter-day Bactrians, famous amongst other things for a breed of camel. Whether identification is correct or not cannot now be determined. It should, however, be noted that Bactria was populated by 'Aryan', that is Japhetic tribes in late Assyrian times, whereas the children of Gether were, of course, Semites (but see Shem, 48) (see Map 4).
His descendants are not to be confused with those of the Japhetic Meshech (see 14) who were Indo-Europeans. The name of this Semitic line of Meshech was also known as Mash, the area of whose settlement can be deduced from the fact that the Akkadians rendered the name as Mashu; which in turn was known to the Egyptians as Mish'r. Both of these names refer to peoples who dwelt in Lebanon (see Map 4).
His name has not yet been found in secular sources.
He gave his name to the Hebrew race. Some scholars have tried to identify him as Ebru, erstwhile king of Ebla, a theory that is not only impossible to substantiate, but is also unlikely on both chronological and ethnic grounds. The attempt to identify the Habiru of the Egyptian chronicles with the Hebrews may also be somewhat forced, although it is fair to add that, although we today tend to think only of the Jewish nation as Hebrews, in fact all of Eber's descendants would technically have been Hebrew also, the Joktanite tribes of Arabs included. But more and better evidence is needed before the matter can be finally settled.
The progenitor of no less than thirteen southern Arabian tribes, he is remembered by modern Arabs as Yaqtan. Only the purest Arabs, it is still maintained, are those Semitic Arabs descended from Joktan; whilst Hamitic Arabs are referred to somewhat disdainfully as Musta 'rabs, that is, pretended Arabs (see Shem, 48). Joktan's name is preserved in the ancient town of Jectan, near present-day Mecca (see Map 2).
Young gives Almodad' name as meaning 'The Agitator,' which, if correct, hides what is no doubt a most interesting background. The name is certainly Arabic - his descendants are known to early Arab historians as the Almorad tribe - although their precise area of settlement cannot now be determined (see Map 2).
A southern Arabian tribe who were known to the pre-Islamic Arabs as the Salif. They were a Yemeni tribe whose capital, Sulaf lay some 60 miles due north of present-day Sana (see 66) (see Map 2).
His descendants populated the 200 mile long valley that runs parallel to the southern coast of Arabia. It is known to this day as the Hadramaut (a direct transposition into Arabic of the name Hazarmaveth). In pre-Islamic inscriptions, the name is variously rendered hdrmt and hdrmmwt. Strabo tells us that the tribe of Hazamaveth was one of the four main tribes of Arabs in his day. The name means 'town of death' (Hadramaut means the same thing in Arabic), the history of which, could we but discover it, could doubtless render a fascinating, though tragic, account (see Map 2).
There lies, on the shores of Galilee, a mined mound that is named Beth-Yerah, that is the House of Jerah, although it is unlikely that this refers to the subject here. It is, rather, far more likely that his descendants migrated into the southern regions of Arabia. Indeed, the Arab city that bore Jerah's name, and which was rendered by Ptolemy as Jerakon Kome, lay on the Mahra coast close to the Hadramaut (see 63) (see Map 2).
A southern Arabian tribe which is seemingly unattested in secular records (see Map 2).
Arab historians render the name of Uzal as Azal, and this is the ancient pre-Islamic name of the city of San'a, the modern capital of the Yemen. Uzal's descendants are still doubtless thriving in the area. The Assyrians knew the tribe of Uzal as the Azalla (see Map 2).
The Akkadians rendered it as Diklath, and the Assyrians knew it as Idiklat; all of which transpose into Greek as Tigris. This may prove to be an important clue as to the area in which this people settled, that is to the north of the Persian Gulf or at least in the north-east extremity of the Arabian peninsula (see Map 2).
A southern Arabian tribe whose name was rendered by Arab historians as Ebal. Ancient inscriptions from the Yemen render it as Abil, which is elsewhere given as Ubil. According to the sources the location of this tribe's place of settlement lies between the ancient Yemeni cities of Hadeida and San's (see Uzal 66) (see Map 2).
His descendants in southern Arabia, where their existence is known ancient Sabean inscriptions (see Map 2).
Yet a third man named Sheba! (see 48, 22 and 95). Due to the presence in Arabia of both the Cushite and Jokshanite tribes of Sheba neither this individual, nor his descendants are in the records.
Their existence being duly noted in the pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions, this tribe's area of settlement is given by them as lying between Saba and in the Yemen, and Hawlan (or Havilah, see 72). Then name seems to have been preserved in the coastal town of Ma'afir in south-west Arabia (see Map 2).
There were two Arabian tribes that were known under the name of Havilah. The first was of Hamitic descent, and is noted as (19) in the genealogy. This Hamitic tribe settled in the eastern regions of the Arabian peninsula. Their land was known to Arabian cosmographers as Hawlan. Kautsch renders the name as Huwailah, a people who dwelt on the Arabian shores of the Persian Gulf. The Semitic tribe of Havilah, however, remained distinct, and occupied areas on the opposite side of the peninsula. In Strabo's day, they were still occupying areas of northern Arabia, their name being recorded by him as the Khaulotaei. Josephus knew them as the Euilat. The Arabian cosmographer, Yakut, informs us that their dialect, Hawil, was spoken by 'the descendants of Midian, the son of Abraham,' (see 87). This Semitic tribe of Havilah also occupied the southernmost tip of Arabia, crossing the Bab-el-Mandeb to the African coast. Here both Ptolemy and Pliny refer to their city of Aualis on the Red Sea coast of Africa, which lay next to the modern state of Djibouti. This same city (Aualis) is today known as Zeila (see Map 2).
Jobab's descendants were known to the Akkadians as the Iabibi. They settled in the town that bore their founder's name, Juhaibab, which, according to Sabean inscriptions, lay close to what is now Mecca (see Map 2).
In his day was the earth divided. The meaning of his name, that is, 'division' as rendered in Hebrew, is confirmed by the Akkadian noun pulukku, which means a dividing up of territory by means of borders and boundaries. The Akkadian verb meaning to divide at the borders, is palaka. Likewise, the Assyrian palgu refers to the dividing up of land by canals and irrigation systems. It is in this sense that the Hebrew word peleg is used in, for example, Job 29:6 and Job 38:5. The man named Peleg, however, was so named after the division and scattering of the nations at Babel. in fact, one of the ancient names of Babylon (Babel) is nowadays translated as 'the place of canals' (palgu); whereas a better translation would obviously be 'the place of division'. There is, however, an ancient city that bore his name. That was known to the Akkadians as Phalgu, whose ruins lie at the junction of the Euphrates and Chaboras (Chebar, see Ezekiel 1:1) rivers. We see in the genealogy that the scattering of the nations from Babel thus occurred in the fifth generation after the Flood (see Map 2),
This name appears as a personal name in Akkadian documents, where it is rendered Ra'u. The early Greeks knew it as Ragau. Reu was to give his name to an island in the Euphrates that lies just below the city of Amat, and which the Akkadians knew us Ra'ilu. It was also known to the Greeks as Ragu (see Map 2).
He gave his name to the city and district that was known to the Akkadians as Sarugi. This lay to the west of Haran (see 79). It is usually taught that the Greeks gave Syria its name after confusing the name of Assyria. It is, however, more likely that the name of Syria is a corruption of Serug's name (see Map 2).
There seems to be no secular record concerning him, but see (83).
The father of Abraham, he later settled in Haran (see 79), where he died. The name Terhah is associated in literature with the moon-god, and some thus think there exists a direct etymological link between his name and the 'teraphim', that is, small idolatrous images that were kept in most households. When we consider the subsequent history of Terah and his line (excluding that of Abraham through Isaac), then this is not at all unlikely. Indeed, Josephus 24:2 describes Terah as an idolater. However, near to the city of Haran, there was a place that bore Terah's name, known to the Assyrians as Turahi, and to the Akkadians as Turahu (see Map 2).
Haran was the youngest of his father's sons. He was born at Ur, and died there at a young age. To his father, Terah, (see 78) is attributed the founding of the city of Haran, Terah naming the place in his son's memory and honour. The city lay on the main highway to Nineveh from Carcemish, and it is interesting to note that the Assyrian noun for main-road was harranu. From its earliest days, the city was one of the chief centres of moon-worship and we frequently read of its temple being restored and embellished by successive kings of Assyria. Its temple was, indeed every bit as famous and well subscribed as that at Ur (where the family originated). Nimrod also was worshipped here (see 25), he being referred to in the inscriptions on concerning him as the 'Price of the men of Haran' (see Map 2).
Secular history is silent concerning him, save for the fact that the Dead Sea has always been called by the Arabs, the Sea of Lot (see Map 2).
He was, of course, the founder of the nation of Moab. This nation was also known as Mu'abu to the Akkaians, and as M-'-b to the Egyptians (see Map 4).
He founded the Ammonite nation, and his name is still perpetuated in the Modern city of Amman that lies some 25 miles to the north-east of the Dead Sea. Present-day Amman in fact, was once the capital city of the Ammonite nation, and was known in the old world as Rabbath-ammon. We know from the first book of the Maccabees that Judas Maccabaeus confronted the Ammonites, and hence that the Ammonites had survived as a distinct nation until at least the second century BC. However, in the first century BC their lands were occupied by the Nabataeans (see Nebaioth, 97) and it is here that the Ammanites, as such, disappear from the historical scene. The personal name of Benammi is known from certain clan-lists from Ugarit. There also survives from Nimrud (see 25) an inscription bearing the name of banu Ammanaia. The Assyrians generally knew the Ammonite nation as Bit-Am-ma-na-aia, that is, the House of Ammon (see Figure 10) (see Map 4).
The name Nahor is know from Babylonian inscriptions, and from the clay tablets of Mari, which render the name as Nahur. Nahor in fact settled in Haran (see 79), which was later to become know as the 'Town of Nahor'. This appears in inscriptions from the reign of Ashurbanipal, as Nahuru, and the city's ruins were known to the Assyrians as Til-Nahiri, that is the Mound of Nahor (see Map 2).
The well-known founder of the Jewish people.4 There exists from Babylonia an early clay tablet that bears the name of a man called Abi-ramu, and the name is rendered as Abarama in the Eblaite tablets. Another bears the name of Sarai, but whether these were the Abram and Sari of the Genesis record or not, we have no way of knowing. Josephus quotes the Babylonian historian Berosus, as saying, 'In the tenth generation after the Flood, there was a man among the Chaldeans who was righteous and great...' Josephus, rightly in my opinion, regarded this remark as a direct reference to Abraham, even though Berosus did not actually name him. Abraham was, however, named by Hecataeus and by Nicolaus of Damascus.
The founder of the Shuites, one of whose descendants (Bildad) counselled Job. The Assyrians knew Shuah's posterity as the Sabu, and describe their land as adjacent to the Euphrates, south of Carchemish, between the Balikh and Khabur Rivers. (The Khabur river was recorded as the Chaboras by Ftolemy (see Map 2).
He was the progenitor of a tribe who seem to have settled to the east of Canaan. Otherwise, secular records seem to be silent concerning them (see Map 2).
The founder of the Midianite tribes of Arabs. The Arabian historian, Yakut, tells us that they spoke the Hawil dialect of Arabic (see 72), and he also confirms the fact that Midian was the son of Abraham. The tribes of Midian are also known from Egyptian and other sources, Ptolemy, for example, recording their name as Modiana, whilst the ancient pre-Islamic Arab city of Madyan is today known as Magha'ir Shu'aib (see Figure 11) (see Map 2).
Ephah's descendants settled in what is now Ghuwafa, to the south-west of Tebuk, in the north-west Arabian peninsula. They are known to us in the annals of Tiglath-pileser who refers to them as the Hayapa. Subsequently, they are last heard of in an inscription of Sargon II that dates to the year 725 BC (see Map 2).
Ashurbanipal of Assyria recorded the name of Epher's descendants as the Apparu. The city in which they settled still bears the name of their founder, Ghifar. It lies close to Medina (see Map 2).
He founded the famous Kanite tribe of Midianite Arabs. They were quite renouned coppersmiths who settled to the south-west of the Gulf of Aqaba (see Map 2).
Minean inscriptions from the Yemen record the of Abidah's posterity as the Abiyadi'. Their precise area of settlement is unknown, however, although it must be in the south-eastern regions of the Arabian peninsula (see Map 2).
The descendants of Eldaah are known to us from ancient Sabean inscriptions, which refer to them as the Yada'il. We do not know their precise area of settlement, although it is certainly within the Yemen (see Map 2).
He founded various northern Arabian tribes, and his name is still preserved in the modern and famous Arab family name of Abd-al-Madan. His posterity settled in the town of Madan, and this is mentioned in the inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III that date to the year 732 BC. He renders the name as Badan, but the letters 'm' and 'b' are interchangeable in Arabic. The town lay to the south of Tema (see 109) (see Map 2).
Seemingly unknown outside the biblical records, he appears to have settled with his descendants in northern Arabia (see Map 2).
The descendants of this Sheba made up the Semetic Arabs who were to supercede the earlier Hamitc tribe who founded the original nation of Sheba. Here we note again the direct derivation of the Hebrew word 'rab (Arab) from ereb (mixed multitude) (see Map 2).
Again the descendants of this Dedan made up the tribes of Semitic Dedanite Arabs, who were to supersede the earlier Hamitic tribes of Dedan. The city of Dedan (modern Daidan), is mentioned in the inscriptions of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, who spent his years of exile at Tema (see l09) (sea Map 2).
(97) The Sons of Dedan
The sons of Dedan who founded three tribes of Semitic Dedanite Arabs, of whom nothing further is learned from secular sources save only for the fact that in later Jewish literature the Asshurim (not to be confused with the Assyrians), were described as travelling merchants; the Letushim were those who 'sharpened weapons'; and the Leummim were somewhat enigmatically described as 'chiefs of those who inhabit the isles', the significance of which phrase is now lost to us. From this information, it would appear that the Asshurim and Letushim would travel the countryside selling and repairing various items, rather like the numerous tribes of Gypsies and tinkers that were once a common feature of the English and European scenes.
The chieftain and founder of an Arab tribe, whose chief city lay to the west of Mecca. Ptolemy recorded its name as Zabram, the letters 'm', and 'b' being interchangeable in Arabic (see Map 2).
Although he is well-enough known in the biblical records, secular historians and sources seem to be silent concerning him.
Among the Babylonian documents that have come to us from the days of Hammurabi, there is a list of witnesses is registered as 'Abuha, son of Ishmael'.
He settled, with his descendants, to the south of the Dead Sea, where they were known to the Chaldeans (see 51) as the Nabat, and to the Assyrians as the Nabaiate. Their own inscriptions render the name as 'nbtw'. The Greek historian, Diodorus, mentions them, and they were known to Ptolemy as the Nabatei. The Nabataians' final demise was brought about by Augustus Caesar who cutoff the trade routes of Arabia. By the time of Tiberius Caesar, all the land east of Judea was collectively known as Nabataea.
Known to the Hebrews as the Qedar, and the Assyrians as the Qidri, his descendants became the great tribe of Arabs who settled in the north-west Arabian peninsula whose black tents were to become proverbial in the ancient world. We are informed in Babylonian sources that the armies of Nebuchednezzar confronted the tribe of Kedar in a major skirmish of the year 599 BC, an incident that was foretold by Jeremiah 49:28 and 29. The tribe of Kedar is also mentioned in the annals of Ashurbanipal, with whom they clashed and in various other Assyrian documents. In these, the men of Kedar are mentioned in close association with those of Nebaioth (see 101). The founder of Islam, Mohammed, was to trace his own direct descent from Kedar (see Map 2).
He was the founder of a tribe who were known to the Akkadians as the Idibilu. This same people are subsequently mentioned in the annals of Tiglath-pileser III, who tells us how he conquered the Idiba'leans and employed them to guard the approaches to Egypt's borders. Their area of settlement was in north-west Arabia, close to the lands of Kedar (see 102) and Nebaioth (see 101) (see Map 2).
An otherwise unknown Bedouin chieftain.
He settled with his descendants at what is known today as Jebel Mishma in the vicinity of Tema (see 109) (see Map 2).
The Assyrians and Babylonians knew Dumah's descendants as the Adammatu. Nabonidus later tells us how he conquered the Adammatu. Ptolemy referred to them as the Domatha; and Porphyry recorded their name as the Dumathii. We know them as the Idumaeans. The name of Dumah is still preserved in the modern Arab city of Dumat-al-Jandal, the ancient capital of his tribe (see Map 2).
The descendants of Massa were known to the Assyrians as the Mas'a who with the tribe of Tema (see 1209) were forced to pay tribute to Tiglath-pileser III. He tells us how he conquered them with the peoples of Haiappa (see Ephah, 88) the Idiba'leans (see 103) and others. Ptolemy knew the tribe as the Masanoi, who lived to the north-east of Dumah (see 106). Josephus records their name as the Mesanaeans, and in his day their lands were known to the Romans as Charax Spasini (see Map 2).
This name is rendered as Haddu in the Akkadian inscriptions, and was the name of a pagan god, Hadad himself, however, is unknown from secular sources.
Still known by today's Arabs as the city of Taima', the city of Tema's descendants lies some 70 miles north-east of Dedan (see 23 and 96). Nabonidus, king of Babylon from 556-539, passed his years of exile in this city, which he also knew as Tema'. The city of Tema, with those of Dedan and Dumah (see 106), formed stages in the caravan route from Babylon down to Sheba (see 22 and 95) (see Map 2).
He was the progenitor of the Ituraeans, who were known to the Greeks as the Itouraia. The Ituraeans are mentioned in the works of Dio Cassius, Josephus, Pliny, Strabo and others; and they were known to the Roman authorities as a notorious tribe of robbers. The descendants of Jetur perpetrated a massacre of Lebanese Christians in the year l860 AD (see Map 4).
He and his lineage are variously known in the biblical records as Nephish, the children of the Nephusim, and the Nephishesim. They are seemingly unknown from secular sources.
He and his descendants settled in what was later known as the Wilderness of Kedemoth. The tribe dwelt in the city that is known today as es-Za'feran (see Map 4).
l. Sometimes, of course, the memory of the creation and so on was not so distorted. On deciphering the fragments of certain clay tablets, George Smith writes:
'The fragment of the obverse, broken as it is, is precious as giving the description of the chaos or desolate void before the Creation of the world, and the first movement of creation. This corresponds to the first two verses of the first chapter of Genesis..., Our next fragments refer to the creation of mankind, called Adam, as in the Bible; he is made perfect, and instructed in his religious duties but afterwards he joins with the dragon of the deep...the spirit of chaos, and offends against his god...' Chaldean Genesis, pp. 64 and 304 (see Bibliography)
2. See Genesis 4:22, The Germanic and Nordic races worshipped him as Thor.
3. Unger, pp. 174 and l75 (see Bibliography).
4. 'It can be proved that the idolatry of the whole earth is one...and that all the paganisms of the human race are only a wicked and deliberate, yet most instructive corruption of the primeval gospel first preached in Eden, and through Noah afterwards conveyed to all manknind...But yet, amid all the seeming variety of heathenism, there is an astonishing oneness and identity, bearing testimony to the truth of God's Word.' The Two Babylons, p. 224 - (see Bibliography).
5. The early Irish Celts traced their own descent from the Scythian lineage of Magog. Shortly before the year 432 AD, their various pedigrees and genealogies were collected together by the pre-Christian scholars of Ireland. See Part 2 of this article.
'As the Milesians were the last of the colonists...only their genealogies, with a few exceptions, have been preserved. The genealogical tree begins, therefore with the brothers Eber and Eremon, the two surviving leaders of the expedition, whose ancestors are traced back to Magog, the son of Japhet...There are also other families claiming descent from Emer, the son of Ir, brother to Eber and Emeron; as also from their cousin Lugaidh, the son of Ith. From these four sources the principal Celtic families Ireland have sprung...'
Cusack, M.F. l868. The Illustrated History of Ireland , p. 84. Facsimile edition by Bracken Books, 987, London.
Throughout history, it can be shown that either the prosperity or the downfall of various nations is directly related to their attitude to, and treatment of the Jewish people, the children of Abraham. Indeed, so consistent is this rule that it has surely attained the status of a umiverasal law of history, a law which had its beginnings in the promise of God to Abraham that is recorded in Genesis 22:3. Those nations that have helped the Jews and befriended them, have prospered accordingly. Those that sought their destruction have always themselvas been destroyed. This much is demonstrable and is invariable in its application even when such nations as Assyria were used to punish the Jewish nation.
Note: This list is by no means exhaustive, but is designed to give the student a good working background knowledge to the subject. One or two of the more recent works cited here do, naturally, subscribe to modernist principles, although they contain much valuable information, citing certain facts if only in an attempt to refute them.
Comay, Joan, 1972. Who's Who in the Old Testament, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London.
Dhorme, P., 1932. Les Peuples issus de Japhet, d'apres le Chapitre X de la Genese, Syria XIII, pp. 28-49.
Flavius, Josphus. Josephus: Complete Works, translated by William Whiston, Pickering and Inglis. 1981, London and Glasgow.
Helps to the Study of the Bible, 1885, Oxford University Press.
Hislop, Alexander. 1959. The Two Babylons, Loiseaux Bros. New Jersey. (This book is required reading if the student is to grasp the immense complexities that underlie the pagan systems of mythology.)
Hodgen, Margaret, 1971. Early Anthropology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. University of Pennsylvania, Philadalphia.
Keller, Werner, 1974. The Bible as History. Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Morris, Henry, and Whitcomb, John, 1961, The Genesis Flood, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
New English Bible Dictionary, Inter-Varsity Press, London. Reprinted l972.
Poole, Matthew, 1685. A Commenary on the Holy Bible, Edinburgh. Now published in facsimile by the Banner of Truth Trust in 3 volumes.
Smith, George, 1876. The Chaldean Account of Genesis, Sampson Low, London.
Unger, Merril, 1954. Archaeology and the Old Testament , Zondervan, Michigan.
Zenaid, A. Ragozin, 1898. Assyria: The Story of the Nations Series, Fisher Unwin. New York.
This article is reproduced by permission of the author and the editor of the "Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal" (PO Box 302, Sunnybank, Qld. AUSTRALIA 4109.)
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