After the genealogical confusion over Ham’s son Canaan is resolved, we are told more about the offspring of Noah’s three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Shem is the supposed ancestor of the Semites, prominent among them the Assyrians and the Hebrews. The sons of Ham include many of the nations that were the most important influences on the Israelite story. Egypt and Canaan are perhaps the most prominent, but the city of Babylon is founded by a descendant of Ham. So in practice, many important Semitic-speaking peoples are described as Hamites. Japheth seems to be the ancestor of the fair-skinned peoples about the Black and Aegean seas.
This genealogy from three sons, like the prior one, at first glance appears to contain a confusion of ancestry. Ham’s grandson Nimrod the hunter founds the great cities of Babylon, Uruk, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. We are then told that “from that land Asshur (Assyria) went forth and built Nineveh, Rehoboth, Kalhu, and Resen.” But Asshur is also Shem’s son!
However, the apparent genealogical confusion is better explained by the story of the tower of Babel.Continue reading →