Chapter Summary

Establishing of the nations.

Discussion Questions for Genesis, Chapter 10

1. Genesis 10 traces the genealogy of Noah's sons. Genealogy usually bores people as they are reading and they quickly skim over it. However, after the events of the flood, why would this genealogy be considerable more important in comparison to the beginning with Adam and Eve?
2. We currently live in a climate that has relatively fixed political boundaries. However, Noah's sons were nomadic in nature, staying within a region. How does understanding the nature of nomadic tribes and their references in scripture become important compare to understanding the political boundaries we know today?
3. Beginning in Genesis 15:10 we receive the genealogy of Canaan and the locations his sons settled. Examining the locations of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Gaza, what involvement does Canaan's descendants have in the history of Israel? How significant does the seemingly minor act of Canaan's father Ham speaking about Noah's nakedness become in the history of time?
4. Kittim mentioned in Gen 10:4, the great grandson of Noah, is actually Hebrew for Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea. What does this seem to suggest about the migration patterns of Japheth's sons after the flood? What is the significance, if any, that a great grandson of Noah would settle and begin an island nation?
5. Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, is the only known descendant to be recognized as a mighty man, notably a mighty hunter. How do you think the word mighty is being used to define Nimrod? Was Nimrod the only descendant to be noteworthy because of strength or did the word mighty refer to another attribute?
6. Magog, Meshech and Tubal people groups, names of Noah's grandsons found in this chapter, are noted in Ezekiel 38-39 to come from the north to invade Israel in end time prophecy. Why is it important to study all of scripture and not only parts that entertain or interest us?
7. Abraham was a descendant of Shem and they settled in the East. However, Abraham is later promised the lands of the Canaanites. Why is this significant? How does it reflect the relationships between Noah's three sons?
8. The immigration of people from Central and South America into the United States and the continual immigrants of Muslim peoples into Europe occupy modern day news. Based on the information found in Genesis 10, how would you instruct someone about immigration? How would you discuss immigration with a believer? Would you discuss immigration with a believer differently than a non-believer? Explain the reasons behind your answer.
9. Scientists have a theory that the earth was at one time one continent, Pangea. How would this affect the migration of each of the different people groups from Noah's three sons? Why would you believe that Native Americans are descendants from Noah?
10. The United States is known as a mixture of different cultures and languages. After reading how different people groups were assigned land and languages in Genesis 10, do you think God intended for the United States to be created as a nation with a mixture of different cultures and languages? Or were the Native Americans meant to remain as the only inhabitants of the land?

Key Words/Phrase

Nations, v. 31.

Characters

Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Nimrod, Canaan.

Strong Verse(s)

32