The Birth of Nations - Patriarchs

1This is the genealogy of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. To them were born sons after the flood. 2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. 5From these the islands of the sea spread out in their lands, each with its own language, in their clans, in their nations. 6The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8Cush fathered Nimrod. He became the first mighty one on earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. 11From that land he went out to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 12and Resen between Nineveh and Calah—that is, the great city. 13Mizraim became the father of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, 14Pathrus, Casluh, from whom came the Philistines and the Caphtorites. 15Canaan became the father of Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, 16and the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Then the families of the Canaanites spread out. 19The territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon to Gerar as far as Gaza, and toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, languages, lands, and nations. 21To Shem, the father of all the sons of Eber, the older brother of Japheth, were also sons born. 22The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23The sons of Aram: Uz, Cul, Gether, and Mash. 24Arpachshad was the father of Shelah. Shelah was the father of Eber. 25To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jarah, 27Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 29Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 30And their habitation was from Mesha unto Sephar, even unto the mount of the east. 31These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, and after their nations, in their lands. 32These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their families, and after their nations: and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

1The whole earth had one language and one speech. 2As people moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them!” They used brick instead of stone and bitumen instead of mortar. 4Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves, and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people were building. 6The Lord said, “They are one people, and they all speak one language. This is only the beginning of what they are going to do; now nothing will be hindered from them. 7Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another.” 8So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. 9Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of all the earth. 10These are the generations of Shem: Two years after the flood, Shem was a hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad. 11After the birth of Arpachshad, Shem lived five hundred years and had other sons and daughters. 12When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years and had other sons and daughters. 14When Shelah was thirty years old, he became the father of Eber. 15After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived four hundred and three years and had other sons and daughters. 16When Eber was thirty-four years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years and had other sons and daughters. 18When Peleg was thirty years old, he became the father of Reu. 19After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years and had other sons and daughters. 20When Reu was thirty-two years old, he became the father of Serug. 21After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years and had other sons and daughters. 22When Serug was thirty years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years and had other sons and daughters. 24When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he became the father of Terah. 25After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years and had other sons and daughters. 26When Terah was seventy years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29Abram and Nahor married each other. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren and had no children. 31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and settled there. 32All the days of Terah were two hundred and five years. Then Terah died in Haran.