Now this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
Parallel translations
- KJV Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
- BSB This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.
- NKJV Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.
- NASB Now these are the records of the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.
- NLT This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
This introduces the genealogical record of Noah's sons and their descendants after the flood. It begins the Table of Nations.
Overview
The phrase marking the generations of Noah's sons opens the so-called Table of Nations, a structured account of how peoples spread across the earth. It affirms that all nations share a common origin and stand within God's purposes. This sweeping view of the nations anticipates God's plan to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham and his offspring, Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 2:4This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens.
- Gen 9:7Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it.”
- Gen 5:1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in God’s likeness.
- Gen 6:9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
- Matt 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- Gen 9:1God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth.
- Gen 9:19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 10:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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