Of these were the islands of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
Parallel Translations
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Of these were the islands of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
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By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
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Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Genesis 10:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Zephaniah 2:11 Yahweh will be awesome to them, for he will famish all the gods of the land. Men will worship him, everyone from his place, even all the shores of the nations.
- Isaiah 42:4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands wait for his law.”
- Jeremiah 2:10 For pass over to the islands of Kittim, and see. Send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there has been such a thing.
- Genesis 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
- Jeremiah 25:22 and all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;
- Genesis 10:25 To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother’s name was Joktan.
- Genesis 11:1-9 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. As they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.” Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
- Psalms 72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
- Isaiah 24:15 Therefore glorify Yahweh in the east, even the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea!
- Isaiah 40:15 Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.
- Isaiah 41:5 The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come.
- Isaiah 42:10 Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants.
- Isaiah 49:1 Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name.
- Isaiah 51:5 My righteousness is near. My salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples. The islands will wait for me, and they will trust my arm.
- Isaiah 59:18 According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; he will repay the islands their due.
- Isaiah 60:9 Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The Jews so call all countries which are separated…
The Jews so call all countries which are separated from them by sea, as Greece, Italy, etc, which were given to the children of Japheth, of whom came the Gentiles.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 10:5 By these were the isles of the…
Gen 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Ver. 5. By these were the isles of the Gentiles.] That is, the countries of Europe and Asia the Less, inhabited by Japheth’s posterity. Europe hath its name, in Greek, {a} from the latitude and large surface of it, which answers well to the name of Japheth (signifying enlargement), who, together with his offspring, was, by God’s appointment, to rule there far and wide toward the west and north. Asia hath its name from two Hebrew words that signify the fire of the Lord, {b} which, in Persia and other parts thereof, they superstitiously deified. Asia the Less, was so called first by Attalus, king of Pergamus, who, being the last of that name and race, made the Romans his heirs by will. They turned his country into a province, and called it Asia, by the name of the continent - as devouring, doubtless in hope, that whole part of the world by this small beginning. Hence, likely, came that first distinction of the Lesser Asia.
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{a} Eυρωπη, ex ευρεια et ωψ quasi dilatatio .
{b} אשׁיה Ignis Domini Q. Curtius saith of Darius, that he called upon the sacred and eternal fire.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The isles of the Gentiles; not isles properly so…
The isles of the Gentiles; not isles properly so called; for why should they, having their choice, forsake the continent for islands, and thereby cut off themselves from their brethren? And where had they ships to transport them? But the word isles here and elsewhere signifies all those countries that had the sea between them and Judea, as it doth Isa 11:10-11; 40:15; Jer 2:10; 25:22; Eze 27:3; Zep 2:11. And isles are here put for the inhabitants, as the words earth and land are commonly used. This division of the world among them being a work of great weight, was doubtless managed with great care and consultation, and the advice of their heads and governors, and above all by the wise and special providence of God, which at this time did particularly determine the bounds of their several habitations, as it is recorded Act 17:26.
Every one after his tongue, i.e. according to their several languages, into which they were divided at Babel. By which it appears that this division, though mentioned before, was not executed till after the confusion of languages at Babel.
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After their families. Here observe the wise and gracious providence of God mixed with this judgment, that God distributed the languages according to the difference of families and nations, that each several nation, and all the families or branches of that nation, should have one and the same language; whereby both union and love were preserved among themselves, and the several nations were distinguished one from another, which was very fit and necessary for many reasons as that the church of God, which was confined to the Hebrew nation, might neither be mixed with nor infected by the idolatrous nations; and that it might be evident to the world, that the Messias was born of the seed of Abraham according to God’s promise, &c.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided…
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,.... That is, by those sons of Japheth before mentioned; and by "isles" are meant, not countries surrounded with water, for the isles in this sense would not have been sufficient for the posterity of Japheth; nor can it be thought they would leave the continent, where there was room enough for them, and go into islands; and besides must have found it difficult to get there, when shipping and navigation were little known: but it is usual with the Hebrews, of whom Moses, the writer of this history, was, to call all places beyond the Mediterranean sea, or whatsoever they went to by sea, or that were upon the sea coasts, islands, as Greece, Italy, &c. Moreover, the word sometimes signifies countries, as it does in Job 22:30 and so should be rendered here, as it is by some (y), "the countries of the Gentiles"; so called, because in the times of Moses, and at the writing of this history, those countries were inhabited by Heathens and idolaters, strangers to the true religion: and this division was not made at random, and at the pleasure of a rude company of men, but in an orderly regular manner, with the consent, and by the advice and direction of the principal men of those times; and especially it was directed by the wise providence of the most High, who divided to the nations their inheritance, and set the bounds of the people, Deu 32:8.
everyone after his tongue, after their families, in their nations; this shows, that what is said concerning the division of countries to the sons of Japheth is by way of anticipation; and that, though thus related, was not done till after the confusion of languages, since the partition was made according to the different languages of men; those that were of the same language went and dwelt together, the several nations of them, and the several families in those nations; by which it appears that this was done by consultation, with great care and wisdom, ranging the people according to their tongues; of which nations were formed, and with them were taken the several families they consisted of.
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(y) "regiones gentium", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Patrick.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The posterity of Japheth were allotted to the isles…
The posterity of Japheth were allotted to the isles of the Gentiles, which were solemnly, by lot, after a survey, divided among them, and probably this island of ours among the rest. All places beyond the sea, from Judea, are called isles, Jer. xxv, 22, and this directs us to understand that promise, Isaiah xlii, 4, the isles shall wait for his law, of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. Isles of the Gentiles] EUROPE, of which…
Verse 5. Isles of the Gentiles] EUROPE, of which this is allowed to be a general epithet. Calmet supposes that it comprehends all those countries to which the Hebrews were obliged to go by sea, such as Spain, Gaul, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor.
Every one after his tongue] This refers to the time posterior to the confusion of tongues and dispersion from Babel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 10:5. The posterity of Japheth were allotted to…
Gen 10:5. The posterity of Japheth were allotted to the isles of the Gentiles, which were solemnly by lot, after a survey, divided among them, and probably this island of ours among the rest. All places beyond the sea from Judea, are called isles. Jer 25:22; and this directs us to understand that promise, Isa 42:4, The isles shall wait for his law, of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The islands. So the Hebrews called all the remote…
The islands. So the Hebrews called all the remote countries, to which they went by ships to Judea, as Greece, Italy, Spain, &c., (Challoner) whether they were surrounded with water or not. (Jeremias xxv. 22.) (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the isles of the Gentiles--a phrase by which the…
the isles of the Gentiles--a phrase by which the Hebrews described all countries which were accessible by sea (Isa 11:11; Isa 20:6; Jer 25:22). Such in relation to them were the countries of Europe, the peninsula of Lesser Asia, and the region lying on the east of the Euxine. Accordingly, it was in these quarters the early descendants of Japheth had their settlements.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. By these were the isles of the Gentiles…
5. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided — Rather, from these [Japhethites] have the [dwellers on the] islands of the [Gentile] nations divided themselves in their lands. “Islands,” in the Old Testament, means the isles, coasts, and peninsulas of the Mediterranean. The writer knew only of the “enlargement” of Japheth over the Mediterranean coasts and isles, but modern linguistic and monumental research shows that these ancient Hebrew names outline those vast pre-historic migrations of the Japhetic race from the great plateau of Iran eastward into Asia, westward and north-westward into Asia Minor and Europe, the traces of which may be found to-day from the Indian peninsulas to the Atlantic, and from the Mediterranean to the frozen ocean.
After his tongue… their families… nations — The peoples called Turanian (a linguistic, rather than an ethnic, name) were on the ground at the dawn of tradition itself, and their origin is yet obscure; successive families of the Indo-European (Aryan) race swept eastward and westward, wave after wave, each to a great degree obliterating the traces of its predecessor, yet, as Rawlinson expresses it, leaving detached fragments of the superseded race in holes and corners, as the Turanian Laps and Fins are left in their remote peninsulas — as the Keltic Welsh and Scotch are left in their highlands, mountains, and islands — scattered patches of peoples who once thinly covered the continent.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. Of these, &c.] It is probable that the…
5. Of these, &c.] It is probable that the text in this verse has suffered. As in Gen_10:20 we find “these are the sons of Ham” and in Gen_10:31 “these are the sons of Shem,” so we should expect in this verse “these are the sons of Japheth.” We should, therefore, probably put a full stop after the word “divided,” and insert: “These are the sons of Japheth.” This will improve the sense; for (1) the words “of these” cannot refer generally to the contents of Gen_10:2-3, but only to the contents of Gen_10:4; (2) while the expression “the isles were divided in their lands” is intolerably harsh. “Of these” should be taken to refer to “the sons of Javan” only. From them the Greek settlements branched off in all directions among the islands and the coastlands, i.e. “the isles of the nations.” After this piece of information the genealogist summarizes the foregoing list, “These are the sons of Japheth in their lands, every one after his tongue,” &c.
isles] Better, as R.V. marg., coastlands. Cf. Isa_11:11; Jer_2:10; Eze_27:6.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) Isles of the Gentiles.—The word rendered “isles” means…
(5) Isles of the Gentiles.—The word rendered “isles” means any maritime region. As there were no Gentiles at this time, the phrase should be translated “the coast-lands of the nations.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain By these were the isles of the Gentiles. Sea-washed…
By these were the isles of the Gentiles. Sea-washed coasts as well as islands proper (cf. Isa_42:4 with Mat_12:21) Gen_20:6) styles Canaan an isle (cf. Peloponnesus). The expression signifies maritime countries. Divided in their lands; every one after his tongue. Indicating a time posterior to the building of Babel. (Gen_11:1) After their families jEn taiv fulaiv aujtwn (LXX); in their tribes or clans, a lesser subdivision than the next. In their nations. The division here exhibited is fourfold:
(1) geographical,
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(2) dialectical,
(3) tribal, and
(4) national
The first defines the territory occupied, and the second the language spoken by the Japhethites; the third their immediate descent, and the rough the national group to which they severally belonged.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Lit. coasts. Settlement would naturally follow the coasts first.
isles
Lit. coasts. Settlement would naturally follow the coasts first.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 10:5 seafaring peoples . . . various lands: They…
10:5 seafaring peoples . . . various lands: They settled around the Mediterranean and on various islands. • language: This occurred after the Tower of Babel episode (11:1-9; see study note on 10:1–11:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.