Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and to them were sons born after the flood.
verse value 2417
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "Shem" (שֵׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·were·born" (וַיִּוָּלְד֥וּ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·were·born" (וַיִּוָּלְד֥וּ). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "sons·of·Noah" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "and·were·born" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Japheth', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ [and·these] (42) + תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת [the·generations·of] (840) + בְּנֵי־נֹ֔חַ [sons·of·Noah] (120) + שֵׁ֖ם [Shem] (340) + חָ֣ם [Ham] (48) + וָיָ֑פֶת [Japheth] (496) + וַיִּוָּלְד֥וּ [and·were·born] (62) + לָהֶ֛ם [to·them] (75) + בָּנִ֖ים [sons] (102) + אַחַ֥ר [after] (209) + הַמַּבּֽוּל [the·flood] (83) = 2417.
Onkelos
And these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and sons were born to them after the Flood.
Ramban
AND UNTO THEM WERE SONS BORN AFTER THE FLOOD. The intent thereof is to imply that even though they were fit to have children before the flood — for in those generations it was normal to beget children at about sixty years of age — these did not beget children even at the age of a hundred, only until after the flood, for G-d restrained them from having children in order that they should not perish in the flood or that it [not] be necessary to save many persons in the ark. And so also did G-d do to this entire family: Lamech was delayed in begetting Noah until more than twice the age of his ancestors, Verse 28). Noah begot his sons when he was five hundred years old (ibid., Verse 32). and Noah much more. This is already mentioned in the commentary of Rashi who quotes from Bereshith Rabbah 6:2.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואלה תולדת בני נח, שם חם ויפת, “And these are the descendants of Noach: Shem, Cham, and Yaphet.” Starting with this verse and including chapter 11 verse 1, you will find the names of seventy individuals. All of them are descendants of Noach and at the end of that paragraph the Torah states: אלה משפחות בני נח לתולדותם בגויהם ומאלה נפרדו הגוים בארץ אחר המבול “These are the families of Noach’s descendants, according to their generations by their nations; and from these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.” We learn from this verse that the world comprises 70 nations each with its own language. Chapter 11 verse 8 tells us that the various people at the time of the Tower of Babel were scattered and that each group would have its own language The reason the Torah makes a point of enumerating seventy different nations is to contrast this fact with the seventy people, all descendants of Yaakov, who descended with him to Egypt (Genesis 46,27). This is also what Moses had in mind at the time when he blessed the Jewish people shortly before his death (Deut. 32,8), and said בהנחל עליון גוים, בהפרידו בני אדם. “When the Supreme One gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of man.” The nations Moses referred to are the ones mentioned in our chapter. Starting with that period in human history, G’d allocated boundaries, גבולות, to the various nations. All of this was to correspond to the founding members of the Jewish nation who went down to Egypt. The reason Moses said in Deut. 32,8 יצב גבולות עמים למספר בני ישראל, “He established the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the children of Israel,” instead of saying למספר בני יעקב, “according to the number of the sons of Yaakov,” was to stress that the children of Israel consisted of twelve separate tribes. It is worth recalling that the reason the Torah spends so much space on the details of this list of the descendants of Cham is to inform us about how many nations were descended from him is to make us aware that Avraham, a descendant of Shem, merited to become the father of the Jewish nation. The Torah hints that the only reason that there was a need for seventy nations in the first place was to ensure that out of all these there would emerge at least the one nation that G’d has chosen to become special to Him. Our sages (Tanchuma Vayeshev 1) have illustrated the matter by means of a parable. When someone loses a pearl on the beach, he will bring a sieve and sieve the entire sand on the beach in order to retrieve his pearl. Once he has found his pearl he throws the sand back on the beach. The parable intends to illustrate that just as all that sand on the beach only serves to yield up the one pearl, so there was no need for G’d to have all that many different nations except for that large number to eventually yield a Jewish nation. The sages said further (Bereshit Rabbah 1,8) that the concept of a Jewish nation had preceded the concept of all these other nations. We know that in G’d’s mind any end product had been carefully envisioned long before it would become manifest. This is also why the Jewish people did not appear on the stage of history until all the other nations already were in existence. Normal intelligence dictates that any end product must have been planned before it was brought into existence so that of course it existed in concept long before it was actualized. It is possible to prove this from the construction of the Holy Tabernacle where the Torah specifically instructed Betzalel (Exodus 35,32) ולחשוב מחשבות, “to plan appropriate thoughts,” (for the construction of golden and silver furnishings for the Tabernacle). Nachmanides wrote concerning this chapter that the reason the Torah goes into all these details was to prove to its listeners that G’d preceded the establishment of the universe. It was to enable Avraham and his descendants to command their respective offspring to tell about what happened to Noach, and how his family was saved in the Ark. Avraham, who had still known Noach personally, was able to relate these matters as an eye witness to one of its survivors who had been told by Noach (and presumably by Shem). Noach’s father Lemech in turn had known Adam and so was able to relate history as someone who had heard it directly from those who had experienced it. Avraham as a witness to the creation of the first human being was only two persons removed from someone who had been expelled from Gan Eden. Yitzchak and Yaakov had both been contemporaries of Shem still. In other words even they had spoken to survivors of the deluge. Yaakov, no doubt, told all this to the people who descended to Egypt with him as well as to Pharaoh and his servants. According to a calculation made by Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, Noach died when Avraham was 58 years old. The very letters in the name נח amount to 58 in their numerical value.
Tur HaArokh
ויולדו להם בנים אחר המבול, “children were born for them after the deluge.” Although the fathers and mothers were capable of having children already before the onset of the deluge, G’d had deliberately prevented them from having children in order not to have to destroy their offspring as part of the deluge, and in order not to have to save too many people crowding the ark.
The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
verse value 2465
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Magog" (וּמָג֔וֹג, 5 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Magog" (וּמָג֔וֹג), "and·Madai" (וּמָדַ֖י), "and·Javan" (וְיָוָ֣ן). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root יון ("and·Javan") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Tubal', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. 6 of the verse's 9 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + יֶ֔פֶת [Japheth] (490) + גֹּ֣מֶר [Gomer] (243) + וּמָג֔וֹג [and·Magog] (58) + וּמָדַ֖י [and·Madai] (60) + וְיָוָ֣ן [and·Javan] (72) + וְתֻבָ֑ל [and·Tubal] (438) + וּמֶ֖שֶׁךְ [and·Meshech] (366) + וְתִירָֽס [and·Tiras] (676) = 2465.
Onkelos
The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Rashi
ותירס AND TIRAS — This is Persia (Yoma 10a).
Ramban
THE SONS OF JAPHETH: GOMER. Scripture begins with Japheth for he was the oldest. After him, it mentions Ham [even though he was the youngest] for Scripture wanted to delay the account of the generations of Shem in order to place side by side the two sections dealing with Shem’s children since it is important to dwell at length on the generations of Abraham.
Chizkuni
ובני גומר וגו, “and the descendants of Gomer, etc;” the reason why the Torah does not mention by name the sons of Magog, Modai, Tuval Kayin, etc., is because none of them became founders of nations, so that only a single one of them became a founder of a nation. The same pattern is applied by the Torah when describing the offspring of Put son of Cham.
Tur HaArokh
בני יפת, “the children of Yephet.” The Torah lists Yephet’s children first as he was the oldest, followed by Cham, as the Torah wanted to list the descendants of Shem in conjunction with those of Avraham who was descended from him in a straight line and whose story follows.
Targum Yonatan
The sons of Japheth, Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Thubal, and Meshek, and Thiras. And the names of their provinces, Afriki, and Germania, and Medi, and Makadonia, and Iatinia, and Asia, and Tharki.
And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
verse value 2039
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "Gomer" (גֹּ֑מֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Togarmah" (וְתֹגַרְמָֽה, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "Ashkenaz" (אַשְׁכְּנַ֥ז), "and·Riphath" (וְרִיפַ֖ת), "and·Togarmah" (וְתֹגַרְמָֽה). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Gomer', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + גֹּ֑מֶר [Gomer] (243) + אַשְׁכְּנַ֥ז [Ashkenaz] (378) + וְרִיפַ֖ת [and·Riphath] (696) + וְתֹגַרְמָֽה [and·Togarmah] (654) = 2039.
Onkelos
And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
verse value 2280
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "Javan" (יָוָ֖ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Tarshish" (וְתַרְשִׁ֑ישׁ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "Javan" (יָוָ֖ן), "Elishah" (אֱלִישָׁ֣ה), "and·Tarshish" (וְתַרְשִׁ֑ישׁ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root ליש ("Elishah") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Tarshish', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + יָוָ֖ן [Javan] (66) + אֱלִישָׁ֣ה [Elishah] (346) + וְתַרְשִׁ֑ישׁ [and·Tarshish] (1216) + כִּתִּ֖ים [Kittim] (470) + וְדֹדָנִֽים [and·Dodanim] (114) = 2280.
Onkelos
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
Ibn Ezra
"Kittim" — a name. He is a son of Javan; therefore I stated in my commentary on the book of Daniel that the kingdom of Greece and the kingdom of Rome are one.
Chizkuni
כתים ודודנים; elsewhere the דדנים are called רודנים. (Compare Chronicles I 1,7) This is to teach us that at times in history when the fortunes of the Jewish people as r ascending, these people treat us a “cousins,” in order to benefit from this biological relationship. When the fortunes of the Jewish people’s fortunes are on the decline, these “cousins,” are the first to join those who persecute us.
Cross-references: I Chronicles 1:5; I Chronicles 1:7
Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
verse value 2925
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. Verse gematria: 2925 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "coastlands·of" (אִיֵּ֤י, 3 letters) and the longest is "by·their·clans" (לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "from·these" (מֵ֠אֵ֠לֶּה), "coastlands·of" (אִיֵּ֤י), "by·his·language" (לִלְשֹׁנ֑וֹ). The root גוי appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·their·lands" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "from·these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). First appearance of the root גוי ("the·nations") in Genesis. First appearance of the root לשון ("by·his·language") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·his·language', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: מֵ֠אֵ֠לֶּה [from·these] (76) + נִפְרְד֞וּ [branched·out] (340) + אִיֵּ֤י [coastlands·of] (21) + הַגּוֹיִם֙ [the·nations] (64) + בְּאַרְצֹתָ֔ם [in·their·lands] (733) + אִ֖ישׁ [man] (311) + לִלְשֹׁנ֑וֹ [by·his·language] (416) + לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם [by·their·clans] (898) + בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם [by·their·nations] (66) = 2925.
Onkelos
From these the coastland peoples were divided in their lands, each according to his language, by their families, among their nations.
Ramban
FROM THERE WERE PARTED THE INHABITANTS OF THE MARITIME SETTLEMENT OF THE NATIONS IN THEIR LANDS. The meaning of this is that the children of Japheth are those who dwell on the isles of the sea, and they are separated, each one of his sons residing singly on another isle, and their countries are far from each other. This was indeed the blessing of their father Noah, who said, May G-d enlarge Japheth, meaning that they be numerous in the expanses of the earth. The sons of Ham, however, are all near one another as they dwell on the continents. Therefore Scripture said, And the boundary of the Canaanite was from Sidon…in their lands and in their nations. The same is true of the sons of Shem. Now Scripture narrates all this in order to inform us of Abraham’s lineage from Shem, and Ham’s descendants are mentioned to inform us of those nations whose lands Abraham was favored with on account of the sin of their fathers. Therefore it tells also of Japheth and of the dispersion in order to inform us of the cause of the difference in languages and the scattering of the nations to the ends of the earth in a short period of time after the first man. Moreover, this narration serves to let us know the kindness of G-d and His keeping the covenant He made with Noah that he would not destroy them. The Rabbi See Seder Bereshith, Note 139. said in Moreh Nebuchim that the genealogy of the nations verifies to those that hear it the principle of the creation of the world.“It is one of the fundamental principles of the Torah that the universe has been created out of nothing, and that of the human race, one individual being, Adam was created. As the time which elapsed from Adam to Moses was not more than about two thousand five hundred years, people would have doubted the truth of that statement if no other information had been added, seeing that the human race was apread over all parts of the earth in different families and with different languages, very unlike the one to the other. In order to remove this doubt the Law gives the genealogy of the nations [Genesis 5 and 10], and the manner how they branched off from a common root. It names those of them who were well known, and tells who their fathers were, how long and where they lived. It describes also the cause that led to the dispersion of men over all parts of the earth, and to the formation of their different languages, after they had lived for a long time in one place, and spoken one language [ibid., 11], as would be natural for descendants of one person.” (Ibid., Friedlander’s translation III, p. 273.) This also is true, for our father Abraham will command his children and his household after him and will affirm to them the narration concerning Noah and his sons who saw the flood and were in the ark. Thus he, [Abraham, not having seen the flood but hearing of it], was witness from mouth to mouth in the whole matter of the flood, and he was a fourth witness to creation since Noah saw his father Lamech who saw Adam. Isaac and Jacob saw Shem, the witness of the flood, and Jacob told all this to those that went down to Egypt, as well as to Pharaoh and the people of his generation. The people in every generation similarly know from their fathers who tell them the deeds and progeny of the four to five previous generations.
Tur HaArokh
מאלה נפרדו איי הגויים, “from these the various nationalities developed as separate ‘islands of peoples.’” According to Nachmanides, especially the descendants of Yephet took up residence in the islands of the Mediterranean sea around the Greek mainland, each one consisting of a distinct and separate nation-state. The blessing given to Yephet envisioned that his descendants would be scattered over a large area, whereas the descendants of Cham lived in close proximity to one another. This is hinted at by the words מאלה נפרדו, “they separated from these.” This is also why the text (verse 19) continues with: ויהי גבול הכנעני מצידון באכה גררה עד עזה, “the boundaries of the territory belonging to the various clans of the Canaanite extended from Tzidon in the north as far south as Gerar until Gaza.” Significantly, the text adds (verse 20)למשפחותם, ללשונותם, בארצותם בגויהם, “according to their respective families, their different dialects, in their respective countries according to their differing nationalities.” The reason that the Torah went to such length to inform us of all these details is to establish the genealogy of Avraham to Noach via his son Shem. ([importance of being a Semite. Ed.] Through this detailed description of the descendants of both Cham and Shem, the title to the land of Israel by the descendants of Avraham, who had inherited the status of master over Cham due to Noach’s curse of his grandson Canaan, had been established for all future times. The Torah provides details of the development of the descendants of Yephet and the breaking up of a united mankind into clans of different languages, different orientations, in order to provide a logical explanation for the fact that mankind which at one time had all spoken the same language had gradually grown apart from one another both ideologically and geographically, so that international friction can be seen as an act of G’d’s kindness, the G’d Who but for His desire to keep His covenant with Noach would have destroyed the generation who had built the tower meaning thereby to challenge G’d’s supremacy in His own world. Maimonides, in his Moreh Nevuchim comments on this subject that what the Torah writes in our chapter is proof to the readers that the world did not precede G’d, but that G’d preceded the world. The report of these chapters in the Torah establishes a direct link between Noach and Avraham, as the ages given demonstrate that the survivors of the deluge gave eye witness accounts of these events having indeed taken place. Therefore, Avraham was in a position to command his own descendants to adhere to the laws of G’d. Shem was alive when Avraham was born, and Noach’s grandfather Methuselah had still known Adam personally. Even Yitzchok and Yaakov had still known Shem, a survivor of the ark, personally. Important historical data were handed down by eye-witnesses for an average of 3-4 generations due to the relatively long lifespan these people enjoyed.
And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan.
verse value 1125
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "Ham" (חָ֑ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Mizraim" (וּמִצְרַ֖יִם, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Put" (וּפ֥וּט). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "and·Mizraim" (root מצרי, 81x in Genesis); "and·Canaan" (root כנען, 48x in Genesis). First appearance of the root מצרי ("and·Mizraim") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ham', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + חָ֑ם [Ham] (48) + כּ֥וּשׁ [Cush] (326) + וּמִצְרַ֖יִם [and·Mizraim] (386) + וּפ֥וּט [and·Put] (101) + וּכְנָֽעַן [and·Canaan] (196) = 1125.
Onkelos
And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mitzraim, and Put, and Canaan.
Sforno
ופוט וכנען, the sons of Put are not mentioned separately, as they all formed a single nation retaining the name of their founding father. Proof of this is found in Ezekiel 38,5 פרס, כוש, ופוט אתם, i.e. even in the days of the pre-messianic wars of Gog and Magog, Put will still have its original name.
Targum Yonatan
And the sons of Cham, Kush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Kenaan. And the name of their provinces, Arabia, and Mizraim, and Alichrok, and Kenaan.
And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan.
verse value 2555
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "Cush" (כ֔וּשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Havilah" (וַֽחֲוִילָ֔ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 68: and·sons·of, and·sons·of. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "Seba" (סְבָא֙), "and·Havilah" (וַֽחֲוִילָ֔ה), "and·Sabtah" (וְסַבְתָּ֥ה). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שבא ("Sheba") in Genesis. First appearance of the root דדן ("and·Dedan") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Sabteca', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. 7 of the verse's 11 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + כ֔וּשׁ [Cush] (326) + סְבָא֙ [Seba] (63) + וַֽחֲוִילָ֔ה [and·Havilah] (65) + וְסַבְתָּ֥ה [and·Sabtah] (473) + וְרַעְמָ֖ה [and·Raamah] (321) + וְסַבְתְּכָ֑א [and·Sabteca] (489) + וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + רַעְמָ֖ה [Raamah] (315) + שְׁבָ֥א [Sheba] (303) + וּדְדָֽן [and·Dedan] (64) = 2555.
Onkelos
And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
Ramban
AND THE SONS OF CUSH: SEBA AND HAVILAH, ETC. These sons became the heads of nations, and the two sons of Raamah [namely, Sheba and Dedan] became two nations. Nimrod the son of Cush, however, did not become the head of a nation. Therefore, Scripture wrote afterward, And Cush begot Nimrod, and did not say, “and the sons of Cush: Nimrod, and Seba, and Havilah” [which would have indicated that Nimrod, like Seba and Havilah, also became the head of a nation]. But Phut the son of Ham became only one people, and not various nations as was the case with Mitzraim and Canaan, the sons of Ham. Therefore, Scripture did not return [to tell of the progeny of Phut, as it did with the other sons of Ham, namely, Cush, Mitzraim and Canaan]. In Bereshith Rabbah we find:2. “Said Resh Lakish, ‘We might have thought that the family of Phut was swallowed up, but Ezekiel came and explained, Phut, and Lud, and all the Arabians,’” The meaning of the Midrash is that because Scripture did not return to tell about Phut, we might have thought that his seed intermingled with the children of Canaan and they neither became a nation, nor did they inherit a land called by their name. [The prophet Ezekiel thus clarified that the children of Phut existed as a separate nation in their own land.] However, in the case of Magog, and Madai…and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras, — the children of Japheth — Scripture also did not mention the families of their progeny: And so also with the sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad,278“Arpachshad.” In this case Scripture does record his progeny (Verses 24-29). The Tur in quoting the language of Ramban rightly omits Arpachshad. Neither is it found in Ramban Mss. and Lud, who became heads of nations; Scripture did not mention their progeny since each one just became one people inhabiting one country, and they did not give rise to various nationalities.
Sforno
ובני כוש סבא וחוילה, each one of these sons became a nation in its own right. This was in addition to those of his sons who continued to bear their founding father’s name. (compare Isaiah 43,3)
Tur HaArokh
ובני כוש סבא וחוילה “and the sons of Cush, Seva and Chavila.” All of thee people named here became founders of different clans which developed into nations. The sons of Raamah developed into two distinct nations, this is why their father’s name was repeated. On the other hand, Nimrod did not develop into being founder of a nation. We know this because the Torah describes his exploits in a different manner in verse 9. We would have expected the Torah to write: ובני כוש נמרד, following the pattern established since the beginning of the chapter. Put did not found a separate nation. This is why his name does not appear again after verse 6. All the ones whose children are not mentioned by name founded nations.
And Cush fathered Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
verse value 2075
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (יָלַ֣ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "Nimrod" (אֶת־נִמְרֹ֑ד, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Cush" (וְכ֖וּשׁ), "Nimrod" (אֶת־נִמְרֹ֑ד), "mighty·man" (גִּבֹּ֖ר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·be" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "in·the·earth" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "begot" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Nimrod', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְכ֖וּשׁ [and·Cush] (332) + יָלַ֣ד [begot] (44) + אֶת־נִמְרֹ֑ד [Nimrod] (695) + ה֣וּא [he] (12) + הֵחֵ֔ל [began] (43) + לִֽהְי֥וֹת [to·be] (451) + גִּבֹּ֖ר [mighty·man] (205) + בָּאָֽרֶץ [in·the·earth] (293) = 2075.
Onkelos
And Cush fathered Nimrod; he began to be a mighty man upon the earth.
Rashi
להיות גבור TO BE A MIGHTY ONE — Mighty in causing the whole world to rebel against the Holy One, blessed be He, by the plan he devised for the generation that witnessed the separation of the races (דור הפלגה) to build the Tower of Babel (Genesis Rabbah 23:7).
Ramban
HE BEGAN TO BE A MIGHTY ONE IN THE EARTH. Rashi wrote, “Mighty in causing the entire world to rebel against the Holy One, blessed by He, by the plan he devised for the generation that witnessed the dispersion of the races.” But if so, he began means that he began after the flood [for it could not mean that he was the first ever to begin to rebel against G-d] since in the days of the generation of Enosh, such rebellion had already begun. See also Rambam in the beginning of “Laws of Idolatry,” wherein he describes the process of how mankind was misled into the worship of the idols during the generation of Enosh. It is possible that we should say that rebellion against G-d began in the generation of the dispersion while in the days of Enosh, people were not yet among those that rebel against the light; rather, they also worshipped other gods.
Ibn Ezra
"Nimrod" — do not seek an etymology for every name if none is written. He was the first to display feats of human might over beasts, for he was a mighty hunter.
Sforno
וכוש ילד את נמרד, among all the others who were called by their father’s name “Kushites,” there was one special individual who rose to become a world renowned hero, warrior, king.
Chizkuni
וכוש ילד את נמרוד, “and Cush sired Nimrod.” The reason why Nimrod has not been enumerated together with his other brothers is to draw attention to his accomplishments., הוא החל להיות גבור “he began to be outstanding amongst the people who had survived the deluge."
Tur HaArokh
הוא החל להיות גבור חיל בארץ, “he became the first hero on earth.” According to Rashi the meaning of the verse is that he became the first man who dared oppose G’d after the deluge and to incite man against G’d, although he had been preceded by Enosh doing the same in the antediluvian period. (Seeing that Rashi did not mention Enosh, Nachmanides adds that what is meant by Rashi is that he was the first human being to do so after the deluge.)
Cross-references: Genesis 14:1; I Chronicles 1:5; Genesis 11:1-9
He was a mighty hunter before Hashem; therefore it is said: "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Hashem."
verse value 1783 — יְהֹוָ֑ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "hunter" (צַ֖יִד, 3 letters) and the longest is "he·was" (הֽוּא־הָיָ֥ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 170: before, therefore, before. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "he·was" (הֽוּא־הָיָ֥ה), "a·mighty·hunter" (גִבֹּֽר־צַ֖יִד), "like·Nimrod" (כְּנִמְרֹ֛ד). The root גבור appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "it·is·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "he·was" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). First appearance of the root ציד ("hunter") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: הֽוּא־הָיָ֥ה [he·was] (32) + גִבֹּֽר־צַ֖יִד [a·mighty·hunter] (309) + לִפְנֵ֣י [before] (170) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + עַל־כֵּן֙ [therefore] (170) + יֵֽאָמַ֔ר [it·is·said] (251) + כְּנִמְרֹ֛ד [like·Nimrod] (314) + גִּבּ֥וֹר [mighty] (211) + צַ֖יִד [hunter] (104) + לִפְנֵ֥י [before] (170) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 1783.
Onkelos
He was a mighty man before Hashem; therefore it is said: "Like Nimrod, a mighty man before Hashem."
Rashi
גבור ציד A MIGHTY HUNTER — He ensnared the minds of people by his words, misleading them to rebel against the Omnipresent (Genesis Rabbah 37:2). ‘לפני ה BEFORE THE LORD — intending purposely to provoke Him to His face על כן יאמר WHEREFORE IT IS SAID — Regarding any man who brazenly acts wickedly — knowing his Master and yet of set purpose rebelling against Him — it is said. “This man is like Nimrod a mighty hunter” (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 2 1-2).
Ramban
HE WAS A MIGHTY HUNTER BEFORE THE ETERNAL. He ensnared the minds of people by his words, misleading them to rebel against the Omnipresent. Therefore it is said regarding any man who brazenly acts wickedly, knowing his Master and yet intentionally rebelling against Him — it is said, “This man is like Nimrod.” Thus the language of Rashi, and so is the opinion of our Rabbis. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained the matter in the opposite way, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, for he interpreted the verses thus: He began to be a mighty one over the animals in hunting them. Before the Eternal, Ibn Ezra explained, means that he would build altars and offer the animals as whole-offerings before G-d. But Ibn Ezra’s words do not appear to be correct, and lo he justifieth the wicked, for our Rabbis knew by tradition of Nimrod’s wickedness. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that Nimrod began to be a ruler by force over people, and he was the first monarch. Until his era there were no wars and no reigning monarchs; it was he who first prevailed over the people of Babylon until they crowned him. here. After that he went to Assyria, and he did according to his will, and magnified himself, and there he built fortified cities with his power and with his might. This is what Scripture intended when it said, And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel…and Accad…and Shinar. here.
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "before Hashem" is that he built altars and offered those animals as burnt-offerings to Hashem — this is the plain-sense interpretation. The midrashic interpretation follows another path. "Therefore it is said" — this proverb was already in use even in the days of Moses.
Sforno
לפני ה, this does not mean that he was on the same wavelength as G’d; on the contrary, such expressions are used when someone equates himself and his illusion of power with that of G’d. Compare Jonah 3,3 עיר גדולה לאלוהים, “a great city, G’d-like.” [they were G’d-like in their arrogance. Ed.]
Chizkuni
גבור ציד לפני ה, “a great hunter before the Lord, i.e. throughout the earth. “ We find a similar use of the expression when in the Book of Jonah (Jonah 3,3) the city of Nineveh is described as עיר גדולה לאלוקים, “a great city before G-d,” where the expression means that on the whole globe there was no city comparable in size of population. A different interpretation of the expression: 'לפני ה“as predicted in the name of the Lord.” Compare: Joshua 6,26 where Joshua predicts that anyone who would dare to rebuild the city of Jericho would pay the price in the eyes of G-d by losing his oldest son when commencing that enterprise, and that he would wind up by losing his last son by the time he would affix the gates to the city wall. His prediction came true in the time of the prophet Elijah when a man by the name of Chiel son of Eli, did exactly this, and wound up by losing all his sons in that order. (Kings I 16,34.) The Torah tells us that G-d decreed that a person of the type of Nimrod had to arise in order for Avraham to demonstrate that one could prevail even against such mighty warriors who defied the Lord. על כן יאמר כנמרוד, “this is why people would use Nimrod as an example, saying: ‘just like Nimrod, a mighty hunter by the grace of the Lord.’” According to tradition no ferocious beast ever escaped alive in an encounter with Nimrod. He was aided by G-d in attaining such a reputation so that G-d could demonstrate in due course that such apparently invincible warriors could not prevail against Him.
Tur HaArokh
הוא היה גבור ציד, “he was a ferocious hunter.” Rashi interprets the words גבור ציד to mean that Nimrod was clever in brainwashing people to rebel against the rule of G’d on earth. Ibn Ezra approaches the verse by stressing the plain meaning, saying that Nimrod began to display prowess as a hunter of wild beasts. He adds that the meaning of the words לפני ה' is that he built altars on which he offered some of the animals he had hunted successfully as offerings to G’d. Nachmanides writes that Ibn Ezra’s approach does not appeal to him as Ibn Ezra justifies the actions of a wicked person by what he writes in his commentary. He adds that when our sages described Nimrod as a wicked individual they had reliable traditions to base themselves on. The correct interpretation of our verse (author’s words) is that he was the first individual to assert his power over his fellow human beings, making them subject to his will. He introduced organized warfare, commencing with his capture of Babylon. He followed this up by subjecting Assyria to his rule. When the Torah describes how he extended his rule to Ashur (verse 11) this is noteworthy, as Ashur was one of the descendants of Shem. He proceeded to build fortified cities there. The meaning of the words לפני ה' is meant to draw our attention to the extent of his achievements, something unparalleled by anyone except G’d. The Torah had described such unparalleled actions in similar terms once before when it wrote (Genesis 6,11) ותשחת הארץ לפני האלוקים.
Cross-references: Genesis 6:11; Genesis 14:1; I Chronicles 1:5
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
verse value 3184
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "Babel" (בָּבֶ֔ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "his·kingdom" (מַמְלַכְתּוֹ֙, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·beginning·of" (רֵאשִׁ֤ית), "his·kingdom" (מַמְלַכְתּוֹ֙), "and·Erech" (וְאֶ֖רֶךְ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "his·kingdom" (root מלך, 69x in Genesis). First appearance of the root מלך ("his·kingdom") in Genesis. First appearance of the root שנער ("Shinar") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Calneh', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַתְּהִ֨י [and·was] (421) + רֵאשִׁ֤ית [the·beginning·of] (911) + מַמְלַכְתּוֹ֙ [his·kingdom] (536) + בָּבֶ֔ל [Babel] (34) + וְאֶ֖רֶךְ [and·Erech] (227) + וְאַכַּ֣ד [and·Accad] (31) + וְכַלְנֵ֑ה [and·Calneh] (111) + בְּאֶ֖רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + שִׁנְעָֽר [Shinar] (620) = 3184.
Onkelos
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Babylon.
Sforno
ותהי ראשית ממלכתו בבל, the Torah mentions this to explain that because of Nimrod’s powerful and relatively civilised kingdom all the people moved to the valley of Shinor to be within the orbit of his power and influence. The illusion of great power, augmented by unity of purpose, led to their insurrection against G’d, and to their downfall. Central symbols always exercised a gravitational pull on people’s minds, as we see even among the Jewish people in the efforts by Jerobam to counteract the centrality of the Temple in Jerusalem. (Kings I 12,26)
Chizkuni
ותהי ראשית ממלכתו וגו, “at the beginning his kingdom extended only to Babylonia and Accadia, extending eventually throughout the whole region of Shinor. Eventually he even conquered the region of Ashur. (northeast) Ashur had emigrated as he could not stand Nimrod’s anti G-d attitude.
Cross-references: I Chronicles 1:5; Zechariah 5:11
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah,
verse value 3363
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "went·forth" (יָצָ֣א, 3 letters) and the longest is "Nineveh" (אֶת־נִ֣ינְוֵ֔ה, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "Nineveh" (אֶת־נִ֣ינְוֵ֔ה), "and·Rehoboth" (וְאֶת־רְחֹבֹ֥ת), "and·Calah" (וְאֶת־כָּֽלַח). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "that" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis); "went·forth" (root יצא, 77x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Asshur', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: מִן־הָאָ֥רֶץ [from·the·land] (386) + הַהִ֖וא [that] (17) + יָצָ֣א [went·forth] (101) + אַשּׁ֑וּר [Asshur] (507) + וַיִּ֙בֶן֙ [and·built] (68) + אֶת־נִ֣ינְוֵ֔ה [Nineveh] (522) + וְאֶת־רְחֹבֹ֥ת [and·Rehoboth] (1017) + עִ֖יר [Ir] (280) + וְאֶת־כָּֽלַח [and·Calah] (465) = 3363.
Onkelos
From that land the Assyrian went forth and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah.
Rashi
‘מן הארץ וגו OUT OF THAT LAND WENT FORTH ASSHUR — As soon as Asshur saw that his sons listened to Nimrod, rebelling against the Omnipresent by building the Tower, he went forth out of their midst (Genesis Rabbah 37:4).
Ramban
OUT OF THAT LAND — when Nimrod reigned over it — WENT FORTH ASSHUR, meaning he went forth to Asshur for Asshur was one of the sons of Shem. This usage is similar to that found in the verses: And it shall go forth Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon, [which means that it shall go forth to Hazzar-addar]; And Og the king of Bashan came out against us Edrei, [which means at Edrei]; And he shall return his own land with great substance, [which means that he shall return to his own land]; and many other similar verses. This is why the land of Assyria is called the land of Nimrod, just as it is said, And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the keen-edge sword, alluding to Nineveh, and the city of Rehoboth, and Calah. Scripture tells yet more about Nimrod’s prowess — i.e., that he was a mighty hunter, here. prevailing also over the animals and ensnaring them. Scripture said, Before the Eternal, here. to suggest wonderment for there was no one under the heaven like him in strength. Similarly, And the earth was corrupt before G-d, means that everything before Him on the earth was corrupt. This is like the verse, That soul shall be cut off from before Me, since every place is “before Him.”
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "from that land Asshur went out" — he is a son of Japheth, and this was after the dispersal. The king who first reigned over Babylon was Nimrod. The author of Seder Olam explained "for in his days the earth was divided" to mean that Nimrod was king over the seventy.
Sforno
מן הארץ ההיא יצא אשור, he emigrated from there because he disagreed with Nimrod politically, i.e. he opposed the building of the Tower (fearing that G’d would punish the people including his children who were associating themselves with rebellious project) ויבן את נינוה, because he had distanced himself from the plans undertaken by the four countries under the rule of Nimrod in the land of Shinor, G’d rewarded him to let him build the four cities mentioned here. This is an instance of אל פניו ישלם לו, of G’d recompensing someone for a good deed “to his face,” i.e. so that he can realise that this is what G’d has done for him. (Deuteronomy 7,10)
Chizkuni
אשור, as if the Torah had written: לאשור, “to Ashur.” [According to this interpretation Ashur here was not the name of a person but of the city he had founded. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
מן הארץ ההיא יצא אשור, “from that land Ashur went forth, etc.” He was one of the sons of Shem as we are told in verse 22 that Shem’s sons were Eylam, Ashur, Arpachshad Lud and Aram. Seeing that most of the people alive during the generation of the Tower were descendants of Shem, the Torah mentioned that Ashur had left that land (the valley including Babel). He had not had part in the uprising against G’d that those people were planning in accordance with the statement by our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 37,4. the words מן הארץ ההיא mean that Ashur dissociated himself from these people and their land as he realised they were preparing to rebel against G’d. This also explains Psalms 83,9 גם אשור נלוה עמם, “also Ashur made common cause with them,” Seeing that on this occasion Ashur was on the side of G’d, the psalmist had to contrast this with a future occasion when also Ashur joined the forces of evil planning to wipe out the Jewish people.
Cross-references: I Chronicles 1:5; Genesis 10:22; Genesis 32:23
and Resen between Nineveh and Calah—the same is the great city.
verse value 1370
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "between" (בֵּ֥ין, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Resen" (וְֽאֶת־רֶ֔סֶן, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Resen" (וְֽאֶת־רֶ֔סֶן), "Nineveh" (נִֽינְוֵ֖ה), "Calah" (כָּ֑לַח). The root בין appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "between" (root בין, 146x in Genesis); "the·city" (root עיר, 46x in Genesis); "the·great" (root גדול, 34x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Calah', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְֽאֶת־רֶ֔סֶן [and·Resen] (717) + בֵּ֥ין [between] (62) + נִֽינְוֵ֖ה [Nineveh] (121) + וּבֵ֣ין [and·between] (68) + כָּ֑לַח [Calah] (58) + הִ֖וא [it] (12) + הָעִ֥יר [the·city] (285) + הַגְּדֹלָֽה [the·great] (47) = 1370.
Onkelos
And Resen, between Nineveh and Calah — that is the great city.
Rashi
העיר הגדלה THE GREAT CITY — This refers to Nineveh (not to Calah the last mentioned city nor to Resen), as it is said (Jonah 3:3) “Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city” (Yoma 10a).
Ibn Ezra
"That is the great city" — the most plausible interpretation to me is that this phrase is connected with "he built Nineveh." It is also not implausible that it be connected with Resen or with Calah.
Chizkuni
ואת רסן בין נינוה, “and the great city of Nineveh situated between Ressen and Kolach”. He linked all three cities into one great metropolis. This is the reason why subsequently we find Nineveh referred to as: “the great city.”A different interpretation of the phrase: “and from this land Ashur emigrated.” The word Ashur is the name of a man, as suggested by Rashi, who described Ashur as being disgusted with his own children acclaiming Nimrod as deity, so much so that he decided to move far north east. In a Midrash, the source of which our author does not quote, the question is raised why G-d appointed a special prophet to warn the city of Nineveh of impending destruction if its people did not mend its ways. The answer given is that that this was in recognition of the courageous conduct of its founder Ashur, who had dissociated himself from Nimrod’s pantheistic kingdom. That Midrash cites our verse as the source for G-d’s special consideration for Nineveh’s people. The Midrash interprets the words: מן הארץ ההיא יצא אשור, as if the Torah had written: ‘the plan that prompted Ashur to move far away from the domain of Ni rod, eventually paid dividends by the inhabitants of their capital being given 40 days during which to reform heir lifestyle.” In Psalms 83,9, we are told that eventually also the Kingdom of Ashur turned anti Israel, as when they conquered the territories of the northern kingdom of the ten tribes and exiled its inhabitants in 722 B. C and that is why the Babylonians not long afterwards conquered the Kingdom of Ashur that had been predominant in that region. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish explains that the error made by the people of Ashur was that they thought the family of Put (verse 7) had become extinct, until we find in the Book of Ezekiel 30,5 that “both Put, Lud, and a mixed multitude of non pure ancestry,” is mentioned by the prophet as among the nations falling victim to conquerors together with the Egyptians whom they had supported. The reason that these details have not been spelled out in the Torah is that if you enumerate all these tribes we would think that there had been more than the 70 nations of which the Torah speaks after the fall of the Tower.
And Mizraim fathered Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
verse value 3027
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (יָלַ֞ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Naphtuhim" (וְאֶת־נַפְתֻּחִֽים, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "Ludites" (אֶת־לוּדִ֧ים), "and·the·Anamim" (וְאֶת־עֲנָמִ֛ים), "and·the·Lehabim" (וְאֶת־לְהָבִ֖ים). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·Mizraim" (root מצרי, 81x in Genesis). Full calculation: וּמִצְרַ֡יִם [and·Mizraim] (386) + יָלַ֞ד [begot] (44) + אֶת־לוּדִ֧ים [Ludites] (491) + וְאֶת־עֲנָמִ֛ים [and·the·Anamim] (617) + וְאֶת־לְהָבִ֖ים [and·the·Lehabim] (494) + וְאֶת־נַפְתֻּחִֽים [and·the·Naphtuhim] (995) = 3027.
Onkelos
And Mitzraim fathered the Ludites, and the Anamites, and the Lehabites, and the Naphtuhites.
Rashi
להבים LEHABIM — So called because their faces were fiery as a flame.
Ramban
AND MITZRAIM BEGOT. Scripture mentions the descendants of Mitzraim but does not specify their habitation as it does concerning the others. With the sons of Japheth it mentioned the isles, here. with the sons of Cush it mentioned the land of Shinar here. and Asshur, and with the sons of Canaan it mentioned the boundaries of their land, and likewise with the sons of Shem. This was because Mitzraim (Egypt), the land of his habitation, was known for it was called by his name, and all his children lived around Egypt, and the names of their countries were also like their names. Thus we find for Pathrusim, [one of the children of Mitzraim], the land of Pathrus, which is part of the land of Egypt, as it says, And I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate; Into the land of their origin. The verse reads: And I turn the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their origin. This shows that the land of Pathros is near Egypt. Similarly, Lud and all the Arabians were also around Egypt, and the names of their countries were like their names. So also the land of the Philistines was called Philistia, and so it is written [in Exodus 15:14], the inhabitants of Philistia. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that these [names — Ludim, and Anamim, etc., in Verses 13-14] — are names of countries, and in each and every country there dwelled one family. This is why the names are all in the plural form, [that is, on account of the persons in the family, hence Ludim and not “Lud”]. And the real proof [that these are names of countries is the expression], ‘misham’ (whence) went forth, for this word misham alludes to a place. In the opinion of the commentators, the meaning of the expression, that went forth, is that they begot them, just as in the expression, And kings shall come out of thy loins. Now Rashi wrote: “They [the Philistines] were descended from both of them [the Pathrusim and the Casluhim], for the Pathrusim and Casluhim used to live together in promiscuous intercourse, and the Philistines were their offspring. Thus in Bereshith Rabbah.”30337:8. In my opinion, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, the Casluhim dwelled in a city of that name — which was part of the land of Caphtor where the Caphtorim their brethren were — and they went forth from there, meaning from the Caphtorim who were of the seed of Casluhim. And they went in order to look for a resting-place for themselves, and they left the land to their brethren and conquered for themselves a land by the name of Philistia, after which they came to be called Philistines. This is why Scripture says, The Caphtorim, that came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead, the Caphtorim being of the sons of Casluhim, dwellers of the land of Caphtor.
Ibn Ezra
"And Mizraim begot the Ludim" — in my opinion these are names of provinces, each province a distinct family; therefore they are all in the plural form. Pathrusim likewise attests to this, and the conclusive proof is the phrase "who went out from there" — the word "there" points to a place. Caphtorim as well — Mizraim begot them. Because a son derives from the substance of his father and from his power, in his image and likeness, Scripture says that he "begot" him.
Tur HaArokh
ומצרים ילד, “and Mitzrayim sired, etc.” The Torah, though mentioning Mitzrayim’s offspring, fails to mention where Mitzrayim lived, as it had done with the people mentioned previously. (Nachmanides) The reason is that as opposed to the various hardly known islands over which the descendants of Yephet were scattered, and the shifting lands occupied at different times by the Canaanites, Semites, etc., the boundaries of Egypt not only have remained pretty stationary and are well known, but the land itself bears the name of its founder. There was therefore no need to duplicate this information. Furthermore, all the sons of Mitzrayim took up residence within or adjacent to the land of Egypt. (compare Ezekiel 30,4-5 where the prophet lists the names of the brothers of the original Mitzrayim as being in the proximity of the land of Egypt.) According to Ibn Ezra all the names mentioned in our verses here are names of countries, nations, each nation having evolved out of a small family. This is the reason why all these names end in the plural mode. As proof for his argument he cites the phrase אשר יצאו משם, which he translated as “from where they had emerged, evolved.” In other words, the founders had come from some other location. The word משם clearly alludes to a location. Nachmanides views the כסלוחים as the inhabitants of a city called by that name, a city which was part of the land known as כפתור in which their brothers the כפתורים resided. The כסלוחים had left the land of כפתור, conquering a nation named פלשת, (Palestine). They subsequently changed their name to פלשתים, Philistines. This is what is meant when the Torah spoke about the כפתורים היוצאים מכפתור, “the Cypriots who had originated in Cyprus.” (Deut. 2,23) These people had originally been כסלוחים.
and Pathrusim, and Casluhim—from where the Philistines went forth—and Caphtorim.
verse value 4777
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Pathrusim" (וְֽאֶת־פַּתְרֻסִ֞ים, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·Pathrusim" (וְֽאֶת־פַּתְרֻסִ֞ים), "and·the·Casluhim" (וְאֶת־כַּסְלֻחִ֗ים), "and·the·Caphtorim" (וְאֶת־כַּפְתֹּרִֽים). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "from·there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "came·forth" (root יצא, 77x in Genesis). Full calculation: וְֽאֶת־פַּתְרֻסִ֞ים [and·the·Pathrusim] (1197) + וְאֶת־כַּסְלֻחִ֗ים [and·the·Casluhim] (575) + אֲשֶׁ֨ר [which] (501) + יָצְא֥וּ [came·forth] (107) + מִשָּׁ֛ם [from·there] (380) + פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים [Philistines] (860) + וְאֶת־כַּפְתֹּרִֽים [and·the·Caphtorim] (1157) = 4777.
Onkelos
And the Pathrusites, and the Casluhites — from whom the Philistines went forth — and the Caphtorites.
Rashi
ואת פתרסים ואת כסלחים אשר יצאו משם פלשתים AND PATHRUSIM AND CASLUHIM OUT OF WHOM CAME PHILISTIM — They (the Philistines) were descended from both of them for the Pathrusim and the Casluhim used to live together in promiscuous intercourse, and the Philistines were their offspring (Genesis Rabbah 37:5).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואת פתרוסים ואת כסלוחים אשר יצאו משם פלשתים, “and the Pathrusim and the Casluhim, whence the Philistines came forth.” The Torah stresses this in order to tell us that the nation of the Philistines have their origin in bastardy The two above-mentioned nations engaged in wife-swapping and the Philistines emerged as a result of this incest (compare Bereshit Rabbah 37,5). You will find that all these descendants of Mitzrayim have names which end with the letters ים, “sea,” an allusion to their eventual demise in the sea (Pessikta Zutrata). The first of these nations was called לודים, since they were both born in the sea and drowned in the sea.
Cross-references: I Chronicles 1:5; Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7
And Canaan fathered Zidon his firstborn, and Heth;
verse value 1838
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (יָלַ֛ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "Sidon" (אֶת־צִידֹ֥ן, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "Sidon" (אֶת־צִידֹ֥ן), "and·Heth" (וְאֶת־חֵֽת). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·Canaan" (root כנען, 48x in Genesis). First appearance of the root בכור ("his·first-born") in Genesis. Full calculation: וּכְנַ֗עַן [and·Canaan] (196) + יָלַ֛ד [begot] (44) + אֶת־צִידֹ֥ן [Sidon] (555) + בְּכֹר֖וֹ [his·first-born] (228) + וְאֶת־חֵֽת [and·Heth] (815) = 1838.
Onkelos
And Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, and Heth.
Ramban
AND CANAAN BEGOT ZIDON HIS FIRST-BORN. These were the ten306“Ten.” There are eleven children of Canaan mentioned here. Ramban will explain later in the text that one did not develop into a separate nation. nations, sons of Canaan, whose lands were given to our father Abraham since all seed of Canaan were sold into servitude forever. These were the ones that were given to Abraham. Their names, however, changed for the most part in the days of Abraham; here they were inscribed according to the names their father called them on the days of their birth, but after they parted according to their lands and their nations, they were called by other names. Perhaps they were called by the names of the land in which they settled, as we have explained. Likewise, Se’ir the Horite was so called because the name of the city was Se’ira. And there are many similar names. It may be that the Arkite and the Sinite here. did beget families but were cut off from them, and their children were, for example, the Kenite, and the Kenizzite. These became the heads of families, the entire nation being called by their name as was customary among the tribes of Israel. Now in His gift [of the land of Abraham, G-d] called the ten nations by the names by which they were known in the time of Abraham. Proof of this, [namely, that some of the names of the sons of Canaan changed in the time of Abraham], is that the Hivite mentioned here. is not mentioned in the gift to Abraham, and yet he was among them, as it is said, And He shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations. So also in every place [Scripture counts the Hivite among the nations that inhabited the land of Canaan]. Now the Canaanite is counted in the gift to Abraham among his [Canaan’s] children, Further, 15:21. but only ten are counted [there, Verses 19-21. — while eleven children of Canaan are mentioned here] — because one of his sons did not prevail like his other brothers, and so he was called together with his brother [the Hivite] by the name of his father, [thus bringing to a total of ten the number of nations whose lands were given to Abraham]. It is possible also that it was Zidon, Canaan’s first-born who was called the Canaanite together with his brother, [the eleventh son of Canaan], who did not become a nation, [thus making ten the total number of lands given to Abraham]. Do not find it difficult that the land of the Philistines was also given to Abraham — as it is written, Sojourn in this land … for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands — and yet the Philistines were of the sons of Mitzraim [and not of Canaan]! Scripture said, Counted to the Canaanites were the five lords of the Philistines, Hence their lands were also given to Abraham even though the Philistines themselves were not of the seed of Canaan. because the Philistines conquered part of the land of the Canaanites and settled thereon. And here in Scripture you will see [that the Philistines captured part of the Canaanite land], for the boundary of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza here. yet we find that these were Philistine cities, since Abimelech, king of the Philistines, was king of Gerar, and Gaza belonged to the Gazites. Similarly, For Gaza one. This is counted among the guilt-offerings the five Philistine cities sent along with the Ark of G-d which they were returning. Sidon also belonged to the Philistines, for it is written, All the Zidonians will I drive out from before the children of Israel; only allot thou it unto Israel for an inheritance; and again, And also what are ye to Me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Perhaps the rest of the land of the Philistines, excluding that of these five of their lords, was not given to Israel. Know that the land of Canaan with its boundaries, since it became a nation, was qualified for Israel, and this was the lot of their inheritance, as it is said, When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. But at the time of the dispersion of the nations, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave it to Canaan, on account of his being a servant, to keep it for Israel. This is just as a man who deposits for safe-keeping the belongings of the master’s son with his servant until such time as the son will grow up and acquire the belongings as well as the servant. I will explain this yet with the help of G-d, exalted be He.
Chizkuni
וכנען ילד את צידון, “Canaan sired Tzidon;” Canaan sired a total of 11 sons. After having listed all their names, the Torah continues with describing how they dispersed over different regions, and that one of them split into two nations, thus making a total of 12 Canaanite tribes. This is comparable in Jewish history to the tribe of Joseph being made up of Menashe and Ephrayim, who on most occasions appear independently whenever the tribe of Levi is not included in the count of the Jewish tribes. Moses refers only to seven Canaanite tribes; the six which were historically significant he names separately, attributing their genealogy to their founding father Canaan. The reason why they deserved this honorable mention is that when the brotherstook their father Yaakov to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, these Canaanite kings all paid honour to Yaakov the descendant of Avraham. (Genesis 50,11)
Rabbeinu Bahya
וכנען ילד את צידון בכורו, “and Canaan begot Tzidon his firstborn.” We have now heard about ten descendants of Canaan; all of them (and their lands) were promised to Avraham when G’d promised him the Holy Land at the covenant between the pieces. We read there (Genesis 15,18-19) “to your descendants I have given this land from the river adjoining Egypt to the great river, the river Euphratus; the Kenite, the Kenizite, the Kadmoni, etc.” The Torah enumerates a total of ten Canaanite nations in that instance. The reason these nations appear with different names in chapter 15 is that in this chapter only the names given to their respective founders by their fathers are mentioned. At the time G’d promised the lands of these nations to Avraham their names had undergone changes just as they no longer spoke the same language as they had spoken at the time they were born and grew up. When you count the names of Canaan’s descendants listed here you will actually find that there are eleven. This is easily accounted for; Canaan’s firstborn Tzidon was the one who was called “the Canaanite.” He was joined with one of his brothers who never developed into a clan that qualified for the term “nation.” Of the ten nations whose land G’d promised to Avraham only seven were subsequently conquered by the Israelites in the days of Joshua. But the three remaining ones, i.e. The Kenite, the Kenizite, and the Kadmoni, have never been conquered by the Jewish people. In other words, the passage in which G’d promised all these nations to Avraham indicates that there is a future for the Jewish people after their exile when G’d will make good His promise. G’d’s thoughts are very profound indeed. Consider for a moment why He wanted Canaan of all people to own the Holy Land before it came into possession by the Jewish people. Seeing that Canaan was the slave who became the servant of Shem at his father’s command and who acquired the Holy Land at the time all the nations were split up, there would not be the slightest complaint by anyone who would be dispossessed due to the Jewish people taking over that land. Had it not belonged to slaves who by definition do not own anything in their own right, G’d would have had to justify dispossessing such a people. Now that this land was “owned” by the Canaanites there was not even a need to justify their becoming dispossessed.
Tur HaArokh
וכנען ילד את צידון בכורו, “and Canaan sired Tzidon his firstborn.” These (following) ten nations (Canaanites) are all the ones that G’d promised Avraham that his descendants would inherit or dispossess. (Genesis 15,19-21) This is all based on the fact that all of Canaan’s descendants had been condemned to be slaves, forever. However, some of them had changed their names by the time Avraham appeared on the scene of history. At this point the Torah called them by the names given to them by their father at the time they were born. Once they had grown up, moved away from home and founded nations their names changed. Perhaps they adopted the name of the country in which they dwelled, just as the Egyptians called themselves Mitzrim, a derivative of the name Mitzrayim, the land they lived in. It is also possible that those sons that did not become founders of separate nations retained the names given to them at birth, whereas the others changed their names, or their descendants changed their names. Tzidon would be a case in point. He is called a Canaanite as he did not develop into a separate nation and adopted the name of his country. When the Torah had clearly described the land of the Philistines as being part of the land of Israel, although the Philistines had descended from Mitzrayim and not from Canaan, this is no counter argument. At the time when G’d described the land of the Philistines as part of the land He would give to his descendants, (Genesis 26,3 where G’d referred in his prophecy to Yitzchok that He had already sworn that land to his father‘s descendants) the Canaanites had already conquered that part of the land from their original owners. It is quite possible that the Israelites did not inherit more than the 5 principalities that had been inhabited by the 5 Philistine cities mentioned in Joshua It is important to realize that the land of Canaan, ever since the people on it became a nation, had been slated to become Israel’s. This is the חבל נחלתם of which Moses had spoken already in Deuteronomy At the time when G’d scattered the people of the earth, at the time when the tower was destroyed, He allocated that strip of land to the Canaanites on a “temporary” lease. The Canaanites’ function during the hundreds of years before the Israelites conquered that land had been to serve as caretakers on behalf of the Israelites, a task not uncommon for slaves to perform for absentee owners. The Israelites during that period need to be viewed as not yet having come of age to take over their inheritance. [although the author does not mention it, this commentary has been almost literally copied from Nachmanides. Ed.]
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite;
verse value 2091
Insights
Verse structure: 3 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "and·the·Amorites" (וְאֶת־הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י, 8 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Jebusites" (וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי֙, 9 letters). 3 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root אמרי ("and·the·Amorites") in Genesis. Full calculation: וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי֙ [and·the·Jebusites] (500) + וְאֶת־הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י [and·the·Amorites] (663) + וְאֵ֖ת הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי [and·the·Girgashites] (928) = 2091.
Onkelos
And the Jebusites, and the Amorites, and the Girgashites.
Verse structure: 3 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "and·the·Hivites" (וְאֶת־הַֽחִוִּ֥י, 7 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Arkites" (וְאֶת־הַֽעַרְקִ֖י, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·Hivites" (וְאֶת־הַֽחִוִּ֥י), "and·the·Arkites" (וְאֶת־הַֽעַרְקִ֖י), "and·the·Sinites" (וְאֶת־הַסִּינִֽי). 3 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root חוי ("and·the·Hivites") in Genesis. Full calculation: וְאֶת־הַֽחִוִּ֥י [and·the·Hivites] (436) + וְאֶת־הַֽעַרְקִ֖י [and·the·Arkites] (792) + וְאֶת־הַסִּינִֽי [and·the·Sinites] (542) = 1770.
Onkelos
And the Hivites, and the Arkites, and the Sinaites.
and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad.
verse value 3735
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "and·afterward" (וְאַחַ֣ר, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Arvadites" (וְאֶת־הָֽאַרְוָדִ֥י, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·Arvadites" (וְאֶת־הָֽאַרְוָדִ֥י), "and·the·Zemarites" (וְאֶת־הַצְּמָרִ֖י), "and·the·Hamathites" (וְאֶת־הַֽחֲמָתִ֑י). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·afterward" (root אחר, 105x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פוץ ("spread·out") in Genesis. First appearance of the root עני ("the·Canaanites") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·Hamathites', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאֶת־הָֽאַרְוָדִ֥י [and·the·Arvadites] (633) + וְאֶת־הַצְּמָרִ֖י [and·the·Zemarites] (752) + וְאֶת־הַֽחֲמָתִ֑י [and·the·Hamathites] (870) + וְאַחַ֣ר [and·afterward] (215) + נָפֹ֔צוּ [spread·out] (226) + מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת [the·clans·of] (834) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽי [the·Canaanites] (205) = 3735.
Onkelos
And the Arvadites, and the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. And afterward the families of the Canaanites scattered.
Rashi
ואחר נפוצו AND AFTERWARDS WERE SPREAD ABROAD — From these many families were spread abroad (besides those already mentioned. 5:15—18).
And the border of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as you go toward Gerar, to Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, to Lasha.
verse value 2199
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "and·it·was" (וַיְהִ֞י, 4 letters) and the longest is "the·Canaanite" (הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 28: as·far·as, as·far·as. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·territory·of" (גְּב֤וּל), "from·Sidon" (מִצִּידֹ֔ן), "as·far·as·Gaza" (עַד־עַזָּ֑ה). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "as·far·as" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "and·Admah" (root אדמה, 44x in Genesis). First appearance of the root גבול ("the·territory·of") in Genesis. First appearance of the root גרר ("toward·Gerar") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'as·far·as·Gaza', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֞י [and·it·was] (31) + גְּב֤וּל [the·territory·of] (41) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ [the·Canaanite] (205) + מִצִּידֹ֔ן [from·Sidon] (194) + בֹּאֲכָ֥ה [as·far·as] (28) + גְרָ֖רָה [toward·Gerar] (408) + עַד־עַזָּ֑ה [as·far·as·Gaza] (156) + בֹּאֲכָ֞ה [as·far·as] (28) + סְדֹ֧מָה [Sodom] (109) + וַעֲמֹרָ֛ה [and·Gomorrah] (321) + וְאַדְמָ֥ה [and·Admah] (56) + וּצְבֹיִ֖ם [and·Zeboiim] (148) + עַד־לָֽשַׁע [as·far·as·Lasha] (474) = 2199.
Onkelos
And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, extending toward Gerar as far as Gaza, extending toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Rashi
גבול הכנעני THE BOUNDARY OF THE CANAANITE means the end of his land: wherever גבול occurs it signifies end and extremity. באכה AS THOU COMEST - This word is a noun. I think it is a colloquial expression like that used by a person who says to another: This boundary stretches until you come to such and such a boundary.
Ibn Ezra
"As you come toward Gerar" — meaning: to Gerar.
Chizkuni
ויהי גבול הכנעני וגו, “and the boundaries of the territory ruled over by the Canaanite were, etc.” The details by the Torah provided here are exceptional, and are listed only because in the future the Israelites would inherit the lands owned by the Canaanites.
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.
verse value 2693 — אֵ֣לֶּה = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "by·their·clans" (לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "sons·of·Ham" (בְנֵי־חָ֔ם). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·their·lands" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "sons·of·Ham" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·their·languages', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: אֵ֣לֶּה [these] (36) + בְנֵי־חָ֔ם [sons·of·Ham] (110) + לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם [by·their·clans] (898) + לִלְשֹֽׁנֹתָ֑ם [by·their·languages] (850) + בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖ם [in·their·lands] (733) + בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם [by·their·nations] (66) = 2693.
Onkelos
These are the sons of Ham, by their families, by their languages, in their lands, among their nations.
Rashi
ללשנתם בארצתם AFTER THEIR TONGUES, IN THEIR LANDS — Although these were of different tongues and lands they are nevertheless all sons of Ham.
Ibn Ezra
"These are the sons of Ham, by their languages" — and so Scripture says likewise of the sons of Japheth and of the sons of Shem.
Targum Yonatan
These are the sons of Cham, according to the seed of their genealogies, after their languages, in the dwelling of their lands, in the kindred of their people.
Cross-references: Genesis 10:5; I Chronicles 1:5; Deuteronomy 11:10
And to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
verse value 1429 — אֲבִי֙ = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִי֙) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "was·born" (יֻלַּ֖ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·sons·of·Eber" (כׇּל־בְּנֵי־עֵ֔בֶר, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·to·Shem" (וּלְשֵׁ֥ם), "all·the·sons·of·Eber" (כׇּל־בְּנֵי־עֵ֔בֶר), "the·older" (הַגָּדֽוֹל). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "father·of" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "was·born" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·to·Shem" (root שם, 180x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'also·he', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּלְשֵׁ֥ם [and·to·Shem] (376) + יֻלַּ֖ד [was·born] (44) + גַּם־ה֑וּא [also·he] (55) + אֲבִי֙ [father·of] (13) + כׇּל־בְּנֵי־עֵ֔בֶר [all·the·sons·of·Eber] (384) + אֲחִ֖י [brother·of] (19) + יֶ֥פֶת [Japheth] (490) + הַגָּדֽוֹל [the·older] (48) = 1429.
Onkelos
And to Shem also were born children — he being the father of all the sons of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder.
Rashi
אבי כל בני עבר THE FATHER OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF EBER — (עבר means the “side” or “ other side” of a river) — The father of all the children of עבר הנהר, the other side of the River (Euphrates), was Shem. אחי יפת הגדול [SHEM …] THE BROTHER OF JAPHETH, THE ELDER — (The Hebrew is ambiguous: “the elder” may refer either to Shem or to Japheth). One cannot from here determine whether Japheth was the elder or Shem. Since, however, it states (10:10) “Shem was a hundred years old … two years after the flood” you must admit that Japheth was the elder. Because Noah was 500 years old when he first had children (5:32), and the Flood happened in the six hundredth year of his life (7:11), consequently the eldest of his sons was then one hundred years old, whereas Shem reached his hundredth year only two years after the Flood (and therefore Japheth was the elder of the two) (Genesis Rabbah 37:7). אחי יפת THE BROTHER OF JAPHETH — It does not state “brother of Ham”, because those two honoured their father whereas Ham put him to shame.
Ramban
AND UNTO SHEM, TO HIM ALSO WERE CHILDREN BORN. Since Scripture delayed the narration of the generations of Shem and related the generations of his younger brother as if Shem had no children, it therefore says here, to him also. THE FATHER OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF ‘EBER.’ This means that he was the father of all who dwelled beyond (eber) the Euphrates River, which was the place of Abraham’s family. But it is not possible that Eber in this context be the name of the person who was the father of Peleg here. So too the opinion of Ibn Ezra and R’dak. for why would Scripture connect the children of Eber with Shem [moreso than with any of his other offspring]? THE BROTHER OF JAPHETH THE ELDER. It is the way of Scripture to record a younger brother beside the oldest of his brothers, and not beside a younger one than himself. Ramban thus says here that it is customary for Scripture to record a second son (Shem) beside the oldest (Japheth) even though Shem had a younger brother, Ham. Thus Scripture writes, the brother of Japheth the elder, rather than “the elder brother of Ham.” And similarly, we find the verse, Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron. Even though Moses was younger than Miriam, Scripture records the younger Miriam beside the elder Aaron, rather than say, “the older sister of Moses.” The reason for mentioning this altogether is to state that he [Shem] is the brother of the honorable Japheth, comparable to him in distinction. Scripture thus declares that the reason it delayed telling of his genealogy is not because Ham was more distinguished than he. It appears to me that “the elder” is descriptive of Shem, The order of their birth was thus: Shem, Japheth and Ham. This is completely unlike the theory of Rashi (5:32; 9:24) who holds that they were born in this order: Japheth, Ham and Shem. R’dak here conforms with Ramban’s theory, as is clear from R’dak’s following words: “The word hagadol (the elder) is descriptive either of Japheth or of Shem. If so, the elder refers to age in years for in my opinion Shem was the oldest of the brothers while, in the opinion of most commentators, Japheth was the oldest. It is also possible to explain the elder as referring to distinction, and it may also be descriptive of either of them.” meaning that he was the older brother of Japheth, as Ham was the youngest of all, even though Scripture mentioned Japheth first. So, likewise, in all places in Scripture, the descriptive noun refers to the subject spoken of, such as: Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet, [the term “the prophet” refers to Isaiah, who is the subject of the narration]; Unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, [here, “Moses’ father-in-law” refers back to Hobab]. But Rashi wrote: “The brother of Japheth. It does not state “the brother of Ham” because these two [Shem and Japheth] honored their father whereas Ham put him to shame.” This interpretation also declares that the sense of the verse is that Shem is the brother of the righteous brother, and not the brother of the wicked brother even though he is counted after him.
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "the father of all the children of Eber" is to make known the ancestor of the Hebrews, for there is none higher than he, and Hashem is his God — as it is written: "Thus says Hashem, the God of the Hebrews" (Exodus 9:1). And Canaan is the father of Ham, meaning there is none lower than he; and it is not fitting for the holy to mingle with the profane. The meaning of "the brother of Japheth the elder" is that Japheth was beautiful and good. Scripture mentioned Shem, who was the younger, before Japheth, who was the elder, on account of his honor. The proof is that Scripture states Noah was five hundred years old when he began to beget. There is no difficulty here: he was not less than five hundred years old at that point; the Flood came in his six hundredth year; and when Noah emerged from the Flood, Shem was a hundred years and one year old, as Scripture says "two years after the Flood." Some commentators explain that "the brother of Japheth the elder" means that Shem himself was the elder — and it is for this reason that Scripture mentioned him first. They argue that when Shem was born, only a few days of Noah's five hundredth year had passed, for a single day within a year counts as a full year; and that Noah was born in Iyar and Shem in Sivan; so that when the Flood came, Noah was five hundred and ninety-nine years and some days old, and Shem had not yet reached his full ninety-ninth year at the time of the Flood, making him a hundred years and some months old when Arpachshad was born — and the meaning of "two years" is that the second year reckoned from the start of the Flood had begun. There are also those who say that five months after the day the Flood waters subsided, Shem's wife conceived, at which point Shem was a hundred years old. This same reckoning appears in the book of Kings in ten places.
Sforno
ולשם יולד, the formulation suggests that the son born to Shem resembled his father in his good qualities, the son in question being עבר. גם הוא אבי כל בני עבר, although, as we know from the description of Avraham as an עברי, a Hebrew, (a descendant of Ever) i.e. as someone believing in G’d the Creator being the sole G’d, and it might appear that Ever initiated this adherence to monotheism in his time, Shem, the father too, was a founder of preaching monotheism in his time. Anyone teaching and instructing others, especially in a way of life and philosophy, is called אבי, “father of.” We have come across this term as possessing such meaning already in Genesis 4,21 when Yuval was introduced as the inventor and teacher of how to play musical instruments featuring strings. Just as the teachers, mentors are called “fathers,” so the disciples are called “sons,” בנים, as in Samuel I 10,12 בני הנביאים, “the disciples of the prophets.”
Chizkuni
ולשם יולד וגו, “and for Shem were born, etc.” In these verses (221) the three sons are listed in the order of their ages. As to the reference to Yephet as the הגדול, “the big one,” this adjective was used here to ensure that we realise that he was the oldest. If his other brothers were sometimes mentioned ahead of Yephet, this was only in order to underline an important act performed by the one concerned.
Tur HaArokh
ולשם יולד גם הוא, ”also for Shem offspring had been born.” The Torah chose this unusual syntax so that we would not think that seeing Shem’s offspring had not been mentioned up until now that he had been childless during the time Canaan had produced all these nations. אבי כל בני עבר, “the founding father of all the “Ivrim.” He was the founder of all the clans settling west of the river Euphrates, the region from which Avraham stemmed. אחי יפת הגדול “the brother of the senior Yephet.” It is the custom of the Torah to relate the younger brother always by comparing him to the oldest, not to the one who had been born immediately after to him. This is why we have the prophetess Miriam described as Aaron’s sister and not as Moses’ sister (Exodus 15,20) The reason why this comparison is mentioned altogether, is to inform us that his distinguished brother was equal to him, and that Shem’s being mentioned last does not suggest that he was less distinguished or worthy of mention. Cham was certainly not more distinguished than Shem. [this too is the commentary by Nachmanides. Ed] Personally, I believe that the word הגדול in our verse is an adjective that applies to Shem, [he was the “great one”] i.e. he was senior to Yephet, Cham being the youngest, although he was listed in an order that suggests otherwise. It is the custom of the Torah to apply the adjective to the party or object that serves as the immediately preceding subject.
The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram.
verse value 1969
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "Shem" (שֵׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Arpachshad" (וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁ֖ד, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Asshur" (וְאַשּׁ֑וּר), "and·Lud" (וְל֥וּד), "and·Aram" (וַֽאֲרָֽם). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root עילם ("Elam") in Genesis. First appearance of the root ארפכשד ("and·Arpachshad") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Asshur', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + שֵׁ֖ם [Shem] (340) + עֵילָ֣ם [Elam] (150) + וְאַשּׁ֑וּר [and·Asshur] (513) + וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁ֖ד [and·Arpachshad] (611) + וְל֥וּד [and·Lud] (46) + וַֽאֲרָֽם [and·Aram] (247) = 1969.
Onkelos
The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram.
And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
verse value 1480
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 21 letters. The shortest word is "Aram" (אֲרָ֑ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֖י, 4 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Hul" (וְח֖וּל), "and·Gether" (וְגֶ֥תֶר), "and·Mash" (וָמַֽשׁ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root עוץ ("Uz") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Aram', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + אֲרָ֑ם [Aram] (241) + ע֥וּץ [Uz] (166) + וְח֖וּל [and·Hul] (50) + וְגֶ֥תֶר [and·Gether] (609) + וָמַֽשׁ [and·Mash] (346) = 1480.
Onkelos
And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
And Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber.
verse value 2455
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (יָלַ֣ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Arpachshad" (וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁ֖ד, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 44: begot, begot. The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "Shelah" (root שלח, 72x in Genesis); "Eber" (root עבר, 31x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shelah', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁ֖ד [and·Arpachshad] (611) + יָלַ֣ד [begot] (44) + אֶת־שָׁ֑לַח [Shelah] (739) + וְשֶׁ֖לַח [and·Shelah] (344) + יָלַ֥ד [begot] (44) + אֶת־עֵֽבֶר [Eber] (673) = 2455.
Onkelos
And Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber.
And to Eber were born two sons; the name of the one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
verse value 2387 — הָֽאֶחָ֞ד = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "the·one" (הָֽאֶחָ֞ד) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "name" (שֵׁ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·Eber" (וּלְעֵ֥בֶר, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·to·Eber" (וּלְעֵ֥בֶר), "Peleg" (פֶּ֗לֶג), "in·his·days" (בְיָמָיו֙). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "sons" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "was·born" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פלג ("Peleg") in Genesis. First appearance of the root יקטן ("Joktan") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sons', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 10 words. Full calculation: וּלְעֵ֥בֶר [and·to·Eber] (308) + יֻלַּ֖ד [was·born] (44) + שְׁנֵ֣י [two] (360) + בָנִ֑ים [sons] (102) + שֵׁ֣ם [name] (340) + הָֽאֶחָ֞ד [the·one] (18) + פֶּ֗לֶג [Peleg] (113) + כִּ֤י [for] (30) + בְיָמָיו֙ [in·his·days] (68) + נִפְלְגָ֣ה [was·divided] (168) + הָאָ֔רֶץ [the·land] (296) + וְשֵׁ֥ם [and·the·name·of] (346) + אָחִ֖יו [his·brother] (25) + יׇקְטָֽן [Joktan] (169) = 2387.
Onkelos
And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and the name of his brother was Joktan.
Rashi
נפלגה [THE EARTH] WAS DIVIDED — The languages became confounded and they (the peoples) were scattered abroad from the plain of Shinar, and were dispersed throughout the whole world. We may learn from this that Eber was a prophet, for he gave his son the name פלג, “division” after an event which was to happen in the future (Genesis Rabbah 37:7). For we learn in Seder Olam that it was during the last of his days that they were dispersed abroad. For if you argue that this happened early in his life (and that therefore he was not anticipating the future in so naming his son, but that the name referred to an event that had already happened), behold, his brother Joktan was younger than he and he had begotten many families previous to the dispersion, as it is said (10:26) “And Joktan begot etc.” and only afterwards is it stated “And the whole earth was etc.” (with reference to the dispersion). If, on the other hand, you argue that the dispersal happened in the middle period of his life, then I reply that the verse surely does not intend to refer to the time when the dispersion took place in an indefinite manner, but to state quite definitely when it was. Hence you may learn that it was in the year of Peleg’s death that they were dispersed. יקטן JOKTAN — He was so called (“the little one”) because he was so humble and thought little (ומקטין) of himself; therefore he merited the privilege of rearing all these families (Genesis Rabbah 37:7).
Sforno
For in his days the earth was dispersed. Eiver named his son in anticipation of the dispersion (palaga) so that later generations would realize why their life expectancy was drastically reduced from Peleg’s time onward. It was in fact a consequence of the dispersion, since rapid changes of climate have a deleterious affect on human health.
Chizkuni
פלג, כי בימיו נפלגה הארץ, “Peleg,” so called as during his lifetime the population of the earth was split up. According to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, Bereshit Rabbah 37,7, states that former generations who had been endowed with holy spirit were able to name their children in a manner that reflected important acts that they would perform in the future, whereas we who have not been enabled to “make use of holy spirit” and who did not know i.e. we did not witness the deeds which made our forefathers famous, (as the lifespan had been so drastically curtailed) must name our children after our ancestors in order to keep alive at least some knowledge of their importance during their lifetime. [This is how this editor understands the commentary by maharzu on this passage of the Midrash. Ed.] נפלגה הארץ, literally: “the earth was divided;” a reference to people’s lifespans having been halved. Careful analysis of the text will show that up until the birth of Peleg, people appear to have lived for 400 years, whereas starting with him they did not live to be much more than 200 year old.
Cross-references: I Chronicles 1:5; Genesis 11:1-9
And Joktan fathered Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah;
verse value 3298
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (יָלַ֔ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Hazarmaveth" (וְאֶת־חֲצַרְמָ֖וֶת, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Joktan" (וְיׇקְטָ֣ן), "Almodad" (אֶת־אַלְמוֹדָ֖ד), "and·Sheleph" (וְאֶת־שָׁ֑לֶף). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Sheleph', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְיׇקְטָ֣ן [and·Joktan] (175) + יָלַ֔ד [begot] (44) + אֶת־אַלְמוֹדָ֖ד [Almodad] (486) + וְאֶת־שָׁ֑לֶף [and·Sheleph] (817) + וְאֶת־חֲצַרְמָ֖וֶת [and·Hazarmaveth] (1151) + וְאֶת־יָֽרַח [and·Jerah] (625) = 3298.
Onkelos
And Joktan fathered Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah.
Rashi
חצרמות He was so called (Court of Death) after his city. So is the statement of the Agada (Genesis Rabbah 37:8).
Targum Yonatan
And Joktan begat Elmodad, who measured (or lined) the earth with lines; and Shaleph, who led forth the waters of rivers, and Chatsarmaveth, and Jarach, and.
Verse structure: 3 words, 22 letters. The shortest word is "and·Uzal" (וְאֶת־אוּזָ֖ל, 7 letters) and the longest is "and·Hadoram" (וְאֶת־הֲדוֹרָ֥ם, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Hadoram" (וְאֶת־הֲדוֹרָ֥ם), "and·Uzal" (וְאֶת־אוּזָ֖ל), "and·Diklah" (וְאֶת־דִּקְלָֽה). 3 unique roots are used. Full calculation: וְאֶת־הֲדוֹרָ֥ם [and·Hadoram] (662) + וְאֶת־אוּזָ֖ל [and·Uzal] (451) + וְאֶת־דִּקְלָֽה [and·Diklah] (546) = 1659.
Verse structure: 3 words, 22 letters. Verse gematria: 1716 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·Sheba" (וְאֶת־שְׁבָֽא, 6 letters) and the longest is "and·Abimael" (וְאֶת־אֲבִֽימָאֵ֖ל, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Obal" (וְאֶת־עוֹבָ֥ל), "and·Abimael" (וְאֶת־אֲבִֽימָאֵ֖ל), "and·Sheba" (וְאֶת־שְׁבָֽא). 3 unique roots are used. Full calculation: וְאֶת־עוֹבָ֥ל [and·Obal] (515) + וְאֶת־אֲבִֽימָאֵ֖ל [and·Abimael] (491) + וְאֶת־שְׁבָֽא [and·Sheba] (710) = 1716.
and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.
verse value 1904 — כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Havilah" (וְאֶת־חֲוִילָ֖ה, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·Ophir" (וְאֶת־אוֹפִ֥ר), "and·Havilah" (וְאֶת־חֲוִילָ֖ה), "and·Jobab" (וְאֶת־יוֹבָ֑ב). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root יובב ("and·Jobab") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Jobab', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאֶת־אוֹפִ֥ר [and·Ophir] (694) + וְאֶת־חֲוִילָ֖ה [and·Havilah] (466) + וְאֶת־יוֹבָ֑ב [and·Jobab] (427) + כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה [all·these] (86) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + יׇקְטָֽן [Joktan] (169) = 1904.
Onkelos
And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab — all these are the sons of Joktan.
And their dwelling was from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, to the mountain of the east.
verse value 1527
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "mountain" (הַ֥ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "their·settlements" (מוֹשָׁבָ֖ם, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "their·settlements" (מוֹשָׁבָ֖ם), "from·Mesha" (מִמֵּשָׁ֑א), "Sephar" (סְפָ֖רָה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "as·far·as" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "mountain" (root הר, 24x in Genesis). First appearance of the root מושב ("their·settlements") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·Mesha', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֥י [and·it·was] (31) + מוֹשָׁבָ֖ם [their·settlements] (388) + מִמֵּשָׁ֑א [from·Mesha] (381) + בֹּאֲכָ֥ה [as·far·as] (28) + סְפָ֖רָה [Sephar] (345) + הַ֥ר [mountain] (205) + הַקֶּֽדֶם [the·east] (149) = 1527.
Onkelos
And their dwelling place was from Mesha, extending toward Sephar, the eastern mountain.
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
verse value 3013 — אֵ֣לֶּה = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "by·their·clans" (לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "sons·of·Shem" (בְנֵי־שֵׁ֔ם), "by·their·nations" (לְגוֹיֵהֶֽם). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·their·lands" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "sons·of·Shem" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·their·languages', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: אֵ֣לֶּה [these] (36) + בְנֵי־שֵׁ֔ם [sons·of·Shem] (402) + לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם [by·their·clans] (898) + לִלְשֹׁנֹתָ֑ם [by·their·languages] (850) + בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖ם [in·their·lands] (733) + לְגוֹיֵהֶֽם [by·their·nations] (94) = 3013.
Onkelos
These are the sons of Shem, by their families, by their languages, in their lands, among their nations.
These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations; and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
verse value 3031 — אֵ֣לֶּה = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֣לֶּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "by·their·generations" (לְתוֹלְדֹתָ֖ם, 7 letters). The root אלה appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "sons·of·Noah" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שפחה ("the·clans·of") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·their·nations', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: אֵ֣לֶּה [these] (36) + מִשְׁפְּחֹ֧ת [the·clans·of] (828) + בְּנֵי־נֹ֛חַ [sons·of·Noah] (120) + לְתוֹלְדֹתָ֖ם [by·their·generations] (910) + בְּגוֹיֵהֶ֑ם [by·their·nations] (66) + וּמֵאֵ֜לֶּה [and·from·these] (82) + נִפְרְד֧וּ [branched·out] (340) + הַגּוֹיִ֛ם [the·nations] (64) + בָּאָ֖רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + אַחַ֥ר [after] (209) + הַמַּבּֽוּל [the·flood] (83) = 3031.
Onkelos
These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, among their nations; and from these the nations were divided upon the earth after the Flood.
Chizkuni
אלה משפחות בני נח, “these are the families of Noach’s sons;” in this paragraph we find 70 descendants; 14 descendants of Yephet; 30 of Cham, and 26 of Shem. These are the founding fathers of the famous “70 nations” of the earth. All the nations that stem from them bear the names of these founding fathers. For instance: We read already in Genesis 4,17 when the first city was built by Kayin for his son, that he named the city after his son. Compare Psalms: 49,12 בשמותם עלי אדמות, “after the names of those who had been famous on earth.”
Onkelos
Ramban
Rabbeinu Bahya
Tur HaArokh