The Story of Man: March 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Ice Age

What does the worldview of naturalism tell us about the ice age(s)?

Secular scientists tell us that there were five periods of ice, but only the last appears in mankind’s history. It is considered to be one ice age with multiple glaciations. The ice advanced and retreated as many as 40 times. This is the Pleistocene era on your geological time scale chart and it supposedly began about 2-2.5 million years ago, reached a peak at about 18,000 years ago, and ended about 10,000-12,000 years ago.
The ice age caused a lot of water to be tied up in ice, lowering the sea level dramatically. When the ice melted, then the sea level rose
The cause of the ice age is global cooling with lower temperatures at the earth’s surface and in the atmosphere.

There is no question that ice once covered large parts of North America, northern Europe, and northwest Asia, as well as areas of mountains where no ice exists today. The evidence is there. But secular scientists have presented no satisfactory theory that accounts for this history of glaciation that is evident on earth.

What is needed is to look at the evidence with different eyeglasses, to use different assumptions, and thus get a different interpretation of the evidence.

But first we need to determine what conditions are needed in order develop an ice age. Surprisingly, secular and creationist scientists now agree on the climate change that is needed to produce and maintain ice sheets.

Snow must survive the summers
Enough snow has to fall in the winter to survive to the following year.

Next we need to determine what circumstances might allow these conditions to exist.

Warmer oceans would cause greater evaporation and hence greater precipitation.
Cooler continents encourage snowfall.
Reducing the amount of sunlight reaching earth’s surface by volcanism, greater cloudiness, or reduced carbon dioxide levels.
Reflect more of the sunlight off the earth’s surface into the atmosphere.

Because these circumstances cannot be found in the uniformitarian, secular view of science and history, we must look for a time of catastrophe that gives us these circumstances…and that is after the flood.

The floodgates of heaven and the fountains of the great deep added huge amounts of warm water to the existing seas, leaving a nice warm ocean.
The continental land masses that emerged from the waters of the flood were barren which would cause greater reflection of the sun’s radiation once the snow begins.
Volcanism was a major feature of the late flood times and the times soon after the flood. This left large amounts of dust and gasses in the atmosphere.
While volcanoes add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, those levels would rapidly drop as a new equilibrium is developed between the atmosphere and the oceans.
Winds begin as the continents are exposed, and the storm tracks are established.

Now everything is set up for the beginning of an ice age caused by the Genesis flood. The higher latitude continents will experience the first snow. This will happen to the north of the storm tracks and in mountainous regions. Lowlands near the warm oceans remain ice-free.

As the ice age progresses:

Volcanism decreases.
Oceans cool as circulation begins. Surface water cools and sinks. Warmer water rises to the surface, cools, and sinks. As this circulation continues, the overall ocean temperature drops.
Snow develops over large areas all at one time, rather than in small areas that spread out.
Snow and ice builds up and extends further. The climate of the time is unexpected (at least to us…to a meteorologist it would be expected.) Winters would be warmer than today and summers cooler. Ice sheets experienced a temperate, wet climate, and would move quickly.
East Asia remains ice-free because of a combination of warm oceans, storm tracks, and geography.
The regions south of the ice sheets, under and south of the storm tracks, experienced wet climates with heavy precipitation. There is extensive evidence for this, including plant and animal remains. Today these regions are largely desert. Under the sands of the Sahara are lake and river beds that indicate rainfall hundreds of times greater than today. In our area of the high great plains, precipitation was likely three times greater than today.
As more water is tied up in ice, the sea level drops. This is compounded by the fact that the continental land masses were still rising (As a matter of fact, they still are today.)
In the areas where large ice sheets develop, the land underneath is pushed back down by the weight of the ice, reducing the net drop in sea level for those areas.

Glacial Maximum is the time when the snow and ice reached its maximum total volume

Sea level would be at its lowest. This would be about 200-300 feet lower than today.
Ice depth would be at its greatest This would be about 2150 feet in the northern hemisphere and 3700 feet in Antarctica.
Ocean temperatures would have cooled dramatically to temperatures close to today’s.

I have to be honest here…the calculations and formulas used to estimate the time to reach this point are far too complex for me to understand, let alone be able to be coherent in communicating them to you. So you just get the results. ;) But that’s all you want to hear anyway, right?

The range of time to reach glacial maximum would be 174 to 1765 years. Using reasonable figures for the variables in the formulas tells us that 500 to 700 years would be a reasonable estimate for the time it takes to reach glacial maximum.

De-glaciation occurs when all of our circumstances that built ice are gone.

Ocean temperatures are close to freezing at the surface, less evaporation occurs, less clouds form, hence…the ice sheets begin to melt.
We also see a change in climate. Winter temperatures get colder, summer temperatures get warmer, storms are windier and drier.
As a result, the Arctic Ocean begins to freeze.
Also as a result, the areas south of the ice sheets begin to dry, and deserts begin to form.
Greenland and Antarctica will retain their ice sheets. Altitude, latitude, storms, and proximity to moisture will maintain those ice sheets.
As melting occurs, the sea level would rise by 200-300 feet.
The land previously covered by ice would rebound upward as the weight of the ice is removed. (As a matter of fact, Canada is still rebounding today.) The NET change in sea level in the areas that were covered by ice is about 100-125 feet higher.

The time required for de-glaciation is similarly short…only 200-300 years would be required to completely melt the ice.

Have I surprised you a bit? I know I was more than surprised!

Why does this disagree so dramatically from the naturalistic worldview?

Their time estimates for the latest glacial period is about 2 to 2.5 million years long. But their estimates are based only on their expanded time frame not on any physical principles. The math and science of building the ice sheets cannot sustain the idea of 2 million years.

What about mammoths and mastodons and saber-tooth tigers? They all appear to become extinct at this time.

They weren’t killed in the flood because they aren’t in flood deposits.
They didn’t die in the ice age because of cold temperatures because the glacial time wasn’t that cold.
They actually thrived in the ice age because the climate was wetter with milder winters. The fossils of the animals found living with these animals (like hippos and rhinos and alligators) confirms this.
But when the ice sheets began melting and the arctic began freezing and the storms got drier and windier…
The climate cooled dramatically and quickly. This condition is called The Big Chill.
These large animals were stressed by these conditions. Many escaped, some didn’t.

The Table of Nations part 4

The Nations of Ham

Ham The father of the Hamitic nations. A historian of several hundred years ago commented that Ham and his family were nomads, and that they ignored the true worship of God and invented heathenism, worship of false gods and of Satan.

Sons of Ham

Cush The name of Cush (rendered Chus in Josephus) is preserved in Egypt’s hieroglyphic inscriptions as Kush, and refer to the country that lays between the 2nd and 3rd cataracts of the Nile. Josephus notes that Cush ruled over the Ethiopians and that they are called Cushites. The land was later known as Nubia. Additional information on this location is gleaned from the records of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria (681-668 BC), who tells us that he made himself king of Musur, of Paturisi, and of Cush. Some have claimed also that the name of Cush was perpetuated in that of the Babylonian city of Kish, one of the earliest cities to be built after the Flood.
Mizraim A collective name, these people settled in Egypt. Modern Israelis still use the name for that country. It is preserved as Msrm in the Ugaritic inscriptions; as Misri in the Amarna tablets; and in the Assyrian and Babylonian records as Musur and Musri respectively. Modern Arabs still know it as Misr. Josephus (rendering the name Mesraites) relates that in the Ethiopic War, a well-known incident of the ancient world, some six or seven nations descended from the Mizraim were destroyed. He lists these as the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim.
Put The country where his descendants settled lies in the proximity of Cyrenaica, on the North African coast west of Egypt. An inscription in the archives of Darius the Great, king of Persia (522-486 BC) confirms their location. Egyptian records render the name Put or Punt; Josephus renders it Phut. This land was known as Puta to the Babylonians and as Putiya in Old Persian inscriptions.
Canaan The descendants of Canaan settled in the land that was later to be given to Israel. At the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan, the population consisted of all the tribes descended from Canaan. The Greeks and Phoenicians rendered the name Kna’an, the Egyptians Kn’nw and Kyn’n.w. The Assyrians rendered the name Kinnahu and the Hurrians described certain dyed cloths as Kinahne or Canaanite cloth. In spite of their Hamitic descent, however, the Canaanites spoke a Semitic language.

Sons of Cush

Sebah He founded the nation that was later known as the Sabaeans. Strabo writes of their city of Sabai along with its harbour of Saba, which lay on the west coast of the Arabian peninsula. Josephus has the same spelling.
Havilah This is the Hamitic tribe of Havilah, not to be confused with the Semitic Havilah. His descendants settled on the east coast of Arabia looking out onto the Persian Gulf. Their land was known to the pre-Islamic writers as Hawlan, and to Josephus as Evilas. Kautsch renders the name as Huwailah, and confirms the location of settlement.
Sabta Josephus records the name of his descendants as the Sabteni or Sabathes. Ptolemy knew them as the Saptha, and Pliny called them the Messabathi. They settled on the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula. Sabta’s name is also preserved in that of the ancient city of Shabwat (modern Sabota), the capital of the Hadramaut.
Raamah We know from the inscriptions of ancient Sheba that Raamah’s descendants settled near to the land of Havilah, and to the east of Ophir. They are known from other sources to have traded with the children of Zidon in the city of Tyre. Ptolemy agreed with the Septuagint in the name Ragma, which Josephus rendered Ragmas. There is still a place called Raamah near Ma’in in southwest Arabia.
Sabtecha Identified by Josephus s the Sabactens or Sabactas, his descendants appear to have settles in southern Arabia, the modern Yemen.
Nimrod Nimrod was undoubtedly the most notorious man in the ancient world who is credited with instigating the Great Rebellion at Babel, and of founding the very worst features of paganism, including the practice of magical arts, astrology, and even human sacrifice. Moreover, there is much evidence to suggest that he himself was worshipped from the very earliest times. His name, for example, was perpetuated in those of Nimurda, the Assyrian god of war; Marduk, the Babylonian king of the gods; and the Sumerian deity Amar-utu. Nimrod was also worshipped by the Romans under the name of Bacchus, this name derived from Bar-Cush, the son of Cush. A mountain not far from Ararat has been called Nimrud Dagh (Mount Nimrod) from the earliest times and the ruins of Birs Nimrud bear the remains of what is commonly reputed to be the original Tower of Babel. The Caspian Sea was once called the Mar de Bachu, or Sea of Bacchus. One of the chief cities of Assyria was named Nimrud, and the Plain of Shinar was itself known as the Land of Nimrod. Iraqi and Iranian Arabs still speak his name with awe.

Sons of Mizraim

Ludim Seemingly known in later records as the Lubim (which Josephus rendered Ludieim) this people settled on the north coast of Africa and gave their name to the land of Lybia. They are known to have provided Egypt on more than one occasion with mercenary troops. The records that tell us this give the Ludim’s name as Lebu. Otherwise, Josephus records their defeat in the Ethiopic War.
Anamim Few occurrences of this name can now be found in the surviving records. This may be due to the devastations of the Ethiopic War. However, the Assyrian king, Sargon II, does tell us in his inscriptions of the land of the A-na-mi which lay adjacent to that of Kaptara. Josephus rendered the name Enemim.
Lehabim The Egyptians recorded this name as ’rbw’ and Josephus as Lybyos, although it is uncertain where they settled. Some authorities give Lybia as their country. This people were destroyed in the Ethiopic War.
Naphtuhim This people are known to have settled in the Nile delta and the western parts of Egypt, where early records refer to them as the p’t’mhw—literally, they of the delta or marshland. Their name also appears as Na-patoh-im in the same records. Their destruction in the Ethiopic War is also recorded by Josephus.
Pathrusim The people of this name migrated to Upper Egypt, where the Egyptians recorded their name as the p’t’rs or Ptores. Josephus records their name as Phethrosim. The district of Pathros thus bears their name. Esarhaddon, king of Assyria (681-668 BC) records his conquest of the Paturisi, thus showing that this particular tribe at least were not totally destroyed in the Ethiopic War as asserted by Josephus.
Casluhim The precise whereabouts of their country is uncertain, although Genesis records that the Philistines came from this people. Come cite Crete as their possible place of settlement, others the northern areas of Egypt. The latter seems more likely in that this tribe is reported destroyed in the Ethiopic War by Josephus. Josephus gives their name as the Chesloim.
Caphtorim Some disagreement has also reigned over this tribe’s location as well. This is due to the modernist efforts to identify Caphtor as Crete. Genesis gives their place of settlement as Egypt, where their name is rendered Keftiu in a record dated 2200 BC. Josephus relates their involvement and defeat (he names them Cephtorim) in the Ethiopic War. Jeremiah 47:4 describes the Philistines as the ‘remnant of the country of Caphtor’ thus implying that by his own day the Caphtorim were a depleted nation. There is also a strong link between this ai-Kaphtor of the Old Testament and the Aiguptos (Egypt) of ancient Greek literature. They are called Kaptara by the Assyrians, and ’kptr’ by Ugaritic inscriptions. Later Egyptian records speak of the ’kftyw’ or Kaphtur, a term used in relation to Phoenicia, not Crete. Intriguingly, the Septuagint translates the name Kaphtoriim in Genesis 10:14, while Deuteronomy 2:23 renders the name Kappadokes or Cappadocians. The Latin Vulgate does the same. Cappadocia refers to mainland Asia Minor.

Sons of Canaan

Zidon He settled, with his descendants, on the Mediterranean coast of Canaan, where his name is still perpetuated in the modern-day city of Sidon. Originally known as Zidonians, his descendants were later known as Phoenicians. They are known to us from many and various inscription of the old world, the Akkadians rendering the name as Sidunu, the Armana tablets as Sa’idunu. Josephus rendered the name Sidonius.
Heth Heth was the progenitor of the Hittite nation, whose name was known to the Assyrians as the Khatti. The Hittites were apparently the first nation to smelt iron on any appreciable scale. The Armana tablets contain letters that were sent between the Hittite emperor Subbiluliuma and Amenhotep IV of Egypt. Rameses II tells us how he engaged the Hittites in what was the earliest recorded battle involving massed battle chariots. This was the famous battle of Kadesh, and it appears that the Hittites got the better of the Egyptian forces. Heth’s name was perpetuated in the Hittite capital of Hattushash, modern Boghazkoy in Turkey.
Jebusite The descendants of Jebus (whom Josephus knew as Jebuseus) settled in the mountainous regions of Judea where, due to their strong and natural fortifications, they were able to withstand the armies of Israel. Their chief city was later known as Jerusalem, the Urusalimmu of the Armana tablets.
Amorite Known to the Sumerians as the Martu, and to the Akkadians as the Amurru, this people settled in the land of Canaan. They appear to have initially adopted a nomadic way of life, although they were soon to organize themselves into a very powerful and aggressive nation. Indeed, the Amorites were later to conquer Babylonia, subsequently producing one of the most famous of Babylonian kings, Hammurabi. Josephus knew the name as Ammorreus.
Girgashite Their name has been discovered in the Ugaritic inscriptions as ’grgs’ and ’bn-grgs’, or Girgash and the sons of Girgash. They are also known to us in Hittite documents as the Karkisa or Qaraqisha; and in Egyptian records as the Kirkash. They settled to the east of the river Jordan, between Galilee and the Dead Sea, and their descendants are probably to be identified with the Gadarenes of the New Testament. Josephus rendered the name Gergesus.
Hivite Known to the ancient Greeks as the Heuaios, and to Josephus as Eueus, this people moved from Canaan to the foothills of Lebanon during the Israelite conquest under Joshua. King Solomon later used Hivites as builders.
Arkite These people come to our notice in the inscriptions of Shalmaneser II and Tiglth-Pileser III, both kings of Assyria, and both of whom describe the Arkites as ‘rebellious’. The Arkites were known also to the Egyptians and are mentioned in the Armana tablets as the Irkata. They were known for their worship of Astarte. Their city is known to this day as tel-Arqa, a place known to Thutmose III of Egypt as Arkantu. Josephus calls it Arucas, and it was known to the Romans as Caesari Libani.
Sinite The name of this people is still to be found in the modern-day towns of Nahr as-Sinn and Sinn addarb, which are both in close prozimity to Arqa. The Phoenicians knew the Sinites as the Usnu; the Assyrians called them the Usana and Siannu; and the Ugaritic tablets refer to them as ’sn’. Strabo called their town Sinna, Heironymous rendered it civitas Sini, and Josephus as Sineus.
Arvadite This people settled on the island that bore their founder’s name, Arvad. Today it is called Ruad and lies north of the bay of Tripoli about two miles out to sea. The Arvadites were famed in the old world for their skillful seamanship, drawing for this even the grudging admiration of the Assyrians. Later the Arvadites were to play an important part in the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Arvadites were known in the Armana tablets as the Arwada or Aruadi, to the Akkadians as the Aruda, and to Josephus as Arudeus.
Zemarite The descendants of Zemar were known to the Assyrians as the Simirra, and to the Egyptians as the Sumur. The name is still perpetuated in the modern city of Sumra, just north of Tripoli.
Hamathite The city where this people settled lay on the Orontes, and was named after their forbear, Hamath. Sargon II of Assyria tells us how he conquered the city, and it was at Hamath that Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptian armies in 605 BC. The city was known to the Akkadians as Amatu, to the Egyptians as Hmtu, and to the Arabs as Hamat. The Greeks and Romans later knew the city as Epiphaneia, although today it has reverted to its ancient name, Hamah. In 853 BC the men of Hamath were able to successfully defeat Assyrian advances in the west by mobilizing an army of 63,000 foot, 2,000 light horse, 4,000 battle chariots and 1,000 camels!

Sons of Raamah

Sheba Minaean inscriptions from the north Yemen, and which date to the 9th century BC, tell us that Sheba was that kingdom’s southern neighbor. The land of Sheba is also known to us from Assyrian inscriptions of the 8th century BC. Sheba was famous as the Land of Spices (it was one of four ‘spice kingdoms’, with Minaea, Kataban, and Hadramaut). We know from the vast archaeological ruins that the land was extremely fertile, being watered by ingenious irrigation systems controlled by a great dam that once spanned the river Adhanat. In the year 542 BC, the dam collapsed after more than a thousand years of service.
Dedan His descendants are known to have traded with the Phoenicians. Identified from various cuneiform inscriptions, their main place of settlement was the city that is known today as Al-ula, and which lies 70 miles southwest of modern Taima.

Son of Casluhim

Philistim Better known to us as the Philistines, they were known to the Assyrians as the Palashtu and the Pilisti, and to the Greeks as the Palastine—hence the later name of Palestine. After the Assyrian conquests of the 8th century BC, they effectively disappear as a coherent nation. Genesis states that they occupied parts of Canaan at least as early as the time of Abraham and is likely that their origin is northern Egypt. This would be in opposition to the view of some historians that they did not appear until much later and that they are the ‘Sea People’ whose origin is Crete.

The Table of Nations part 3

The Nations of Shem

Shem The father of all the Semitic nations.

Sons of Shem

Elam The founder of the Elamites, who were known to the Babylonians as the Elamtu, to the Greeks as Elymais, and whom the Romans knew as the Elymaei. The Elamites recorded their own name as the Haltamti. Subsequently, in the Old Persian inscriptions their name is rendered (h)uju, and huz in the Middle Persian, which is the archaic form of the modern Persian name of Khuzistan, which now covers what used to be the land of Elam.
Asshur The founder of the nation to whom he gave his name, Assyria. It may be possible to identify Asshur in the early king-lists of Assyria as Puzur Asshur I. According to these lists, Puzur Asshur I would have lived and reigned ca 1960 BC, which accords rather well with the biblical chronology. Asshur was one of the earliest men to be deified and worshipped by his descendants. Indeed, as long as Assyria lasted, that is until 612 BC, accounts of battles, diplomatic affairs and foreign bulletins were daily read out to his image and every Assyrian king held that he wore the crown only with the express permission of Asshur’s deified ghost.
Arphaxad He was the progenitor of the Chaldeans, his name, apparently, corresponding to that of arp-keshed, the border marches of Chaldea. That he was indeed the forebear of the Chaldeans is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, which render the name as Arip-hurra—the founder of Chaldea. The name was also known to the Akkadians as Arraphu. The Assyrians knew his descendants as the Kaldu, who were adept astrologers, magicians, and mathematicians. Ptolemy recorded the name of their land as Arrapichitis, known to others as Arphaxitis. Their very earliest settlement, however, would appear to be what is today a 2½ acre ruin that still bears the name Aspachiya. It lies some four miles to the east of ancient Ninevah, and is the remains of a very early farming community.
Lud The early descendants of Lud, the Ludim, were known to both the Assyrians and Babylonians as the Ludu. Josephus tells us that their land was later known as Lydia (a Greek derivation of the name Lud) which lay in western Asia Minor. (Josephus rendered the name Laud.) The Lydians were famed in the old world for the skill of their archers. They spoke an Indo-European (Japhetic) language, examples of which are to be found on certain Egyptian monuments. The land of Lydia was finally conquered by Cyrus, king of Persia, in the year 546 BC.
Aram He was the founder of the Aramaeans, known to the Akkadians as the Aramu, but who were later known to the Greeks as the Syrians. In an Assyrian inscription of Tiglath-pileser I, from ca 1100 BC, the Aramaeans are depicted as living to the east of the river Tigris. By the time of Tiglath-pileser III, however, some 400 years later, they were living all over Mesopotamia. After this they settled to the west, occupying roughly the same area that makes up modern Syria. A clay tablet from Ur bears the name of Aramu, and it is of interest to note that Aramaic is still spoken today.

Son of Arphaxad

Shelah This name has not yet been located in secular sources, although Josephus renders the name Sala.

Sons of Aram

Uz There is still considerable disagreement as to the precise area in which the descendants of Uz settled, and given the somewhat nomadic nature of the Aramaeans, this is hardly surprising. Northern Arabia, between Babylon and Edom, seems to be the most likely area of settlement. Josephus identifies it as the classical Trachonitis.
Hul His descendants settled to the north of the Sea of Galilee, where they gave their name to the lake and vale of Huleh (the biblical Waters of Merom, which were known to Josephus as Ul). The modern Israelis know the place under its ancient name of the vale of Hula. The lake of Hula is formed by the accumulation of water from the two sources of the Jordan before beginning their descent to Galilee.
Gether His descendants settled to the south of Damascus. Known to Josephus as Gather, he identifies them as the latter-day Bactrians, famous amongst other things for a breed of camel. Whether this identification is correct or not cannot now be determined. It should, however, be noted that Bactria was populated by Aryan, or Japhetic, tribes in late Assyrian times.
Mash The Akkadians rendered the name Mashu, which in turn was known to the Egyptians as Mshr. It was also rendered Mishal, all of which names referred to a people that dwelt in Lebanon. However, in 1 Chronicles 1:17, the name is rendered Meshech, and this should not be confused with the Japhitic Meshech, as did Josephus.

Son of Shelah

Eber Known to Josephus as Heber, he gave his name to the Hebrew race. Some have tried to identify him with Ebru, king of Ebla, but this is unlikely on both chronological and ethnic grounds. The attempt to identify the children of Eber with the Habiru of the Egyptian chronicles may also be somewhat forced, although it is fair to add that, although we tend today to think only of the Jewish nation as Hebrews, in fact all of Eber’s descendants, technically speaking, would have been Hebrew also, the Joktanite Arabs included.

Sons of Eber

Peleg Genesis tells us that in his day the earth was divided. The meaning of his name, as rendered in Hebrew, corresponds exactly with the Akkadian noun pulukku, which means a dividing up of territory by means of boundaries and borders (the Akkadian verb for ‘to divide’ is palaku). Likewise, the Assyrian word, palgu, refers to the dividing up of land by canals and irrigation systems. It is in this sense that the Hebrew word peleg is used in Job 29:6 and 38:5. The man named Peleg (whose name is Phaleg in Josephus), was so named , however, after the division and scattering of the nations from Babel. In fact, one of the ancient names of Babylon (Babel) is nowadays translated as ‘the place of canals’, or ‘the place of division’, or even the place of Peleg. There is an ancient city that bore the name of Peleg, the Akkadian town of Phalgu, whose ruins lie at the junction of the Euphrates and Chaboras (Chebar) rivers.
Joktan The progenitor of no less than thirteen southern Arabian tribes, he is remembered amongst modern Arabs as Yaqtan. Only the purest Arabs, it is still maintained, are those Semitic Arabs descended from Joktan; while Hamitic Arabs are referred to somewhat disdainfully as Musta’rabs, pretended Arabs. Joktan’s name is preserved in that of the ancient town of Jectan near present-day Mecca. Josephus knew him is Joctan.

Son of Peleg

Reu This name appears as a personal name in Akkadian records where it is rendered Ra’u. The early Greeks knew it a Ragau, as did Josephus. Reu was to give his name to an island in the Euphrates that lies just below the city of Anat, and which the Akkadians knew as Ra’ilu. It was known to the Greeks as Ragu.

Sons of Joktan

Almodad Some give Almodad’s name as meaning ‘the agitator’, which, if correct, hides what is mo doubt a most interesting background. The name is certainly Arabic, his descendants being known to early Arab historians as the al-Morad tribe, who are seemingly to be identified with the Gebonites. The name is rendered Elmodad in Josephus. Their precise area of settlement cannot now be determined.
Sheleph Rendered Saleph in Josephus, the name is that of a southern Arabian tribe who were known to the pre-Islamic Arabs as the Salif. They were a Yemeni tribe whose capital, Sulaf, lay some sixty miles north of present-day San’a.
Hazarmaveth Known as Asermoth in Josephus, his descendants populated the 200 mile long valley that runs parallel to the southern coast of Arabia. It is known to this day as the Hadramaut, a direct transposition into Arabic of the name Ahzarmaveth. In pre-Islamic inscriptions, the name is variously rendered hdrmt and hdrmwt. Strabo tells us that the tribe of Hazarmaveth was one of the four main tribes of Arabs in his day. The name seems to mean ‘town of death’, although we can now only ponder the possible tragedy that lies behind it.
Jerah There lies, on the shores of Galilee, a ruined mound that is named Beth-Yerah, the house of Jerah, although this may not refer to the subject here. It is more likely that his descendants migrated into the southern regions of Arabia. Indeed, the Arab city that bore Jerah’s name, and which was rendered by Ptolemy as Jerakon Kome, lay on the Mara coast close to the Hadramaut. The name appears as Jera in Josephus and as Yarki in the inscriptions of Ashurbanipal.
Hadoram Rendered Adoram in Josephus, it is that of a southern Arabian tribe, the name of whose town appears a s Hurarina (Haroram) in the inscriptions of Ashurbanipal. It lay close to Yarki.
Uzal Arab historians render the name as Azal, Josephus gives Aizel, and it is the ancient, pre-Islamic name for the city of San’a, the modern capital of the Yemen. Uzal’s descendants are still doubtless thriving in the area. The Assyrians knew the tribe of Uzal as the Azalla.
Diklah The name Diklah appears in Akkadian records as Diklat, the Aramaeans knew it as Diklath, and the Assyrians gave it as Idiklat, all of which transpose into Greek as Tigris, the name of the valley and river that cuts through Mesopotamia. Josephus renders it Decla. This would give a clear indication as their place of settlement, either north of the Persian Gulf or in the north-east extremity of the Arabian peninsula.
Obal A southern Arabian tribe whose name was rendered by Arab historians, as well as by Josephus, as Ebal. Ancient inscriptions from the Yemen give it as Abil, which elsewhere appears as Ubal. The location of this tribe’s place of settlement lies between the ancient Yemeni cities of Hadeida and San’a.
Abimael His descendants settled in southern Arabia, where their existence is known from ancient Sabean inscriptions.
Sheba There are no less than three Shebas in the Table of Nations! Due to the presence in Arabia of bothe the Cushite and Jokshanite tribes of Sheba, it is impossible to determine where this particular patriarch’s descendants settled. Josephus may give a clue in rendering the name as Sabeus.
Ophir Its existence being noted in the pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions, this tribe’s area of settlement is given by them as lying between Saba in the Yemen and Hawlan, or Havilah. The name has been preserved in that of the coastal town of Ma’afir in southwest Arabia.
Havilah There were two Arabian tribes known under the name of Havilah, the other being a descendant of Ham. This Semitic tribe, however, remained distinct, and occupied areas on the opposite side of the peninsula from the Hamitic tribe. In Strabo’s day, they were still occupying areas of northern Arabia, their name being recorded by him as the Khaulotaei. Josephus knew them as the Euilat. The Arabian cosmographer, Yakut, informs us that their dialect, Hawil, was spoken by ‘the descendants of Midian, the son of Abraham’. This Semitic tribe of Havilah also occupied the southernmost tip of the Arabian peninsula, crossing from there the Bab-el-Mandeb to the African coast. Here, both Ptolemy and Pliny refer to their city of Aualis on the Red Sea coast of Africa, which lay next to the modern state of Djibouti. This city is known today as Zeila.
Jobab His descendants were known to the Akkadians as the Iabibi. They settled in the town that has long borne their founder’s name, Juhaibab, which, according to Sabean inscriptions, lay close to modern Mecca.

From this point forward, the descendants are not listed in the table of nations, but are given to include what nations were derived from Peleg after the dispersal from Babel.

Son of Reu

Serug He gave his name to the city and district that was known to the Akkadians as Sarugi. This lay to the west of Haran. It is normally assumed that the name of the land of Syria came about because the Greeks confused it with Assyria. But it is more likely that Syria is merely a transposition into Greek of the name of Serug, who settled in that part of the world.

Son of Serug

Nahor There seems to be no secular record that mentions him as an individual. He does have a descendant by the same name.

Son of Nahor

Terah The father of Abraham, he later settled in Haran, where he died. The name Terah is associated in Jewish literature with the moon-god, and there seems to be a direct etymological link between his name and the teraphim, small idolatrous images that were kept in most households. In this context, it is interesting to note that Joshua 24:2 describes Terah as an idolater. Near to the city of Haran, there was a place that bore Terah’s name, known to the Assyrians as Turahi and to the Akkadians as Truahu, the ruins of which were later known to them as Til-Sa-Turahi.

Sons of Terah

Abraham The well-known founder of the Jewish people. There exists from Babylonia an early clay tablet that bears the name of a man called Abi-ramu, which is rendered Abarama in the Eblaite tablets. Another bears the name of Sarai. Josephus quotes the Babylonian historian, Berosus, as saying, ‘In the tenth generation after the Flood, there was a man among the Chaldeans who was righteous and great…’ Josephus regarded this remark as a direct reference to Abraham, even though Berosus didn’t name him. Josephus tells us also that Hecataeus and Nicolaus of Damascus both mention Abraham in their own histories.
Nahor The name Nahor is known from Babylonian inscriptions, and from the clay tablets of Mari, which render the name Nahur. He settled in Haran which was later to become known as the town of Nahor. This appears in inscriptions from the reign of Ashurbanipal as Nahuru, the ruins being known to the Assyrians as til-Nahiri, the mound of Nahor.
Haran Haran was the youngest of Terah’s sons. He was born at Ur and died there at a young age. To his father is attributed the building of the city of Haran, Terah naming the place in his son’s memory and honor. The city lay of the main highway to Ninevah from Carchemish, and it is interesting to note in this context that the Assyrian noun for main road is harranu. From its earliest days, Haran was one of the chief centers of moon-worship, and we frequently read of its temple being restored and embellished by successive kings of Assyria. Its temple was, indeed, every bit as famous and well-subscribed as that at Ur, where the family originated. Nimrod was also worshipped here, being referred to in inscriptions as the ‘prince of the men of Haran’.

Sons of Abram

Ishmael Among the Babylonian documents that have come down to us from the days of Hammurabi, there is a list of witnesses to certain documents, one of whom is ‘Abuha, son of Ishmael’.
Isaac No mention of him is found thus far in extra-biblical sources.
Zimran The chieftain and founder of an Arab tribe whose chief city lay to the west of Mecca. Ptolemy recorded its name as Zabram, the letters ‘m’ and ‘b’ being interchangeable in Arabic.
Jokshan Seemingly unknown outside the biblical records, he appears to have settled with his descendants in northern Arabia.
Medan He founded various northern Arabian tribes, and his name is still preserved in the modern family name of Abd-al-Madan. His descendants settled in the town of Madan, which is mentioned in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pilesar III that date to the year 732 BC. He renders the name as Badan, but the letters ‘m’ and ‘b’ are interchangeable in Arabic. The town lay to the west of Tema.
Midian The founder of the Midianite tribe of Arabs. The Arabian historian, Yakut, tells us that they spoke the Hawil dialect of Arabic. He also confirms the fact that Midian was the son of Abraham. The tribes of Midian are also known from Egyptian and other sources. Ptolemy records the name as Modiana, while the ancient pre-Islamic Arab city of Madyan is today known as Magha’ir Shu’aib.
Ishbak He was the progenitor of a tribe who seem to have settled to the east of Canaan. Otherwise, secular records seem to be silent concerning them.
Shuah The founder of the biblical Shuites, one of whose descendants (Bildad) counseled Job. The Assyrians knew Shuah’s descendants as the Suhu, and describe their land as lying adjacent to the Euphrates, south of Carchemish, between the Balikh and Khabur (recorded by Ptolemy as the Chaboras, by Ezekiel as the Chebar) rivers.

Son of Haran

Lot No secular references to him have yet been found, save that the Dead Sea has always been known to the Arabs as the Sea of Lot.

Sons of Ishmael

Nebaioth He settled with his descendants to the south of the Dead Sea, where they were known to the Chaldeans as the Nabat, and to the Assyrians as the Nabaiate. Their own inscriptions render the name as ‘nbtw’. The Greek historian, Diodorus, mentions them, and Ptolemy knew them as the Nabatei. The Nabataeans’ final demise was brought about by Augustus Caesar, who cut off the trade routes of Arabia. By the time of Tiberius Caesar, all the land east of Judea was known as Nabataea.
Kedar Known to the Hebrews as the Qedar, and the Assyrians as the Qidri, his descendants became the great tribe of Arabs who settled in the northwest Arabian peninsula, and whose black tents were to become proverbial in the ancient world. We are informed in Babylonian sources that the armies of Nebuchadnezzar confronted the tribe of Kedar in a major skirmish of the year 599 BC, an incident that was foretold by Jeremiah (49:28-29). The tribe of Kedar is also mentioned in the annals of Ashurbanipal, with whom they clashed, and in various other Assyrian documents. In these, the men of Kedar are mentioned in close association with the men of Nebaioth. The founder of Islam, Mohammed, was to trace his own direct descent from Kedar.
Adbeel The founder of a tribe known to the Akkadians as the Idibilu. This same people were subsequently mentioned in the annals of Tiglath-pileser III, who tells us how he conquered the Idiba’leans and employed them to guard the approaches to Egypt’s borders. Their area of settlement was in northwest Arabia, close to the lands of Kedar and Nebaioth.
Mibsam An otherwise unknown Bedouin chieftain.
Mishma He settled with his descendants in what is known today as Jebel Mishma in the vicinity of Tema.
Dumah The Assyrians and Babylonians knew Dumah’s descendants as the Adammatu. Nabonidus later tells us how he conquered the Adummu. Ptolemy referred to them as the Domatha; and Porphyry recorded their name as the Dumathii. We know them today as the Idumaeans. The name of Dumah is still preserved in the modern Arab city of Dumat-al-Jandal, the capital of this tribe.
Massa The descendants of Massa were known to the Assyrians as the Mas’a, who with the tribe of Tema, were forced to pay tribute to Tiglath-pileser III. He tells us how he conquered them along with the peoples of Haiappa, the Idiba’leans, and others. Ptolemy knew the tribe as the Masanoi, who lived to the northeast of Dumah. Josephus records their name as the Mesanaeans, and that in his day their lands were known to the Romans as Charax Spasini.
Hadad The name is rendered as Haddu in Akkadian inscriptions as the name of a pagan god. Hadad himself, however, seems to be unknown in extra-biblical sources.
Tema Still known by today’s Arabs as Taima’, the city of Tema’s descendants lise some 70 miles northeast of Dedan. Nabonidus, king of Babylon (556-539 BC), passed his years of exile in this city, which he also knew as Tema. Along with Dedan and Dumah, it formed stages in the caravan route from Babylon to Sheba.
Jetur He was the progenitor of the Ituraeans, who were known to the Greeks as the Itouraia. The Ituraeans are mentioned in the works of Dio Cassius, Josephus, Pliny, Strabo, and others; and were known to the Roman authorities as a tribe of robbers. The descendants of Jetur perpetrated a massacre of Lebanese Christians in AD 1860.
Naphish He and his lineage are variously known in the biblical records as Nephish, the children of the Nephusim, and the Nephishesim. They are seemingly unknown from extra-biblical sources.
Kedemah He and his descendants settled in what was later known as the Wilderness of Kedemoth. The tribe dwelt in the city that is known today as es-Za’feran.

Sons of Jokshan

Sheba This people seemingly made up the Semitic Arabs who were to supersede the earlier Hamitic tribe of Sheba.
Dedan Like Sheba, this Semitic tribe seemingly superseded the Hamitic tribe of Dedan. We should at this time note the derivation of the Hebrew word ’rab (Arab) from ereb, which means a mixed multitude. The city of Dedan (modern Daidan) is mentioned in the inscriptions of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, who spent his years of exile at Tema. There are some ruins west of Tema called Daidan, that lie in an area known today as Medain Salih.

Sons of Midian

Ephah His descendants settled in what is now Ghuwafa, to the southwest of Tebuk in the northwest Arabian peninsula. They are known to us in the annals of Tiglath-pilesar III, who refers to them as the Hayapa. They are last heard of in an inscription of Sargon II that dates to the year 715 BC.
Epher Known to Arab cosmographers as ‘ofr, Ashurbanipal of Assyria recorded the name of Epher’s descendants and the Apparu. The city in which they settled still bears the name of their founder, Ghifar. It lies close to Medina.
Henoch He founded the famous Kenite tribe of Midianite Arabs. They were coppersmiths who settled to the southwest of the Gulf of Aqaba.
Abidah Minean inscriptions from the Yemen record the name of Abidah’s descendants as the Abiyadi’. Their precise area of settlement is unknown, although it must have been in the southwest regions of the Arabian peninsula.
Eldaah His descendants are known to us from ancient Sabean inscriptions, which refer to them as the Yada’il. We do not know their precise area of settlement, although it was certainly within the Yemen.

Sons of Lot

Moab He was the founder of the Moabite nation. This nation was known as Mu’abu to the Akkadians, and in the Egyptian inscriptions as M-‘-b.
Benammi He founded the Ammonite nation, and his name is still perpetuated in the modern city of Amman that lies some 25 miles north-east of the Dead Sea. It was, in fact, the capital of the Ammonite nation, and was known in the old world as Rabbath-ammon. We know from the first book of Maccabees that the nation was still in existence in the 2nd century BC. However, in the next century their lands were occupied by the Nabataeans and it is here that the Ammonites disappear from the historical scene. The personal name of Benammi is known from certain clan-lists of Ugarit. There also survives from Nimrud in Assyria an inscription bearing the name of banu Ammanaia. The Assyrians generally knew the Ammonite nation as bit-Am-ma-na-aia, or the house of Ammon.

Sons of Dedan

These founded the three tribes of Dedanite Arabs, of whom nothing further is learned from extra-biblical sources save that in later Jewish literature we learn: the Asshurim were described as traveling merchants; the Letushim were those who sharpened weapons and cutlery; and the Leummim were somewhat enigmatically described as the ‘chief of those who inhabit the isles’, the significance of which is lost to us today.

The Table of Nations part 2

The Nations of Japheth

Japheth The father of all the Indo-European peoples, it would be surprising indeed if his name had gone unremembered among them. As it is, we find that the early Greeks worshipped him as Iapetos, or Iapetus, whom they regarded as the son of heaven and earth, the father of many nations. Likewise, in the ancient Sanskrit Vedas of India he is remembered as Pra-Japati, the sun and ostensible Lord of Creation. As time went by, his name was further corrupted, being assimilated into the Roman pantheon as Iupater, and eventually Jupiter. None of these names are of Greek, Indian, or Latin origin, but are merely corruptions of the original name of Japheth. Both the early Irish Celts and the early Britons traced the descent of their royal houses from Japheth, as did also the early Saxons, who corrupted his name to Sceaf (pronounced shaif).

The sons of Japheth

Gomer He was the founder of the Cimmerians who settled originally on the shores of the Caspian Sea. They were later driven away by the Elamites. At the time of the Babylonian exile, the Jews knew them as the tribes that dwelt in the ‘uppermost parts of the north’ (Ezekiel 38:6). The Assyrians referred to them as the Gimirraya. Esarhaddon (681-668 BC) records his defeat of the Gimirrai; while King Ashurbanipal tell us in his records of the Cimmerian invasion of Lydia in the days of the Lydian King Gugu around 660 BC.
Magog His immediate descendants were known as the Magogites, being later known to the Greeks as the Scythians, according to Josephus. However, given the subsequent history of the peoples of Ashkenaz, who are far more certainly identified as the later Scythians, it is more likely that the early Magogites were assimilated into the peoples of Ashkenaz, thus making up a part of the Scythian hordes. The early Irish Celts traced their own lineage from Japheth through the line of Magog.
Madai His descendants were the Madaeans, who are better known to us as the Medes. The Assyrians recorded the name as Amada; the Greeks as the Medai; and the Old Persion inscriptions speak of them as the Mada. The earliest surviving reference to the Medes that is found in secular documents appears in the inscriptions of Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria from ca 858-824 BC, in which he tells us that he invaded the land of the Medes to plunder them of their fine horses. Both Strabo and Herodotus conform the fact that the Medes were of Indo-European (Japhetic) origin, and we know also that their language was of this group. After 631 BC, the Medes joined with the people of the Askuza (or the Ashkenazim) and those of Gomer (the Cimmerians) in an attempt to throw off the Assyrian yoke.
Javan The name of Javan’s descendants appears in Assyrian documents as the Iamanu, where we are told that they engaged the Assyrians in a major sea battle during the reign of Sargon II (725-705 BC). The Archaemenian inscriptions refer to them as the Yauna. Homer tells us in the Iliad that Iawones (Hebrew Iawan) was the progenitor of the Ionians, while the Hebrews knew the Greeks as the Jevanim (Iewanim). Pre-Islamic Arab cosmographers gave the name as Yuban.
Tubal The descendants of Tubal first come to our notice in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria in about 1100 BC. He refers to them as the Tabali whose original area of settlement (Tabal) was adjacent to that of Tegarama. Subsequently, Josephus recorded the name of Tubal’s descendants as the Thobelites, who were later known as the Iberes. Their land, in Josephus’ day, was called by the Romans Iberia, and covered what is now the former Soviet state of Georgia whose capital to this day bears the name of Tubal as Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus mountains, this people migrated due north-east, giving their tribal name to the river Tobol, and hence to the famous city of Tobolsk.
Meshech The descendants of Meshech are often spoken of in close association with those of Tubal, the Assyrians mentioning Tabal and Musku, while Herodotus writes of the Tiberanoi and Moschoi. A very much earlier reference to the peoples of Meshech is an inscription of ca 1200 BC which tells us how they overran the Hittite kingdom; and an inscription of Tiglath-pileser I of Assyria of ca 1100 BC who tells us that the Mus-ka-a-ia were able to put into the field an army of 20,000 men. The activities of this same people are also subsequently reported by Tukulti-ninurta II, Ashurnasibal II, Sargon, and Shalmaneser III, the last of whom refers to them as the Mushki. Josephus knew them as the Mosocheni, who were known in his own day as the Cappadocians. Some later writers have pointed out that the name of Meshech is preserved in the old tribal name of the Muscovites of Russia, after whom Moscow is named. Such an identification is not at all unlikely, especially when we consider the subsequent history of their historically close associates, the people of Tubal, and the fact that the city is still known today in the Russian tongue as Moskva, very close to the Assyrian form, Musku.
Tiras Merenptah of Egypt, who reigned in the 13th century BC, provides us with what is so far our earliest reference to the people of Tiras, recording their name as the Tursha, or Turusha, and referring to them as invaders from the north. The Greeks later knew them as the Tyrsenoi, a nation of marauding pirates. Josephus identifies them as the tribe who were known to the Romans as the Thirasians and who we now know as the Thracians. They were a ‘ruddy and blue-eyed people’, who spent most of their time in state of ‘tipsy excess’, as one authority put it. Tiras himself was worshipped by his descendants as Thuras (Thor), the god of war. The river Athyras was named after him, and it is not at all unlikely that the Etruscans, a nation of hitherto mysterious provenance, owe to him both their name and descent. The ancient city of Troas (Troy) appears to perpetuate his name, as does also the Taurus mountain range.

The sons of Gomer

Ashkenaz The descendants of Ashkenaz first settled in what is today Armenia, although in later Jewish writings he was associated, with his father Gomer, with the Germanic races. Hence, Germanic Jews are still known as Ashkenazim. More immediately, the Assyrians tell us in their inscriptions of the Askuza, a tribe who allied themselves with the Mannai in a revolt of the 7th century BC, an event that is also mentioned in Jeremiah 51:27. Indeed, it is in this statement the Jeremiah incidentally confirms the identity of the Ashkenazim with the Askuza. This name, the Askuza of the Assyrian records, later became the Skythai (Scythians) of Herodotus. Other early sources confirm their place of settlement to be the areal later known as Pontus and Bythinia, where the peoples of Ashkenaz gave their name to the lake and harbor of Ascanius, and to the land of Ascania. Josephus tells us that they were subsequently known to the Greeks as the Rheginians.
Riphath His descendants gave their name to the Riphaean mountains, which early cosmographers thought of as constituting the then northernmost boundary of the earth. Pliny, Melo, and Solinus record the name of Riphath as that of the Riphaei, Riphaces, and Piphlataei, who were later known to history as the Paphlagonians, the descent and identification of which is confirmed by Josephus.
Togarmah His earliest descendants settled in Armenia. We know from certain Hittite documents that in the 14th century BC, the then region of Tegarama, which lay between Carchemish and Haran, was sacked by the ‘enemy from Isuwa’, that is, the enemy from beyond the Euphrates. The records of both Sargon II and Sennacherib mention the city of Til-gari-manu, the capital of Kammanu which lay on the border of Tabal. Til-gari-manu lay some thirty miles due east of present-day Malatya, and was not finally destroyed until 695 BC. It was after the destruction of this city that the descendants of Togarmah became lost in obscurity. In line with the Assyrian policy of that time, the survivors were uprooted and transported to other lands in the empire. Josephus renders the name Thrugramma.

The sons of Javan

Elishah He was the ancestor of the Aeolians, his name being frequently referred to in Greek history and mythology. Two Greek cities were named after him, these being Elis and Elissus. Likewise, an entire area was named Ellas in his memory. His name lies behind the origin of the term Hellenic, and there is every reason to believe that his name is also perpetuated in the Greek paradise, the Elysian Fields. The Armana tablets referred to his descendants as the Alashia, the Hittites knew them as the Alasiya, and the Egyptians as A-ra-sa. Josephus rendered the name as Elisa. The name also appears in the Ugaritic inscriptions.
Tarshish The father of the peoples of Tarshish, or Tartesis, who are thought by most to have settled in Spain. The Mediterranean Sea was once known as the Sea of Tarshish, and it is known that the Phoenecians built a class of vessel called a ship of Tarshish. It was in one of these that Jonah tried to flee from Joppa in the 8th century BC. Phoenecian inscriptions found on Sardinia, and dating to the 9th century BC, mention Tarshish without providing us with a positive identification of its geographical location. Josephus records the name as Tharsus, and tells that it used to be the name under which Cilicia was known, the chief and noblest city of which was Tarsus. However, for various reasons this identification is unlikely, and the matter remains unresolved.
Kittim This is a collective name of a people who are spoken of in the Old Phoenician inscriptions as the kt or tky, and who settled on the island of Cyprus. They were to give their name to the ancient Cypriot city of Kition (modern-day Larnaka). The Romans preserved the name when they named the city Citium, and Josephus gave the name as Cethimus.
Dodanim This also is a collective name of a people descended from Dodan, who were known to the Greeks as the Dardani, and the Dardanians of Asia Minor. They settled initially around the area of Troy whose coastal regions are known to this day as the Dardanelles. The founder of this people was deified by his descendants and worshipped under the name of Jupiter Dodonaeus (a mingling of the names of Japheth and Dodan). The propagators of this cult built the city of Dadona as the chief seat of his worship. Egyptian records refer to the drdny who were allied to the Hittites at the battle of Kadesh. The early Britons were to trace their descent from Dardanus.

The Table of Nations part 1

Genesis 10 lists the names of the leaders of groups who went out from the tower of Babel. Scripture doesn't tell us a lot about these people, except some of the listings are obviously individuals' names, and some of them are people groups.

In After the Flood, the author gives extensive detail as to who was who in this group of peoples. I am including that in its entirety here.

The Table of Nations—Genesis 10

The following information on the tribes and nations listed in Genesis 10 lists details about the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth from secular historical sources. It includes places of settlement following the confusion of languages and dispersion of nations from Babel, some of the names by which these nations have been known, records of the existence of these tribes from other nations, and any other interesting information that can be extracted from these records. This information was compiled from After the Flood—The early post-flood history of Europe traced back to Noah by Bill Cooper, and the original sources for this information are listed here:

The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Four volumes with supplement. Abingdon Press. NY. 1962
The New Bible Dictionary. InterVarsity Press. London. 1972
Josephus. The Antiquities of the Jews. Translated by William Whiston
Poole, Matthew. Commentary on the Holy Bible. Three volumes. 1685. Facsimile published by Banner of Truth Trust. London. 1962

All of these sources (except Josephus) provide the original sources for the information included in their books. Josephus is valuable because he provides the names of the nations as they were known in the classical world. Included in this collection are genealogical charts and maps showing the places of settlement for all of the nations.

(See following posts for the remainder of the material)