Genesis 10: 6
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put [Phut], and Canaan.
NOTE: Ham (hot, sunburnt). Egypt is recognized as “the land of Ham” [Cp. Psalms 78: 51; 105: 23; 106: 21b-22a]. The Phoenicians are a Hamitic people, also. Cush (black)-A Benjamite mentioned in the introduction to Psalms 7, so is it possible that Benjamites were Black? The Cushite territory extended from the higher Nile [Egypt] to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, with ethnic traces to be found among the people of Babylonia, Arabia and Ethiopia. Mizraim (red soil), is the dual of ‘Mazor’, and refers to the two regions, upper and lower Egypt, into which the country has always been divided; by nature and its inhabitants. Put/Phut (bow)- A people of Africa not far from Egypt. Some identify it with Libya in the northern part of Africa, near the Mediterranean Sea, and others with Nubia, south of Egypt. Canaan (lowland)- Territory west of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, and between those waters and the Mediterranean Sea.
Genesis 10: 15-20
Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward [the confusion of Proto-language at Babel (Balal)], the families of the earth were dispersed (scattered). And the border of the Canaanites [Sidonians, Hittites {Heth}, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Zemarites, Hamathites] were from Sidon as you go toward Gerar [land of the Philistines/Palestinians], as far as Gaza [land of the Philistines/Palestinians]; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, in their lands, and in their nations.
NOTE: The border of the Canaanite was from Sidon [A city of Phoenicia about 20 miles north of Tyre on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea or modern Saida, situated in the narrow plain between Lebanon and the Sea] as you go towards Gerar [A very ancient city south of Gaza or the “south country” of later Palestine], as far as Gaza [one of the 5 chief cities of the Philistines SW of Palestine on the frontier toward Egypt]; then as you go toward Sodom [the plain of Jordan north of the Dead Sea], Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha [somewhere SE of Palestine near the eastern shore of the Dead Sea].
Genesis 11: 1-2
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there [permanently resided].
NOTE: Shinar is the alluvial tract through which the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers pass before reaching the Persian Gulf [Sea]-the tract known in later times as Chaldea or Babylonia. It may be suspected that the Hebrews originally called the lower Mesopotamia region or country where they dwelt also as the land of Shinar. And of course, Abraham’s family was from “Ur (fire) of the Chaldeans” who later moved to Haran.
Genesis 10: 21-22
And children were also born to Shem [name], the father of all the children of Eber (why??). The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
Genesis 10: 24-25, 30-31
Arphaxad (stronghold of the Chaldeans) begot Salah (sprout), and Salah begot Eber (the region beyond). To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg (division); for in his days the earth was divided (Cp. 11: 1-2, 6-8a); and his brother’s name was Joktan (small). And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountains of the east. These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.
NOTE: Mesha (debt)- A city located between the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Persian Gulf. This Mesha [Massa] is associated with the Assyrian Mash and the Persian Maciya. Sephar (a numbering)- Sephar is the eastern boundary of the descendants of Shem extends all the way to the Indian Ocean. The ancient seaport town called Zafẵr represents the biblical site or district. *This is the original boundary and homeland of the primitive Hebrews, Israelites or Jews.*
Genesis 15: 18-21
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt [Nile??] to the great river, the River Euphrates- the Kenites, Kenezzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
NOTE: This allotment of land would include part of Egypt [Mizraim], Jordan, Syria [Aram], and possibly Iraq/Kuwait. The Kenites, Kenezzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, and Girgashites were not originally inhabitants of Canaan, nor are they descendants of Canaan or Ham, for that matter. These other tribes must have come into and settled down or invaded parts of the land later on. This description of the land must have expanded into more territory than the descendants of Canaan had acquired at first by these newcomers.
Numbers 34: 1-5
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance- the land of Canaan to its boundaries. Your (1) Southern border shall extend eastward to the end of the Salt Sea; your border shall turn from the southern side of the Ascent of Akrabbim [a pass between the Dead Sea and Zin], continue to Zin [a portion of desert tract between the Dead Sea and the “Arabah”], and be on the south of Kadesh Barnea [40 miles south of Beersheba, 65 miles southwest of the Dead Sea, immediately below the southern border of Palestine]; then it shall go on to Hazar Addar [4 or 5 miles away], and continue to Azmon [3 miles away]; the border shall turn from Azmon [a place named on the southern boundary of Palestine] to the Brook of Egypt [Wadi el-Arish], and it shall end at the Sea [Mediterranean- 50 miles south of Gaza].
Ezekiel 47: 19
The (1) South side toward the South [Negev], shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh-Barnea, along the brook of the Great Sea [Mediterranean Sea??] .
Numbers 34: 6
As for the (2) Western border, you shall have the Great Sea [Mediterranean] for a border; this shall be your (2) Western border.
Ezekiel 47: 20
The (2) West side shall be the Great Sea [Mediterranean], from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the (2) West side.
Numbers 34: 7-9
And this shall be your (3) Northern border; from the Great Sea [Mediterranean] you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor [the eastern side of the valley of the “Arabah” in the land of Edom {southern Jordan}, and on its eastern side the mysterious city of Petra or it could also be the Mount Hor in Lebanon or the northern peak about 10 miles north of the Phoenician city Byblos]; from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to the entrance of Hamath [the principal city of upper Syria about 50 miles north of Damascus]; then the direction of the border shall be toward Zedad [about 30 miles northeast of Hamath]; the border shall proceed to Ziphron [about 10 miles farther east], and it shall end at Hazar Enan [70 miles northeast of Damascus]. This shall be your (3) “Northern border.”
NOTE: The “Arabah” is a deep-sunken valley or trench in the land of Palestine from the slopes of Mount Hermon to the Elantic Gulf (Gulf of Akabah) of the Red Sea. Through the northern portion this extraordinary fissure the Jordan rushes through the lakes of Huleh and Gennesaret to the deep chasm of the Dead Sea. This portion, 150 miles in length is known to the Arabs by the name el-Ghor. Hamath is taken from “Ham” the son of Noah and the city of Hamath in Syria and the people probably have traces of Hamitic [African and Phoenician] bloodlines or ancestry. The territory here seems inclusive of the area mentioned in Genesis 15: 18-21, but also a lot more expansive over the centuries as recorded in the books of Numbers and Ezekiel. “Hamath” [linguistic root of ‘Ham’, the son of Noah, from whom are derived the African and dark-skinned people].
Ezekiel 47: 15-17
This shall be the border of the land on (3) the North: from the Great Sea [Mediterranean], by the road to Hethlon [the pass at the northern end of Lebanon], as one goes to Zedad [“Sadad”-62 miles north of Damascus, the northern border of Canaan], Hamath, Berothah [“toward the wells”; possibly modern ‘Beirut’], Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazor Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran [Greek province of Auranitias or modern ‘Hauran’ east of the Sea of Galilee]). Thus the boundary shall be from the Sea [of Galilee??] to Hazar Enan [possibly identified with Qaryatein, about 70 miles east-northeast of Damascus], the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward; it is the border of Hamath [city-state located on the Orontes River, roughly 120 miles north of Damascus]. This is the (3) North side.
Numbers 34: 10-12
You shall mark your (4) Eastern border from Hazar Enan (“village of fountains”), to Shepham [“fruitful”; unknown location on eastern boundary of Palestine]; the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain [a landmark on the eastern boundary of Palestine and probably the main source of the ‘Orontes’ or Ain el-‘Azy]; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth [Sea of Galilee]; the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at the Salt Sea [Dead Sea]. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.
Ezekiel 47: 18
On the (4) East side you shall mark out the border from between Hauran [province of Syria with Damascus on its northern border] and Damascus, and between Gilead [rocky region; a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon {“Jordan”}] and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea [Sea of Chinnereth or Sea of Galilee]. This is the (4) East side.
COMMENTARY: There has been so much bloodshed being spilled in the Middle East over “the land” and Jewish as well as Palestinian Statehood, especially in East Jerusalem. Notwithstanding, the settlement issue and building projects are threatening to displace the many Palestinians who have lived in the territory for centuries. In reading the Biblical narratives found in Genesis 10: 19 & Exodus 23: 31 or Numbers 34: 1-12, it would seem that the territory that was promised to Abraham’s descendants (the Israelites in this case) was not static, as these boundaries shifted over time; which is what one would expect from nomadic hunter-gatherers as well as warring tribes, or pastoralists who followed the stars or sun constantly moved about to settle new lands. In the prophet Ezekiel’s vision is an even more extensive boundary for the Promised Land in which the twelve tribes of Israel will inherit (Cp. Ezekiel 47: 13-23)
ADDENDUM: Curiously, when Joseph stood before Pharaoh and mentioned that he was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews (Cp. Genesis 40: 15) and the place where he was from seems to be in Hebron (Cp. Genesis 37: 1, 14). The thing is, how could this area be said to rightfully belong to the Hebrews when it was first associated with the Amorites (Cp. Genesis 13: 18; 14: 13; 23: 19), then the Hittites, who are descendants of Heth (Cp. Genesis 23: 2, 8-10, 16-17a, 19; 26: 34-35; 27: 46). The Hebrews were most likely a minority group in Hebron during the time of Joseph and it was not until the conquests of Joshua did Hebron change over into the hands of the Hebrews/Israelites and was given as an inheritance to Caleb (Cp. Genesis 14: 6, 12, 14), roughly 555 years later; so how could he at that time make such a statement, unless he was referring to the language or customs of the diverse populations living there in Hebron, and not just about his own ethnicity, religion or race? As a final point, the Holy Land of Jerusalem [Judea] which was originally the home of Jebusites, Ham was their ancestral father and progenitor, which means that they have African bloodlines and in all likelihood probably were dark-skinned.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
July 1, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
