Genesis 10:18

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 10:18 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad.
Genesis 10:18 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 10

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
18and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the Arvadite, etc.] The inhabitants of Arvad, or Aradus, an island in the Phoenician sea; it is mentioned with Sidon, (<262708>Ezekiel 27:8) so Josephus says f680, the Arudaeans possessed the island Aradus: it is about a league distant from the shore; Strabo f681 says it is twenty furlongs from land, and about seven in circumference, and is said to be built by the Sidonians; it is now, as Mr. Maundrel f682 says, by the Turks called Ru-ad, or, as Dr. Shaw says f683, Rou-wadde; (see Gill on “<262708>Ezekiel 27:8”). And the Zemarite; who perhaps built and inhabited Simyra, a place mentioned by Pliny f684, not far from Lebanon, and along with Marathos, and Antarados, which lay on the…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- XXXII. Ham 6. מצרים mı̂tsrayı̂m, “Mitsraim.” מצר mētser, “straitness, limit, pressure.” מצור mātsôr, “distress, siege, mound, bulwark; Egypt.” מצרים mı̂tsrayı̂m, “perhaps double Egypt, lower and upper.” פוּט pûṭ, “Put, troubled.” 7. סבא sebā', “Seba, drinking (man, Ethiopian).” סבתה sabtâh, “Sabtah.” רעמה ra‛mâh, “Ra‘mah, shaking, trembling.” סבתכא sabtekā', “Sabtekha.” שׁבא shēbā', “Sheba, captive?” דדן dedān, “Dedan, going slowly?” 8. נמרד nı̂mrod, “Nimrod, strong, rebel.” 10. בבל bābel, “Babel; related: pour, mingle, confound.” ארך 'erek, “Erek, length.” אכד 'akad, “Akkad, fortress.” כלנה kalneh, “Kalneh.” שׁנער shı̂n‛ār, “Shin‘ar.” 11. נינוה nı̂ynevēh, “Nineveh,…”
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Sources and verification