Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Genesis 10:23
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And the children of Aram, etc.] The four following persons are called the sons of Shem, (<130117>1 Chronicles 1:17) being his grandsons, which is not unusual in Scripture, Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash: the first of these sons of Aram, Uz, is generally thought to be the founder of Damascus; so Josephus f709 says. Usus founded Trachonitis and Damascus, which lies between Palestine and Coelesyria: there was a place called Uz in Idumea, (<250421>Lamentations 4:21) and another in Arabia, where Job dwelt, (<180101>Job 1:1) but neither of them seems to be the seat of this man and his posterity, who, in all probability, settled in Syria: his second son Hul, whom Josephus f710 calls Ulus, according to him, founded Armenia; which notion may be strengthened by observing that Cholobotene is reckoned a part of Armenia by Stephanus f711 ; which is no other than Cholbeth, that is, the house or seat of Chol, the same with Hul; and there are several places in Armenia, as appears from Ptolemy f712, which begin with Chol or Col, as Cholus, Cholua, Choluata, Cholima, Colsa, Colana, Colchis: but perhaps it may be better to place him in Syria, in the deserts of Palmyrene, as Junius and Grotius; since among the cities of Palmyrene, there is one called Cholle, according to Ptolemy f713 . Gether, the third son, is made by Josephus f714 to be the father of the Bactrians; but these were too far off to come from this man, and were not in the lot of Shem: Bochart f715 finds the river Getri, which the Greeks call Centrites, between Armenia and the Carduchi, whereabout, he conjectures, might be the seat of this man; but perhaps it may be more probable, with Grotius and Junius, to place him in Coelesyria, where are the city Gindarus of Ptolemy f716, and a people called Gindareni, by Pliny f717; though Bishop Patrick thinks it probable that Gadara, the chief city of Peraea, placed by Ptolemy f718 in the Decapolis of Coelesyria, had its name from this man: Mr. Broughton derives Atergate and Derceto, names of a Syrian goddess, from him, which was worshipped at Hierapolis in Coelesyria, as Pliny says f719 . The last of the sons of Aram, Mash, is called Meshech, in (<130117>1 Chronicles 1:17) and here the Septuagint version calls him Masoch; his posterity are supposed to settle in Armenia, about the mountain Masius, thought to be the same with Ararat, and which the Armenians call Masis; perhaps the people named Moscheni, mentioned by Pliny f720, as dwelling near Armenia and Adiabene, might spring from this man.
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