Bible Strands
Genesis 10:20
These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator concludes the genealogical account of Ham’s descendants immediately after defining Canaan’s territorial borders in Genesis 10:19 and before introducing Shem in Genesis 10:21.
The words — חָם (Cham) = Ham, and לִלְשֹׁנֹתָם (li/l.sho.no.Ta/m) = to/ languages/ their.
The thread — The verse’s closing structure functions as a summary formula for the Table of Nations, while its mention of multiple languages stands in direct contrast to the single common speech described in Genesis 11:1.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to register the text’s concrete categorization of human populations into four distinct markers before the narrative shifts focus to the lineage of Shem.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
Cross-references
- Genesis 10:6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
- Genesis 11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.