Ham the Son of Noah and His Descendants and the Tower of Babel

Sons of Ham the Son of Noah from Genesis 10

The offspring of Ham dwelt in the Middle East and Africa with Africa being called the land of Ham in the scriptures (eg. Psalm 105:23). They probably gave rise to the oriental people of the Far East and the First Nations of the Americas through the Sinites subgroup of the Canaanites. The descendants of Ham could have also included the Pacific Islanders and Dravidian people of the Indian subcontinent. This was made clearer to me in 2009 when I saw a Indian Dravidian woman in my home town near Toronto, Ontario. She had dark skin and straight black hair and her face was and other appearance was at least somewhat like the Negros of East Africa that also not only have dark skin but straight hair. The descendants of Ham were characterized by interest and ability in agriculture and trading or commerce. Cush, that is the name of one of the sons of Ham, is the Hebrew word for Ethiopia and in New Testament times the people of Ethiopia were called Chusites from the word Cush. One early very significant person or persons descended from Cush was his son Nimrod and wife Semiramis. Nimrod led the effort to build the tower of Babel and from secular sources we know Nimrod and his wife invented post-flood astrology and astronomy which was profoundly intertwined with astrology until the 16th century scientific renaissance in Europe and idolatry especially the "mother goddess" and the mother-child cult. Nimrod most likely conceived and established the original 12 zodiac constellations including Sagittarius the archer probably named after himself as the mighty hunter and perhaps others of the 48 original constellations. Mizraim is another of the sons of Ham. Mizraim is the Hebrew term for Egypt and is used many times in the Old Testament. One of the descendants of Mizraim or Egypt was Philistim after whom the Philistines were named and from which the name Palestine for the Holy Land is derived. There could have been a scribal error in the reference in this chapter to the Philistim or Philistines as they are here spoken of as coming from Casluhim about whom nothing is yet known to secular history or achaeology of very much in other scriptures. However historically it is known that Caphtorim was an early name for the island of Crete and that the Philistines came from there. Also in other scripture references such as Jeremiah 47:4 and Amos 9:7 the Philistines are clearly said to come from Caphtor. Another son of Ham and grandson of Noah is Put or Phut. This is the Hebrew term for eastern Libya and the western part of Egypt. By the time of Ezekiel and Jeremiah in about the 6th century BC, Libya came to be called Libya instead of Phut as in Ezekiel 30:5, 38:5 and Jeremiah 46:9. The Ludim in Genesis 10:13 were from Ludim a son of Mizraim, grandson of Ham and greatgrandson of Noah. They are probably the people that later peopled western Libya and what is now Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and some of the interior of the Sahara and are probably the people known to us now as the Berbers including the nomadic Tuareg. They later became known as the Lubim and once as Libya as in 2 Chronicles 12:3 and 16:8 and Nahum 3:9 and Daniel 11:43. Another branch of the descendants of Mizraim or Egypt were the Caphtorim or the people of Caphtor. Caphtor was the ancient name for the island of Crete from whom the ancient Minoan civilization developed from 2600 to 1500 BC as well as less impressive culture after that. According to secular sources including a recent report on the BBC website there was a major eruption of the volcano called Santorini on the island called Thira in the Aegean Sea about 70 miles north of the island of Crete. This eruption is said to have rivalled the violent eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883. The eruption in about 1500 BC of Santorini is said to have caused a major tidal wave that could have decimated the coastal cities of the Minoan civilization and caused its downfall for which there is now physical evidence thanks to detection techniques developed in response to the Asian tsunami of December 2004. Canaan is the last son of Ham and grandson of Noah and they settled in what is now called Israel and Jordan and what the Romans called Palestine. Because of the incident with Noah when he was drunk after the flood mentioned in Genesis 9 Canaan and his descendants, not the wider sons of Ham, were cursed. Part of this curse was God later giving permission to the Israelites to drive them out of their land, kill them and take their land also because of the Canaanites continuing idolatry, violence and gross immorality. Other descendants of Canaan include Sidon which gave rise to the city by that name before in the Phoenician civilazation and in what is now Lebanon and Heth that gave rise to the Hittite civilization. One of the other sons of Canaan is Jebus which was the pre-Israel name for Jerusalem. Other sons of Canaan and divisions of the Canaanites includes that of the Amorites, Girgasites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. The scripture in Genesis 10 says then were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad which of course implies that not all the Canaanites stayed in what is now called The Holy Land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. One family of the Canaanites was the Sinites. As is common knowledge today Sino as in terms such as Sino-American relations or Sino-Soviet relations recently or similiar terms are references to the Chinese. It is clear there is a strong relation to the word Sinite and Sino and the added point that the families of the Canaanites which includes the Sinites were spread abroad could likely mean the Sinites were later what became the Chinese although some of the Chinese could still be included in the isles of the sea that were descendants of Noah's other son Japheth. Giving added significance to this theory is that the Sinites are not mentioned at all when Israel comes to occupy the land of Canaan at God's instruction perhaps 1600 years later in about 1400 BC under Joshua or later in Israel's history. Although it is probably true the wilderness of Sinai and Mount Sinai probably in what we today call the Sinai peninsula are derived from the Sinites, the fact that they aren't mentioned in later biblical history or I don't think in secular history in the Middle East means that most of them moved before God's call to Moses to occupy the land of Canaan probably to what we now call China. The Sinites could also refer to other oriental people such as the Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese and Thais that could have had common roots with the Chinese from the Sinites. These Sinites could have also spread across the Bering Sea or perhaps the Pacific Ocean from China to give rise to the Indians of the Americas. This is even though other of the Canaanites such as the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Gergasites or the Hivites are later mentioned specifically in Israel's history. There is one similiar reference to the Sinites later in the Bible but it is not associated with the land of Canaan or Israel. The scripture reference from Genesis 10 of Shem the son of Noah and his sons and some of his grandsons is as follows:

Scripture Reference from Genesis 10 of the Sons of Ham the Son of Noah

And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. Genesis 10:6-10, 15-20.

Mention of the Land of Sinim in Isaiah 49 As a Land Far From Israel and Probably Associated With the Sinites and Possibly the Land of China

In Isaiah 49:12 there is a very interesting term that is used where God's message of salvation will go in the last days. This region is called The Land of Sinim and it is contrasted with lands in the directions of the west and the north so it must be at least mostly in the directions of the south and east with respect to Israel. It must also be far from Israel as the scripture verse here says these people would be far meaning far from Israel. This prophecy is Isaiah was written around 700 BC which of course is much later than the reference to the Sinites given in Genesis 10. In 700 BC the Jews were well established in the land of Canaan or the land of Israel and there is still no further mention of the Sinites there. A logical conclusion is that in the time from Genesis 10 around 3000 BC and 700 BC most of the Sinites must have moved far to the East and to the south of Israel which would fit the land of China as a candidate for this term and the ultimate home of the Sinites. Many conservative or literal Bible scholars or teachers both western and Chinese believe the land of Sinim refers to China. Although I have not heard many of them mention the Sinites as also referring to the Chinese and associated with the land of Sinim, I think scripturally, historically and linguistically this is a valid assumption. The scripture reference from Isaiah 49 of the land of Sinim as referring to the Chinese is as follows:

Scripture Reference from Isaiah 49 of the Land of Sinim as Referring to the Chinese and Associated with the Sinites

Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. Isaiah 49:12

Further Explanation of Nimrod Compared Ninus in Genesis 10 in About 3000 BC

Although the Bible uses the name Nimrod for the original empire builder, often in the secular historical records he is instead called by the name Ninus. Ninus in the Sumerian languages means "son". In the secular history Ninus was the husband of Semiramis. Semiramis gets her glory from being associated with Nimrod or Ninus and according to the book the two Babylons is referred in ancient history as the mother goddess "Rhea" while the child is called "Bacchus" the lamented one or in the Bible in Ezekiel 8:14 as Tammuz. Semiramis is the Greek from of the original Sumerian name Sammur-amat that means "gift of the sea". This name is derived from the legend made to portray Semiramis as more palatable than her actual nature. According to legend Semiramis met Nimrod in a inn or brothel where Semiramis was a keeper. Then the legend was made up that she was actually a virgin that came out of the sea to try to give her a more palatable reputation for her being associated with the emperor Nimrod. The words Shinar and Sumerians probably come from the Sumerian version of Semiramis' name. This is what caused the confusion later on in the mother-child idolatrous religions where the child god was also considered the husband of the mother god since Ninus or Nimrod was actually the husband of Semiramis but his name literally as Ninus meant son. However Nimrod doesn't mean son it means "rebel". In the Bible Cush is spoken of as the father of Nimrod but in secular history Bel is spoken of as the father of Ninus so Bel and Cush are probably the same person as well. From page 23 of the book The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop there is a quote from an ancient writer Diodorus Siculus: "Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory that results from valour, he armed a considerable number of young men that were brave and vigorous like himself, trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war, and to face dangers with intrepedity." The affirmation by Diodorus Siculus that Ninus was the first Assyrian king and that he brought the leading men of the society under him are consistant with what the Bible says in Genesis 10: about Nimrod he "began to be mighty on earth". Also Ninus is spoken as bringing the people of Sumeria, Babylonia or Mesopotamia under him before he actually built the city of Babel which is similiar to the events in the life of Nimrod in the Bible in Genesis chapters 10 and 11. Finally the King James version has in this case a poor translation in Genesis 10:11 when it says Out of the land went forth Asshur, and builded Ninevah which is quite confusing and seems to say a man named Asshur built Ninevah. However a better translation and at least as accurate would be "Out of the land he (Nimrod) went into Assyria and builded Ninevah. This would make an even stronger argument for equating Nimrod with Ninus since Ninevah means literally "the habitation of Ninus" and Nimrod would then also be pictured as establishing this city. The scripture reference for Nimrod as the first king of Assyria and the one to build Ninevah corresponding to Ninus and the child and husband of Semiramis the mother goddess in Genesis 10 is as follows:

Scripture Reference from Genesis 10 of Nimrod Also Identified With Ninus as the Child and Husband of the Mother Goddess Semiramis in About 3000 BC

And Cush (Bel) begat Nimrod (Ninus): be began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad (Akkad), and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (Sumer). Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Ninevah(Out of that land he (Nimrod) went into Assyria and builded Ninevah, and the city Rehoboth and Calah, And Resen between Ninevah and Calah: the same is a great city. Genesis 10:8-12

Worldwide Rebellion of Man Against God in Building the Tower of Babel Led by Nimrod of the Line of Ham in Genesis 11 About 3000 BC

Although evolution doesn't have a good explanation for it, Christianity and Judaism as found in the Bible have a perfectly good explanation for the beginning of the world's languages. This is that originally all the world had only one language but the beginnings of all the world's various languages were the results of God's confusing man's speech after the building of the Tower of Babel. Although it doesn't specify where they came from the Bible mentions these people led by Nimrod the mighty hunter and first king in the history of the world stopped and settled in the plain of Shinar which is the Hebrew version of Sumer in what is now southern Iraq. The people of that time and place said to one another that they should get brick, burn them thoroughly which they did. They used these bricks for stones or building resources and slime which would be quite plentiful there perhaps from oily deposits near the surface for mortar or to hold the bricks together. The people said to each other that they should build a tower that would reach up to heaven. Although the Tower of Babel was probably only a couple hundred feet high and probably a ziggurat or form of pyramid popular in Mesopotamia or Sumer the idea that all of humanity was united in this building project and that there was probably to be a structure at the top of this tower for observing, and conducting astrology or fortune-telling and worshipping the planets, stars and host of heaven made this tower in a way as if it would reach up to heaven. The idea is also that it was an act of rebellion against God who dwells in heaven. These people of this early form of one-world government, economy and probably religion who built the Tower of Babel have much in common with worldly people of this time and all other times through history in that they wanted to make a name for themselves. The people also were aware that God wanted them to spread out over all the earth as this was one of the commands given to Adam and Eve the first people and all their descendents after them to fill the earth and subdue it as in Genesis chapter 1. The scripture reference in Genesis 11 of the attempt of people to build the Tower of Babel as the first worldwide rebellion against God which is also a type or representation of the final rebellion against God led by the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea and the False Prophet or Beast out of the Land is as follows:

Scripture Reference from Genesis 11 of the First Worldwide Rebellion Against God With the Building of the Tower of Babel Led by Nimrod in About 3000 BC

And the whole earth was of one language, and of 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. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:1-4

Tower of Babel

Response of the LORD By Confusing Their Speech to Worldwide Rebellion Against Him of Mankind Building the Tower of Babel Led by Nimrod in Genesis 11 in About 3000 BC

Of course the LORD or God was not pleased with this united act of rebellion against him or humanity building the Tower of Babel. Therefore the LORD came down from heaven to see the city and the tower that mankind were building to check out on closer hand their rebellion or defiance against Him. God stated what his concern was that mankind in united rebellion in building the Tower could lead to down the road or what it was a sign of in saying that because humanity at that time all had one language and they were using it to unite in self-will or self-exaltation and defiance against God that nothing would be restrained or prevented from their accomplishing including other acts of rebellion against God or self-exaltation. God then said let us go down and confound their language which among other things points to the Divine Trinity with the plural of the pronoun "us" referrring to God. God also makes it quite clear that his remedy at that time for man's united rebellion against him in building the Tower of Babel was to confuse their speech or create different languages so the people couldn't make a united effort at self-willed or rebellious projects like this any more. The scripture then says God scattered them abroad over the face of the earth. Although it is possible God did this supernaturally I think a better explanation is that the different after God created the different languages, people of the same language naturally stuck together and identified with each other and probably grew in hostility to some of the other language groups. This would tend to cause friction with the new different language groups and encourage them to separate from each other and seek new territory where they could be free from people of some of the other language groups. This would tend to scatter mankind over the earth as God had wanted in the first place. This creation by God of the languages also had the effect of humanity ceasing to build the Tower of Babel. In verse 9 the tower is called Babel which means confusion with the explanation that at that place God confounded or confused man's language and from there he scattered them over all the earth. This was probably before the rise of other civilazations such as ancient Egypt, ancient China, the Indus River civilzation mostly in what is now Pakistan or the Minoan civilization in the island of Crete in the Mediterranean although it could have been at the beginning of the Sumerian or Mesopotamian civilization that was somewhat earlier than the other civilizations. The scripture reference in Genesis 11 of God's response to the worldwide rebellion against him in building the Tower of Babel for man to make a name for themselves that would reach up to heaven by confusing their languages and scattering humanity over the earth is as follows:

Scripture Reference in Genesis 11 of the LORD Responding to the Worldwide Defiance Against Him of Building the Tower of Babel Led by Nimrod by Confusing People's Language and Scattering Them Over All the Earth in 3000 BC

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off the build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:5-9

Probable Reference to the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt (Mizraim) in the Bible - Isaiah 19

In Isaiah 19 there is God's burden of judgment for Egypt, mostly for their idolatry and other occult practices. In part of this burden, which takes up all of chapter 19, God speaks out especially against the rulers of Egypt. He calls the princes of Zoan which is the place called Tanis in the Nile delta fools probably especially for ignoring the one true and living God the God of the Bible. God says the counsel of Pharoah is become brutish or harsh perhaps with slavery or other harsh treatment of the people of Egypt. God also questions Pharoah and his pride and wisdom and his feeling entitled to authority and glory as the son of ancient kings through the Egyptian dynasty system that started around 3000 BC. God also says the princes of Noph which is the Hebrew name for Memphis the capital of Egypt for most of its early dynasties including those during which the great pyramids of Giza were built were deceived probably referring to their idolatry and occult practices that would be especially prevalent in the Egyptian capital Noph or Memphis. This was near the modern city of Cairo. God concludes by saying the princes of Zoan and Noph (Memphis) had deceived Egypt. Then God refers to these princes as the stay or mainstay or cornerstone of the tribes of Egypt. The Hebrew word for stay is corner and is used other times in the Old Testament for cornerstone of the Jewish Temple. However the main building of Egypt that remains and that would still be intact in probably even better shape in Isaiah's time and have probably still a significant part in Egypt's religious and cultural life was the Great Pyramid at Giza which was very near Noph or Memphis and is probably the building referred to with its cornerstones described. Just as the stones of the Great Pyramid at Giza were probably built upon and built out from its cornerstone, the society of Egypt, including its idolatry and occult practices, were built on the princes of Noph and Tanis. This is similiar but in contrast to Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the Church or in the future of Israel as mentioned in scriptures like Psalm 118 and 1 Peter 2 and in Gospel of Matthew 21:42 with Christians or in the Tribulation or Millenium believing Jews and Gentiles as the stones built on the foundation of Jesus as the cornerstone of the spiritual temple of God. The scripture reference in Isaiah 19 to the Pyramid of Giza and its cornerstone representing the princes or rulers of Eygpt as the foundation of Egypt and its idolatrous and occult society and religion is as follows:

Scripture Reference in Isaiah 19 to the Great Pyramid of Giza (Memphis or Noph) and Its Cornerstone Representing the Princes of Egypt as the Foundation of the Society and Religion of Egypt (Mizraim)

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharoah is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay (mainstay or cornerstone) of the tribes thereof. Isaiah 19:11-13

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