ROOTS of AFRICA

 

Song of Solomon 1:5-6

King James Version

5 I am black, but comely, 

O ye daughters of Jerusalem, 

as the tents of Kedar, 

as the curtains of Solomon.

6 Look not upon me, because I am black, 

because the sun hath looked upon me: 

my mother's children were angry with me; 

they made me the keeper of the vineyards; 

but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

How did the African race begin?

What are its roots?

What is its future?

What does the Bible say?

First, we look to the roots.

Noah had three sons:

Genesis 9:18-19

King James Version

18 And the sons of Noah, 

that went forth of the ark, 

were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: 

and Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These are the three sons of Noah: 

and of them was the whole earth overspread.

Genesis 10:1

King James Version

10 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, 

Shem, Ham, and Japheth: 

and unto them were sons born 

after the flood.

His son, Ham, had four sons:

Genesis 10:6

King James Version

6 And the sons of Ham; 

Cush, and Mizraim, 

and Phut, and Canaan*.

Of his four sons, three represented the roots of Africa:

Cush (Ethiopia)

Mizraim (Egypt)

Phut (Libya)

Genesis 10:7

King James Version

7 And the sons of Cush; 

Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, 

and Raamah, and Sabtechah: 

and the sons of Raamah; 

Sheba, and Dedan.

Genesis 10:8-12

King James Version

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: 

he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: 

wherefore it is said, 

Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, 

and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, 

and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: 

the same is a great city.

Genesis 10:13-14

King James Version

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, 

and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, 

(out of whom came Philistim,) 

and Caphtorim.

Africa's future?

There will be a remnant:

Isaiah 11:10-12

King James Version

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, 

which shall stand for an ensign of the people; 

to it shall the Gentiles seek: 

and his rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, 

that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time

to recover the remnant of his people, 

which shall be left, 

from Assyria, 

and from Egypt, 

and from Pathros, 

and from Cush, 

and from Elam, 

and from Shinar, 

and from Hamath, 

and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, 

and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, 

and gather together the dispersed of Judah 

from the four corners of the earth.

*To know more about Ham's other son, Canaan, we have a blog just on him, and his tribe.

Click here.

Know more about Africa, and the Bible:

The Untold History of AFRICA in the Bible

Have a 9-minute tour of African nations:

AFRICAN COUNTRIES - Learn Africa Map and the Countries of Africa Continent

Related material:

Sons of NOAH

Sons of HAM

The 7 CONTINENTS

7 CONTINENTS

Africa

Image: Clipart Library

Sons of SHEM

 

Genesis 10:31

King James Version

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, 

after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

Now, we come to the third son of Noah.

Here's what Scripture says about Shem:

Genesis 10:21-30

King James Version

21 Unto Shem also, 

the father of all the children of Eber, 

the brother of Japheth the elder, 

even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; 

Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, 

and Lud, and Aram.

Genesis 10:21-30

King James Version

23 And the children of Aram; 

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

Genesis 10:21-30

King James Version

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; 

and Salah begat Eber.

Genesis 10:21-30

King James Version

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: 

the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; 

and his brother's name was Joktan.

Genesis 10:21-30

King James Version

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph,

and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: 

all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, 

as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

Shem's sons:

Elam

Asshur*

Arphaxad**

Lud

Aram

*Out of the land of Shinar, Asshur built Nineveh, and other cities.

Aram's sons:

Uz

Hul

Gether

Mash

Arpahxad's son:

Salah

Salah's son:

Eber

Eber's sons:

Peleg

Joktan

Joktan's sons:

Almodad

Sheleph

Hazarmaveth

Jerah

Hadoram

Uzal

Diklah

Obal

Abimael

Sheba

Ophir

Havilah

Jobab

**Abram (renamed Abraham) came from the line of Shem, specifically from Shem's son, Arphaxad.

Arphaxad's son is Salah; Salah's son is Eber; Eber's other son, Peleg, sired Reu; Reu's son is Serug; Serug's son is Nahor; Nahor's son is Terah; Abraham is one of Terah's sons.

Related material:

Sons of NOAH

LINEAGE of Abraham

The sixteen grandsons of Noah

Image: Clipart Library

Sons of HAM

 

Genesis 10:20

King James Version

20 These are the sons of Ham, 

after their families, after their tongues, 

in their countries, and in their nations.

We look deeper into Noah's sons.

One of which was Ham.

These verses tell us much:

Genesis 10:6

King James Version

6 And the sons of Ham; 

Cush, and Mizraim, 

and Phut, and Canaan.

Genesis 10:7-10

King James Version

7 And the sons of Cush; 

Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, 

and Raamah, and Sabtechah: 

and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: 

he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: 

wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod 

the mighty hunter before the Lord.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, 

and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Genesis 10:13-14

King James Version

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, 

and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, 

(out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

Genesis 10:15-19

King James Version

15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: 

and afterward were the families of the Canaanites 

spread abroad.

19 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.

Ham's sons:

Cush

Mizraim

Phut

Canaan

Cush sons:

Seba

Havilah

Sabtah

Raamah

Sabtechah

Nimrod

Raamah's sons:

Sheba

Dedan

Mizraim's sons:

Ludim

Anamim

Lehabim 

Naphtuhim

Pathrusim

Casluhim (out of whom came Philistim*) 

Caphtorim

*More on Philistim here.

Canaan's sons:

Sidon

Heth

the Jebusite

the Amorite

the Girgasite

the Hivite

the Arkite

the Sinite

the Arvadite

the Zemarite

the Hamathite

Related material:

Sons of NOAH

Noah curses CANAAN

The sixteen grandsons of Noah

Image: Clipart Library

Sons of JAPHETH

 

Genesis 10:5

King James Version

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles 

divided in their lands; 

every one after his tongue, 

after their families, 

in their nations.

As we go deeper into man's beginnings, we now turn to Noah's sons.

And their sons.

For this post, we look into Japheth.

Japheth was one of Noah's sons.

Genesis 10:1

King James Version

10 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, 

Shem, Ham, and Japheth: 

and unto them were sons born after the flood.

For his part, Japheth had these sons:

Genesis 10:2

King James Version

2 The sons of Japheth; 

Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, 

and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

Genesis 10:3

King James Version

3 And the sons of Gomer; 

Ashkenaz, and Riphath, 

and Togarmah.

Genesis 10:4

King James Version

4 And the sons of Javan; 

Elishah, and Tarshish, 

Kittim, and Dodanim.

Japheth's sons:

Gomer

Magog

Madai

Javan

Tubal

Meshech

Tiras

Gomer's sons:

Ashkenaz

Riphath

Togarmah

Javan's sons:

Elishah

Tarshish

Kittim

Dodanim

Related material:

Sons of NOAH

The sixteen grandsons of Noah

Image: Clipart Library

LINEAGE of Abraham

 

Genesis 15:6

King James Version

6 And he believed in the Lord; 

and he counted it to him for righteousness.

We've now come to another important part of Scripture.

Surely, you've heard of Abraham.

He was called "Abram" then.

What were his roots?

This, we look into here:

Genesis 10:1

King James Version

10 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, 

Shem, Ham, and Japheth: 

and unto them were sons born after the flood.

Genesis 10:21-31

King James Version

21 Unto Shem also, 

the father of all the children of Eber, 

the brother of Japheth the elder, 

even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; 

Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; 

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; 

and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: 

the name of one was Peleg; 

for in his days was the earth divided; 

and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, 

and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: 

all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, 

as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, 

after their families, after their tongues, 

in their lands, after their nations.

Genesis 11:10-27

King James Version

10 These are the generations of Shem: 

Shem was an hundred years old, 

and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, 

and begat Salah:

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah 

four hundred and three years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, 

and begat Eber:

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber 

four hundred and three years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg 

four hundred and thirty years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu 

two hundred and nine years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, 

and begat Serug:

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug 

two hundred and seven years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor 

two hundred years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah 

an hundred and nineteen years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, 

and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: 

Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; 

and Haran begat Lot.

This is the lineage of ABRAM -- from Adam to Terah:

From Adam:

Seth

Enos

Cainan

Mahalaleel

Jared

Enoch

Methuselah

Lamech

Noah

From Noah:

Shem

Arphaxad

Salah

Eber

Peleg

Reu

Serug

Nahor

Terah

We learn that Abram came from the tribe of Shem.

Shem was one of the sons of Noah.

Abram's father was Terah.

Why did Abram matter?

Why did GOD choose him?

What was expected of him?

What did GOD promise Abram?

Let's find out on the next page.

Related material:

Sons of SHEM

NOAH's line

Image: Free Bible Images

Sons of NOAH

 

Genesis 9:18-19

King James Version

18 And the sons of Noah, 

that went forth of the ark, 

were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: 

and Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These are the three sons of Noah: 

and of them was the whole earth overspread.

We know who Noah's sons are.

But who were their offspring?

We've traced the lineage of Adam to Noah and his sons.

Now, we trace the sons of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Their offspring are known as "sons born after the flood".

Genesis 10:1

King James Version

10 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, 

Shem, Ham, and Japheth: 

and unto them were sons born after the flood.

Sons of JAPHETH:

Genesis 10:2-5

King James Version

2 The sons of Japheth; 

Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, 

and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer; 

Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan; 

Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles 

divided in their lands; 

every one after his tongue, after their families, 

in their nations.

Sons of HAM:

Genesis 10:6-20

King James Version

6 And the sons of Ham; 

Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush; 

Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah:

and the sons of Raamah; 

Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: 

he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: 

wherefore it is said, 

Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, 

and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, 

in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, 

and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: 

the same is a great city.

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, 

and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, 

(out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: 

and afterward were the families of the Canaanites 

spread abroad.

19 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.

20 These are the sons of Ham, 

after their families, after their tongues, 

in their countries, and in their nations.

Sons of SHEM:

Genesis 10:21-31

King James Version

21 Unto Shem also, 

the father of all the children of Eber, 

the brother of Japheth the elder, 

even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; 

Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; 

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; 

and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons:

the name of one was Peleg; 

for in his days was the earth divided; 

and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, 

and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: 

all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, 

as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, 

after their families, after their tongues, 

in their lands, after their nations.

Now, the very telling verse:

Genesis 10:32

King James Version

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, 

after their generations, in their nations: 

and by these were the nations divided in the earth 

after the flood.

There was a time man had ONE language.

And ONE speech.

People understood each other easily.

Too easily, if anything.

Fueling pride in us.

And that's where our troubles continued.

The next post tells more.

Image: Free Bible Images

Noah curses CANAAN

 

Genesis 9:18

King James Version

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, 

were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: 

and Ham is the father of Canaan.

It's a curious thing.

Why Noah cursed Canaan.

When it was Canaan's father, Ham, who transgressed.

This is the incident which happened:

Genesis 9:20-24

King James Version

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, 

and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; 

and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, 

saw the nakedness of his father, 

and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, 

and laid it upon both their shoulders, 

and went backward, 

and covered the nakedness of their father; 

and their faces were backward, 

and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, 

and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

Ham's transgression must have been extremely serious.

For Noah cursed Canaan, Ham's son:

Genesis 9:25-27

King James Version

25 And he said, 

Cursed be Canaan; 

a servant of servants shall he be 

unto his brethren.

26 And he said, 

Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; 

and Canaan shall be his servant.

27 God shall enlarge Japheth, 

and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; 

and Canaan shall be his servant.

That changed the life, lineage, and country of Canaan forever.

To better understand this, we look deeper into what this transgression may have been.

We look to TWO sets of verses for clues:

Genesis 9:22

King James Version

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, 

saw the nakedness of his father, 

and told his two brethren without.

(What does "saw the nakedness of his father" mean?)

Genesis 9:24

King James Version

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, 

and knew what his younger son 

had done unto him.

(What did Ham do to Noah?)

Somehow, we got clues from Wikipedia*, with the telling verse:

Leviticus 20:11

Expanded Bible

11 If a man ·has sexual relations [L lies] 

with his father’s wife, 

·he has shamed 

[L exposing/revealing the nakedness of] his father, 

and both the man and his father’s wife must be put to death. 

They have brought ·it [L blood] on themselves 

[18:8; Deut. 22:30].

Following the thread of verses, we gather:

Leviticus 18:8

King James Version

8 The nakedness of thy father's wife 

shalt thou not uncover: 

it is thy father's nakedness.

Deuteronomy 22:30

King James Version

30 A man shall not take his father's wife, 

nor discover his father's skirt.

That source suggested that Ham may have had relations* with his father's wife, thus, he "saw the nakedness of his father".

Who was Noah's wife?

This is all the Bible mentions:

Genesis 7:5-7

King James Version

5 And Noah did according 

unto all that the Lord commanded him.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old 

when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, 

and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, 

because of the waters of the flood.

It was further suggested that if this illicit union produced a child, then Canaan must have been that child.

Other researchers suggest Ham may have literally looked* upon the nakedness of his father, while Shem and Japheth avoided looking.

To make matters worse, Ham may have gossiped, or mocked, about it with his brothers.

I'm no scholar, merely following the threads SPIRIT leads me to explore.

My aim is to understand why Canaan, and the country named after him, has been cursed throughout, starting with Noah.

In a future post, we shall look into why GOD abhors the nations connected with Canaan.

That will be for a very interesting post.

Just so you know, Noah lived this long:

Genesis 9:28-29

King James Version

28 And Noah lived after the flood 

three hundred and fifty years.

29 And all the days of Noah 

were nine hundred and fifty years: 

and he died.

The next page tells us more about the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth -- the THREE sons of Noah.

*Wikipedia (check the "Voyeurism" and "Maternal incest" sections)

Related material:

The Canaanites

Curse of Ham

Curse of Canaan

Don Stewart :: Why Was Canaan Cursed Instead of Ham?

Image: Clipart Library