Genealogy of peoples. Distribution of the descendants of Japheth.
«Here is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. After the flood, their children were born. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, [Elisha,] Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. Sons of Gomer: Askenaz, Riphat and Togarmah. The sons of Javan: Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. From them the islands of nations were peopled in their lands, each according to his own language, according to his tribes, among his nations
«
(Life 10, 1-5
).
List of descendants of Japheth
begins the table of nations. So, first we need to see how much the memory of our first ancestor has been preserved among his descendants.
The name itself is Japheth
has two meanings, which, as we already had to say, carry a prediction about the future fate of his descendants - “beauty” and “spread.” And indeed, the ideal of his descendants became, on the one hand, the desire to create beauty, sometimes turning into the identification of beauty and righteousness. Greeks and Romans, Germans and Russians, Japanese and Chinese, Indians and French created unique examples of fine art.
Likewise among the descendants of Japheth
There is a constant desire for large-scale geographical expansion: from the times of Greek colonization and the initial migration of Indians and Polynesians to the campaigns of
Genghis Khan
and
Alexander the Great
.
Russian Pomors and English colonialists alike obeyed this task of the descendants of Japheth
. It is curious that neither the Hamites nor most of the Semites were able to create such lasting forms of empires as the Japhetides were able to create. Noah's other sons had other tasks.
So Japheth
- our common ancestor.
The Greeks knew him as " Iapetus
", the father of Prometheus whom Asia bore, and the ancestor of the Greeks;
the Aryans considered him their progenitor of " Iapeti
": in the Indian and Korean traditions he is known as "
Praja-pati
" and is even revered as a god.
However, neither one nor the other forgets that he is their physical ancestor. "Japetus was worshiped in Cilicia, former home of the Sea People"
.
And “the chronicles of the early Franks, Irish, Britons, Albanians and many other ancient European ethnic groups independently trace the origin of their peoples to the youngest son of the legendary ancestor who survived the flooding of the entire Earth
,” who is most often called
Japheth
.
The Chinese Miautso
names him (the name is rendered as "
Iah-fu
") as one of the three sons of
Nuah
who survived the Flood, from whom, through
Gomen
(
Homer
) and his wife
Go-yong
, descend their own people.
The Apostle Paul also cites the example of Noah as an example of faith: “by this he condemned (the whole) world, and became an heir of the righteousness that is by faith” (Heb. 11:7).
Little is known about his life. In addition to the Genesis
, which talks about his piety towards his father and names his seven sons, we know nothing about him.
According to legend, even before the Flood
founded the city
of Jaffa
(now the outskirts
of Tel Aviv
).
According to legend, told to us by the Byzantine historian George Kedrin
before his death,
Noah
gave
to Japheth
and his descendants.
Japheth
revered
God the Creator
, and therefore
Christ,
along with other righteous people, took him to paradise.
There is even a legend that he was resurrected for a while along with other saints after the death of the Lord
(
Matthew 27:52-53
).
The Church glorifies his memory on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers
(the nearest Sunday before
the Nativity of Christ
).
Holy righteous Japheth, pray to the Lord for your descendants according to the flesh!
Shem and Japheth cover Noah
So, we move on to a description of the settlement of the descendants of his seven sons. Interestingly, genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA has shown that virtually all modern Europeans are descended from just seven women. We see that the biblical story finds partial confirmation in genetic data. It is believed that seven of these women (who are given conventional names) lived in the following places: Helena
- in the south of France,
Xenia
came to the West from the Caucasus,
Ursula
from Greece,
Yasmina
from the Middle East,
Tara
from northern Italy,
Velda
from Spain, and
Kakrina
from the vicinity of Venice.
JAPHETH (at 60 years old)
First son of Japheth
there was
Homer
(“complete”, “perfect”).
His descendants are the Cimmerians
, who gave the name to Crimea.
They roamed the Black Sea region until they were in the 7th century. BC were expelled from there by the Scythians
(by the way, their close relatives).
To this day, on both sides of the Kerch Strait you can see the remains of the ramparts they built. Having moved to the Middle East, they conquered Galatia and repeatedly fought with Assyria and Lydia. They are mentioned in the cuneiform tablets of Esarhaddon (681-668 BC) and Ashurbanipal (ca. 660 BC) under the name “himirraya”. The prophet Ezekiel
says that the descendants
of Homer
live within the north (
Ezekiel 38:6
).
In addition, from Homer, Josephus
produces
Galatians
, i.e.
Gauls
- the ancestors of modern French.
This identification is confirmed by the ancient Celtic genealogies preserved by Nennius in his History of the Britons. So most of the Celtic peoples come from Homer
.
Some of his descendants went not to Europe, but to the Far East. From him comes the Miautso
(Southern China, Guangxi Province), as well as, possibly, the Siberian Kets tribe.
From the latter descend a number of Indian tribes in North America, who crossed there through the Bering Strait (at that time there was an isthmus there). Genetic analysis has shown that, judging by mitochondrial DNA, the Celts
,
Kets
and a number of Indian tribes are related.
Indeed, we know that the Cimmerians
wandered in the Great Steppe, stretching from the Carpathians to Mongolia, as
the Scythians
and
Mongols
, and therefore the tribes that broke away from them began to populate both China and America.
Moreover, genetic material showed that all American Indians
from Canada to Tierra del Fuego could be descended from four women.
Thus, it is likely that the peopling of the Americas occurred very quickly after the destruction of the Tower of Babel
, and can be traced back to one small nomadic tribe or four separate families, most likely of Japhetic origin.
Homer 's
there were three sons:
Askenaz, Riphat and Togarmah
, who gave rise to their own peoples.
Surely Homer
had other children, but precisely because they did not give birth to their own peoples, they were not included in the sacred text.
So, Homer's
-
Askenaza
.
Josephus
says that from him descended
the Aschanasians
, called
Rhegians
.
It is generally accepted that he is the ancestor of a number of Germanic peoples. But, first of all, Askenaz
is the ancestor
of the Scythians
(their direct descendants are
the Ossetians
), who received their name from him.
Moreover, the Scots
(
Scots
the Anglo-Saxons
,
Norwegians
trace their genealogies to it .
The 17th generation
descendant of Askenaz Odin
(
Woden
), who was deified by
the Germanic tribes
.
It is curious that six genealogies independent of each other give an almost identical list of names. Moreover, pagan genealogies consider Scythian
(
Seskef
,
Seth, Skef
) the son of
Noah
.
Of course, no Christian scribe could write such a thing, for both according to the Bible
and, by the way, according to the tradition of most peoples, the man who survived the Flood had only three sons.
Bill Cooper
considered
Scythian
to be simply another name for
Japheth
.
However, the Anglo-Saxons themselves and the first monastic scribes distinguished them from each other. On the other hand, the name attributed to the son of Scythian
-
Bedvig
, does not coincide with the name of any of the sons of
Japheth
.
Moreover, Askenaz
is directly called
a Scythian
.
What is the reason that he is called the son of Noah
?
I think the point is that the ancient use of the word “son” often meant “legally entitled descendant” (cf. Matt. 1:9
).
Rifat
- ancestor of the inhabitants of Paphlagonia.
Also from him come the inhabitants of the Riphean Mountains, by which the ancient authors apparently meant the Carpathians. But I think that it is from Rifat
that the Finno-Ugric tribes originate.
It was probably the descendants of Rifat
who founded Arkaim and other cities in the southern Urals.
Later, some of his descendants descended the great northern rivers and became the ancestors of the Paleo-Asians
(
Nenets
,
Lapps
,
Sami
,
Chukchi
).
Fogarmah
— Armenia and Georgia.
It is remarkable that the Armenians, Georgians and the Caucasian tribes in general even now trace their origins back to some Torgona
from
Homer
and call themselves
the “house of Gorgon”
or, as it appears in the Bible,
Togarma
.
According to Josephus: Magog laid the foundation for that people who from him received the name Magog, and they (the Greeks) called the Scythians.
Magog
-
Mongols, Huns, Goths, Scythians
, Caucasus, Irish.
It was probably he who was revered by the Chinese under the name " Ma-wan
" (Lord of Horses).
Isidore of Seville
writes:
“There is no doubt that the Goths are a very ancient tribe;
some trace its origin to Magog , the son of
Japheth
, judging this by the similarity of the last syllable and concluding this mainly from the words of the prophet
Ezekiel
.
" Madai
-
Medes, Aryans, Sarmatians
and
Sakas
.
Firas
-
Thracians
,
Franks
, part of his descendants migrated to Central Asia, where they laid the foundation for the Turkic peoples.
Firas
is deified under the name
Horus
.
Iavan
(“flexible”) -
Ionia
,
Britons
.
Perhaps the Koreans descended from him (their ancestor Tangun
was the son of
Hwanun
, grandson of
Hwanin
(
Javan
?), great-grandson of
Prajapati
(
Japhet
).
Meshech
(“armful, covered with hands”) -
Mesci, Cappadocians, Finno-Ugric
.
Tubal
— Tobolsk,
Tuvans
(yrpo-Finns?), Tiber River,
Iberians
(according to Josephus).
The ancient name for “fovela” is Georgian
. Tibet (?).
Elisa
—- Hellas.
Tarshish
- Tare, Tartes (Spain - Basques),
Etruscans
.
Kittim
- Cyprus, Macedonia (ancient name "Maketia"),
Italics
.
Dodanim
(
Rodat
) - Dardanelles, Rhodes,
Russians
, Latins, the Dodonian oracle, deified by the Slavs under the name “Rod,” originates from his name.
It is interesting to provide information from ancient sources about the settlement of Europe. Nennius
(VIII century AD), who wrote the “
History of the Britons
,” wrote about the original origin of the European peoples:
“I found other information about this Brutus in the ancient books of our ancestors.
After the Flood, Noah's three sons divided the earth into three parts. Shem settled in Asia, Ham in Africa, and Japheth expanded his borders into Europe. Alan, through the line of Japheth, was the first man to come to Europe with three sons, whose names were Hessimon, Armenon and Nogwe. Hessitsion then had four sons: Frank, Roman, Brutus and Alaman. Armenon had five sons: Goth, Valagoth, Herpides, Burgund and Lombard. Nogwe had three sons Vandal, Saxon and Boguar.
Four peoples then descended from Hessition: the Franks, the Latins, the Alamanni and the Britons. From Armenon there are five: Goths, Valagots, Gepids, Burgundians and Lombards. And from Nogwe there are four peoples: the Bogvars, the Vandals, the Saxons and the Turings. And these peoples settled throughout Europe.
Alan is said to have been the son of Fetebir, the son of Ougomun, the son of Toy, the son of Boib, the son of Simeon, the son of Mair, the son of Etah, the son of Aurtach, the son of Ektet, the son of Ot, the son of Abir, the son of Ra, the son of Ezra, the son of Izpay, the son of Baath , the son of Jobaat, the son of Javan, the son of Japheth, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Malalel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of the living God. I found this teaching in the legends of my ancestors...
The first inhabitants of Britain were the Britons, named after Brutus. Brutus was the son of Hesscion. Hesscion was Alan's son. Alan was the son of Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numa Pomplius, son of Ascanius. Ascanias was the son of Aeneas, the son of Anchises, the son of Tros, the son of Dardan, the son of Elisha, the son of Javan, the son of Japheth.
Japheth actually had seven sons, the first of them being Gomer, from whom the Gauls descended. The second was Magog, from whom the Scythians and Goths descended. The third is Madai, from whom the Medes descended. The fourth is Javan, from whom the Greeks descended. And the fifth was Tubal, from whom descended the Iberians, Spaniards and Italians. The sixth is Meshech, from whom the Cappadocians descended. And the seventh is Tupac, from whom the Thracians descended. All of them are the sons of Japheth, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech."
.
“The first people who came to America from Asia were the descendants of one of the ancient peoples of Japan. A comparison of ancient and modern human skulls collected around the world showed that the closest relatives of the first Americans were the ancient Japanese, whose civilization belonged to the so-called Jomon culture (VIII-I millennium BC) and the Ainu - also ancient, although a younger people who inhabited the northern part of the Japanese islands. It was representatives of these two peoples who crossed the Bering Strait 15 thousand years ago (at that time there was an isthmus in its place) and first settled in Alaska, and a thousand years later they reached Cape Horn, the end of South America. Modern Japanese still retain some features of the Jomon era. The same traits are observed among the American Indians of the Sioux, Blackfeet and Cherokee tribes. Scientists have found evidence that the ancient Japanese were skilled shipbuilders and likely sailed south along the west coast of America, establishing settlements in the most fertile places. This means that man knew how to build ships even during the time of hunting and gathering, in the Neolithic, long before the birth of agriculture. Proof of this is the ancient remains of birch bark canoes discovered in Japan, very similar to the boats that were later used by the natives of America. The second migration from Asia occurred 3-4 thousand years ago, and involved the Chinese, Mongols and Southeast Asians. They probably sailed by water through the same Bering Strait. From these settlers came the Eskimos and Aleuts, and some migrants moved further south and gave rise to the Navajo people.”
Priest Daniil Sysoev.
About the origin of nationalities and what rudeness is
Is his nationality important for a Christian, or should he not care for his people? Why was his son Canaan cursed for Ham's sin? How does rudeness manifest itself? We continue to read the Book of Genesis with historian and sectologist Andrei Ivanovich Solodkov.
Noah makes wine. Ham's sin. Mosaic of Monreale Cathedral, Sicily
Is sin the death of the soul?
So, God cleansed the earth from sin with the waters of the flood. Noah left the ark, built an altar to God, and served a thanksgiving prayer service. His children, Shem, Ham and Japheth, came out of the ark with him.
We read in chapter 9 of Genesis:
“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth [and subdue it]... every moving thing that lives will be your food; I give you everything like green herbs” (Genesis 9: 1, 3).
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian writes: “And God blessed Noah and his sons so that they would be fruitful and multiply and that all flesh would fear them, both in the sea and on land. Just do not eat flesh with its soul, with its blood, that is, do not eat a slaughtered animal or meat until the blood, in which the soul of the animal, has flowed out of it.” God makes a covenant with Noah and recalls the commandment about the birth of children and the spread of people throughout the face of the earth. In the next lecture - on the Tower of Babel - we will see that this commandment will be broken. It is still being violated to this day.
We talked about the soul of animals, which is contained in the blood, in the second conversation of our series, when we considered the question of the creation of the human soul and touched upon the topic of the erroneous understanding of the texts of the Bible by the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses. This misconception is the basis for this sect’s ban on blood transfusions, from which many, including the children of sect members who need emergency surgery, die. Let me remind you that in Hebrew there are three words with the meaning of “soul”: nefesh, neshama and ruach. The word nefesh (soul) is used mainly in relation to animals and the ordinary earthly life of all living beings. This word is not used when talking about the immortal soul of a person. The word neshama is most often used to name the immortal soul. And the ruach is the spirit that the Lord breathed into man at creation, and man became “nefeshalim,” that is, a living being.
Saint Gregory Palamas: “The separation of God from the soul is the death of the soul. And this is mainly death."
The immortality of the soul is spoken of in many texts of the Old and New Testaments, for example: Isa. 14:9–16; Ezek. 32:21–31; Mf. 10:28; OK. 12:4–5; 2 Cor. 5: 1–10; Phil. 1: 23–24, etc. All three levels of the soul - nefesh, neshama, ruach - are immortal, because what God created cannot disappear into nowhere. Soul and body will be resurrected, a person living in earthly life with Christ and in Christ will be transformed. If it is said, for example, in the prophet Ezekiel and in other places of Holy Scripture: “The soul (nefesh) that sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4), this does not mean, as the theory of evolution and secular philosophy or the sect of Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, that the soul will disappear or die in the atheistic understanding: they say, “a burdock will grow on the grave, and that will all end.” Saint John Chrysostom writes: “When you hear “death of the soul,” do not think that the soul dies like the body. No, she's immortal. The death of the soul is sin and eternal torment. Therefore, Christ says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The lost remains only at a distance from the face of the One who destroyed.” And again: “There is physical death, and there is also spiritual death. To undergo the first is not scary and not sinful, because this is a matter of nature, and not of good will, a consequence of the first fall... The other death is spiritual, since it comes from the will, exposes responsibility and has no excuse.” The Evangelist John the Theologian writes about this in the Apocalypse: “Both death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is death ...he who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death” (Rev. 20:14; 2:11). That is, the first death will befall everyone, and the second death - the death of separation of the soul from God - will befall sinners, and the sinning soul will suffer harm, since during earthly life it separated itself from God. Saint Gregory Palamas writes: “For just as the separation of the soul from the body is the death of the body, so the separation of God from the soul is the death of the soul. And this is mainly death, the death of the soul.”
So, the words “the soul of animals is in the blood” does not mean that the blood contains any substance of the soul. What this means is that the life of any living creature lasts until it bleeds to death.
As for the direct ban on eating the blood of animals, this ban is approved not only by Old Testament legislation. The Apostolic Council also adopted a ruling on abstaining from eating blood. When the question arose about how to accept pagans into the Church: to circumcise or not, the Council decided: “For it pleases the Holy Spirit and us not to place on you any more burdens than this necessary: to abstain from things sacrificed to idols and blood, and things strangled, and fornication, and do to others what you don’t want to do to yourself. By observing this, you will do well. Be healthy” (Acts 15:28–29). Thus, the shedding of human blood is prohibited - because of revenge and envy: “I will also exact the soul of a man from the hand of a man, from the hand of his brother, as I determined the punishment for Cain for the blood of Abel. These words mean the same thing: whoever sheds human blood, his blood will be shed by the hand of man” (Rev. Ephraim the Syrian).
"I establish my covenant"
“Landscape with the sacrifice of Noah”, I.A. Koch, ok. 1803. State Gallery, Frankfurt am Main
But let's return to chapter 9 of Genesis. We read further:
“And God said to Noah and his sons with him: Behold, I have established my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living soul... and there will no longer be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9: 8-11) .
Saint John Chrysostom writes: “In order to remove all anxiety from his mind and make sure that this will no longer happen, God says: just as I brought the flood through my love for mankind, in order to stop evil and stop its further spread, so now, through my love for mankind, I promise do not do this in the future, so that you can live your real life without any fear. For this reason He says: behold, I am establishing My covenant, that is, I am concluding an agreement. In human affairs, when someone promises something, he enters into an agreement and thereby provides the proper confirmation. So the good Lord says: behold, I establish my covenant. He wisely said: I deliver, that is, I restore what was completely destroyed for the sins of people; and behold, I establish (restore) My covenant with you and with your descendants after you. Notice the Lord’s love for mankind: I extend, he says, the covenant not only to you, but I declare that it will be inviolable with your descendants. Then, to show His generous goodness, He says: and with every living soul that is with you, with the birds, and with the cattle, and with all the beasts of the earth that are among you, with all that came out of the ark, with all the animals of the earth; I establish my covenant with you, that all flesh shall no longer be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there shall no more be a flood to destroy the earth. Do you see the greatness of the covenant? Do you see the untold importance of the promises? See how He extends His goodness to both the dumb and the beasts - and not without reason. What I often said before, I will repeat the same now. Since these animals were created for man, now they also participate in the benefits provided to man. True, the covenant seems to be equally common to both him and the dumb, but in reality it is not so. This is done to console man, so that he knows how honored he is, when the benefit does not stop with him alone, but because of him, all these (animals) participate in the goodness of the Lord.”
And, as a sign of the Covenant, a rainbow is given to a person as a reminder that there will be no more flood. When we see a rainbow, let us remember that there will be no more flood.
“Having assigned them the limits of their habitat”
Next we read that the sons of Noah (verse 18) came out of the ark - these are Shem, Ham and Japheth. There is also mention of Noah's grandson Canaan. The Ark was divided into different compartments for animals and for people. Husbands and wives were kept separate from each other, and all marital relations were prohibited. When Noah's family entered the ark, nothing was said about the grandson, but we read: “Ham was the father of Canaan” (Gen. 9:18). Ham gives birth to a son, Noah's grandson, Canaan. Saint John Chrysostom writes on this occasion: “The Scripture wants to point out to us the extreme intemperance of Ham, that neither such a great disaster (the flood), nor such a cramped life in the ark could curb him, but meanwhile, his elder brother hitherto does not yet have children, he, during such a wrath of God, when the entire universe was perishing, gave in to intemperance and did not restrain his unbridled lust.”
We will talk about Ham’s behavior a little later, but now let’s pay attention to the words:
“The whole earth was peopled from them” (Gen. 9:19).
So after the flood, three branches of nationalities appeared - Semites, Hamites, Japhethians.
Unity in Christ does not mean the need to renounce one’s homeland and people
In the Explanatory Bible, Prof. A. Lopukhin we find the following comment: “The descendants of Shem (Semites) populated Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria and Arabia... the descendants of Ham emigrated mainly to Africa, and, finally, the descendants of Japheth spread throughout the northern part of Asia, in India, penetrated into Europe and even "probably to America." In the book of the Acts of the Apostles we read the speech of the Apostle Paul in the Greek Areopagus: “Of one blood He made the whole race of mankind to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having appointed predetermined times and limits for their habitation” (Acts 17:26). God assigns, as we see from these words, to each people “limits of habitation,” that is, each people has its own land, its own home, its own homeland. This is the command of God, which, as we see, contradicts today's policies of cosmopolitanism. Yes, in Christ “there is neither Greek nor Jew” (Col. 3:11), but this does not mean that a person should forget about his people and his nationality. We are talking about unity in Christ, in His Church, and not about illusory unity on the principles of internationalism, ecumenism, national socialism or obsessive cosmopolitanism. Unity in Christ does not mean the need to renounce one’s homeland and people. The Apostle Paul was not alien to the spirit of patriotism and love for his people: “I myself would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers who are related to me according to the flesh” (Rom. 9: 3). He does not say: according to faith, according to the spirit - but precisely according to the flesh. He loved his people so much that he himself was ready to sacrifice himself to save his nation. And he “expresses a desire to be excommunicated from Christ out of love for God. Everyone accused God that He expelled and deprived the honor of the Jews, who were honored by adoption, who enjoyed special glory and were called the ancestors of Christ, and instead brought in people who had never known God, pagans, and expressed grumbling and blasphemy against Providence, as if this was being done unjustly and God deceived the forefathers to whom he promised gifts. That is why Paul was tormented, grieved for the glory of God and wanted to be excommunicated himself, if only the Jews would be saved and their blasphemy against God would stop,” writes St. John Chrysostom.
“You see,” says blessed Theophylact, “that out of fiery love for God, he desires, if possible, to be separated from the host of those who live eternally with Christ - not from His love, but from His glory and the enjoyment of it. So, the apostle argues, I, who have accomplished countless deeds, who love God immeasurably, desire for the glory of God to lose the glory of Christ. And this does not mean losing, but rather gaining. With the words “for my brothers, my relatives according to the flesh,” he indicates his most tender and ardent love for the Jews.”
Only Christianity can fill patriotic feelings with content
Nationality is not a human invention and not a product of evolutionary development. Nationalities - God's providence for humanity. And in this sense, only biblical and patristic foundations are capable of filling patriotic feelings with content, promoting them, which are stuck only on statements: “Thank you grandfather for the victory,” “Trophy,” and “On to Berlin!” Such a worldview can sensibly regulate migration policy, instill responsible love for one’s people and respect for other nationalities. All artificial secular attempts to resolve these issues, as history shows, lead to fascism, Nazism, genocide and other ugly manifestations.
Ham sin
But we read further:
“Noah began to cultivate the land and planted a vineyard; and he drank wine and became drunk, and lay naked in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and went out and told his two brothers. Shem and Japheth took the robe and, putting it on their shoulders, went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned back, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. Noah woke up from his wine and learned what his youngest son had done to him, and said: Cursed is Canaan; He will be a servant of servants to his brothers. Then he said: Blessed is the Lord God of Shem; Canaan will be his slave; May God spread Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; Canaan will be his slave. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died” (Gen. 9: 20–29).
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian writes about the reason for Noah’s intoxication: “Noah’s intoxication occurred not because he drank a lot of wine, but because for a long time he did not drink wine at all.”
“And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and went out and told his two brothers...” The sin of rudeness is when children look out for the shortcomings of their parents, ridicule them and condemn them. This is what Ham did to his father. But it is not Ham who is punished, but his son Canaan. Why? According to the interpretation of the fathers, for the reason that Ham was blessed by God upon entering the ark. For the sin of a parent, his child is punished: “for I... am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the fathers” (Ex. 20: 5).
I. Ksenofontov. Noah curses Ham
But are children always punished for the sins of their parents? Of course not. If a person falls into sins, but repents of them, eradicates sins and passions through prayer, fasting, and virtues, then the sins are eliminated. It is said: “I will blot out your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a cloud; turn to Me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22). Then children and descendants will not be punished. Therefore, let us not sin, at least for the sake of our children, and if we fall into sin, then find strength in God for repentance and take the path of struggle against sins and passions.
There is such a story in hagiographic literature. One day a monk came to the elder and asked:
- Abba, I have fallen into sin. What should I do?
The elder replied:
- Get up.
Then he came again after each fall to his confessor, but heard the same answer:
- Repent, get up if you have fallen.
One day he asked:
- Abba, how long can you repent? I'm falling again.
The elder replied:
– As often as you fall, you get up.
This is the meaning of the Christian life. Through repentance comes correction and eradication of sin. The main condition in achieving our salvation is repentance. These are the first words of Christ the Savior, who came out to serve people: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Somehow, behind the search for new forms and methods in church service, behind the scientificity of our articles and reports, behind the endless presentations of our activities and a bunch of reports, we forget about the main message addressed to this world and entrusted to us by Christ - to call the world to a change of mind and way of life with this simple word: repent. After all, without repentance it is impossible to accept another message - about the abolition of death: Christ is risen! Perhaps it is because of this enthusiasm and forgetfulness about the main condition for accepting Christ - repentance - that boorish projects such as, for example, juvenile justice arise.
The endless gossip of the hierarchy is a manifestation of Ham’s sin today
There is another side to rudeness: this is the endless gossip of the hierarchy.
In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes: “For although you have thousands of instructors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers: I have begotten you in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). There are parents who gave birth to us in this temporary life. We also have parents who gave birth to us and are giving birth to eternal life through the Sacrament of Baptism. Fathers and mothers also include godparents, who make a promise before God and the Church to raise their godchildren “in all piety and purity.” It is necessary to honor godparents and pray for them. Disrespect for godparents is also a kind of rudeness. Just as godparents pray for their godchildren, so godchildren pray for their godchildren. We must pray for priests, just as priests pray for the people. And if we learn about the fall of a clergyman, then we must pray for him, and not condemn him. Any person can fall into sin, but our duty is to support the person, even if he is a shepherd leader. Consider the story from the Book of Exodus. “And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed; But Moses' hands grew heavy, and then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were raised until the sun went down. And Joshua overthrew Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Exodus 17:11–13). The priest prays for every person and for the entire nation and, as we see from this story, he needs our support.
Let us learn not to judge each other, not to be rude, but to pray for each other and forgive. Otherwise, how can we pray the “Our Father” prayer, which contains the words: “just as we forgive,” but we ourselves do not forgive, but condemn?! Then the following prayer will be more honest: “and condemn us, as we condemn.” Let this not happen to us in the future, and if we fall into such a temptation, let us not hesitate to get up. Let us imitate Shem and Japheth. It is said about them, as we read above: “And she and Japheth took a robe, and putting it on their shoulders, went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned back, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.”
We can only, by listening to the teachings of the hierarchy, check whether they teach with the consent of the fathers, whether there is any deviation into heresy. Sins are a matter of confession for every person, be he a layman, a priest or a bishop. There is a good proverb: “Sheep, do not feed the shepherds!”
What happened to Canaan? When Noah uttered the words of the curse, Canaan turned black. He became a black man. The Hamitic branch originates from him.
May the Lord deliver us from the blackening of our souls and have mercy on us from falling into boorish sins!
Orthodox Life
THOMAS
According to biblical tradition, Shem, Ham and Japheth gave rise to the ethnic diversity of post-Flood humanity. Did African peoples really descend from Ham?
The children of Ham settled initially on the African continent, where from them came such peoples mentioned in the Bible as the Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Hittites, Amorites, Ethiopians, etc. They belonged to different ethnic and linguistic groups (for example, the Hittites were Indo-Europeans, the Philistines and Ethiopians spoke a Semitic dialect) and differed from each other in skin color, which varied from very dark to light olive.
In general, the ethnogenesis of African peoples is poorly studied. It is sometimes difficult to trace any connections between them. Mass migrations to the north and east, which took place at the dawn of the formation of ethnic communities, played a big role here. Therefore, the theory that all Africans are Hamites is considered outdated and is not confirmed in modern biblical studies.
It is important to emphasize here that no classification, especially one that claims to be theologically justified, should not become a reason for racial and national segregation, justify racism and other erroneous ideas about the inequality of people based on their ethnicity. Otherwise, we risk repeating the mistakes and crimes of the slave owners of the New Age, who, formally being Christians, justified their behavior by the fact that blacks descend from Canaan, cursed by Noah, the eldest son of Ham, whose fate was to be in slavery to his brothers (see Gen. 9, 25). The result of this interpretation of the Bible was many years of inhumane exploitation of the black population of Africa in the New World, and after the abolition of slavery - racial discrimination.
Interpreting the Bible to justify your own iniquities and injustices is completely wrong and sinful. It is important to understand that the Bible is a holy book in which you need to pay attention, first of all, to the spiritual meaning of the events described. When Scripture speaks about sin and its consequences, it does not speak about some other people, not about some other nations to which we do not belong and therefore can calm down - it speaks about us. We ourselves can fall into boorish sin towards our parents or other people and thus damage our soul.
Priest Evgeny Murzin
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Where did the Slavs come from? Of course, you can turn to ethnographic sources, but there are also mythological sources on this topic that also deserve attention. Thus, medieval Russian chronicles directly indicate the origin of the Slavic peoples from Japheth, one of the sons of Noah. Japheth and his sons By the way, the name Japheth (variations - Japhet or Iapet) means, on the one hand, “beauty”, on the other, “spreading” or “expansion”.
According to the Book of Genesis, even before the Flood, Japheth founded the city of Jaffa. After he and his wife escaped on Noah's ark, they had seven sons - Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras, who, in turn, also had sons over time. “From them the islands of nations were inhabited in their lands, each according to his language, according to his tribes, among his nations” (Genesis 10: 1-5).
The Tale of Bygone Years says: “After the destruction of the pillar and the division of the peoples, the sons of Shem took the eastern countries, and the sons of Ham took the southern countries, while the Japhethites took the west and northern countries. From these same 70 and 2 language came the Slavic people, from the tribe of Japheth - the so-called Noriks, who are the Slavs. After a long time, the Slavs settled along the Danube, where the land of Hungary and Bulgaria is now... From those Slavs, the Slavs dispersed throughout the land and were called by their names from the places where they settled. So some, having come, sat down on the river in the name of Morava and were called Moravians, while others called themselves Czechs. And here are the same Slavs: white Croats, and Serbs, and Horutans. When the Volochs attacked the Danube Slavs, and settled among them, and oppressed them, these Slavs came and sat on the Vistula and were called Poles, and from those Poles came the Poles, other Poles - Lutichs, others - Mazovshans, others - Pomeranians, others - encouraged. In the same way, these Slavs came and sat down along the Dnieper and were called Polyans, and others - Drevlyans, because they sat in the forests, and others sat between Pripyat and Dvina and were called Dregovichs, others sat along the Dvina and were called Polochans, after a river flowing into the Dvina , called Polota, from which the Polotsk people took their name. The same Slavs who settled near Lake Ilmen were called by their own name - Slavs, and built a city and called it Novgorod. And others sat along the Desna, and the Seim, and the Sula, and called themselves northerners. And so the Slavic people dispersed, and after his name the letter was called Slavic.” The myth of the three brothers
There is also a myth according to which the ancestors of all Slavic peoples are the three sons of Japheth, whose names were Czech, Lech and Rus.
They were first mentioned at the beginning of the 12th century in the “Czech Chronicle” by Cozma of Prague. From them came the Czechs, Poles and Russes (Russians), respectively. By the way, Rus was mentioned even earlier, in the 10th century, by the Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan, who visited Rus'. In his writings, he writes about the origin of the Russians from “Rus, the son of Japheth and the grandson of Noah”... True, the Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev believes that the legend about the three brothers, descendants of Noah and Japheth, is just a fiction. The theory of the 16th-century Dalmatian historian and abbot of the Benedictine monastery on the island of Mljet, Mauro Orbini, set out in the book “The Slavic Kingdom” (published in 1601 in Italian) stands up even less to criticism.
She claims that the ancestors of the Slavic peoples were the great-grandsons of Japheth Scythian, Rus and Slaven. Moreover, according to it, such peoples as the Vandals, Goths, Alans, Avars originally belonged to the Slavs, and many European nations allegedly descended from them: Swedes, Finns, Normans, Burgundians, Bretons...
Descendants of Mosoh?
And at the beginning of the 17th century, the Swedish historian Peter Petreus de Erlesunda came to the conclusion that the ancestor of the Russians (Muscovites) was the son of Japheth Meshech, “commonly called Mosoch.” “The Muscovites received their name partly from the Moscow River, and partly from Mosoh, the son of Japheth,” he writes in his “History of the Grand Duchy of Moscow” (1615). Thus, at least that the Slavs descend from Japheth is the generally accepted point of view and the most likely option, since this is stated in many sources. And it’s not so important what exactly the names of the descendants of Noah’s son, who founded the various Slavic peoples, were called
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The stories of the great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia are strongly associated with biblical characters directly related to the sons of Noah Published on imbf.org
Secular history provides ample evidence that the survivors of Noah's Flood were real historical figures, and their names are indelibly imprinted on many events and things of the ancient world. When Noah and his family left the Ark, they were the only people on Earth. It was the three sons of Noah - Shem, Ham, Japheth and their wives who were to repopulate the earth through their descendants after the Flood.
Genesis 10 talks about Noah's 16 grandchildren. God has left us ample evidence that these grandsons of Noah actually lived, that their biblical names are their real names, and that after the Babylonian dispersion (Genesis 11), their descendants spread throughout the earth and gave rise to the various peoples of the ancient world. The first generations of people after the Flood lived long lives, some of them outlived their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. This made them stand out a lot.
They were the heads of clans that grew and became large groups of people in their respective regions. Here's what happened:
- People in different areas were called by the name of their common ancestor.
- They named their land, and often large cities and rivers, after him.
- Sometimes people slipped into the cult of ancestor worship. And when this happened, it was natural for them to call their god by the name of their common ancestor. Or they revered their long-living ancestor as a god.
All this means is that the evidence of history is preserved in such a way that it simply cannot be lost, and human ingenuity cannot simply be erased. Let's take a closer look at this evidence.
Seven sons of Japheth
Genesis 10:1-2 says:
“This is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. After the flood, their children were born. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. Sons of Gomer: Askenaz, Riphat and Togarmah"
The first grandson of Noah mentioned in Scripture was Homer. He was the progenitor of the Cimmerians, who originally settled on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Ezekiel wrote that the descendants of Gomer, as well as the descendants of Togarmah (son of Gomer), lived in the northern reaches (Ezekiel 38:6). There is an area in modern Turkey that in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the people who in his time (93 AD) were called Galatians or Gauls were formerly called Gomerites.
They moved west to the area now called France and Spain. For many centuries, France was called Gaul, named after the descendants of Homer. Northwestern Spain is still called Galicia to this day.
Some of the Gomerites moved further into the area now called Wales. Historian Davies reports the traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Homer "arrived in the land of the British Isle from France, about 300 years after the Flood."2 He also writes that the Welsh language is called Gomeragh (after their ancestor Homer).
Other clan members settled in areas along the route of settlement, including Armenia. The sons of Gomer were “Askenaz, and Riphat, and Togarmah” (Genesis 10:3). The Encyclopedia Britannica says that Armenians traditionally consider themselves descendants of Togarma and Askenaz.
The borders of ancient Armenia extended into the territory of Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from the name Togarm. Others moved to Germany. Ashkenaz is the name of Germany in Hebrew.
The next grandson mentioned in Scripture is Magog. According to Ezekiel, the descendants of Magog lived in the northern lands (Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2). Josephus writes that those whom he calls Magogitians were called Scythians by the Greeks.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the ancient name of the region that today includes part of Romania and Ukraine was Scythia.
The next grandson is Madai. Together with Elam, the son of Shem, Madai is the ancestor of modern Iranians. Josephus says that the Greeks called the descendants of Madai the Medes. Whenever the Medes are mentioned in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word Madai (medai) is used. After the reign of King Cyrus, the Medes are always mentioned (except once) together with the Persians. These two peoples became one kingdom, ruled by one law - “the law of the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 6:8, 12, 15). Later they were simply called Persians. Since 1935, they began to be called in accordance with the name of their country - Iranians. The Medes also "settled in India."
Javan is the Hebrew name for Greece. The names Greece, Greece, or Greeks appear five times in the Old Testament, and always in the form of the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel speaks of “the king of Greece” (Daniel 8:21), which literally means “the king of Javan.” The names of Javan's sons were Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4). All of them had family ties with the Greek people. The Aeolians (an ancient Greek people) got their name from Japheth's grandson Elisha. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in an area called Cilicia (modern Türkiye).
The Encyclopedia Britannica states that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus.6 The Greeks worshiped Jupiter under the name Jupiter Dodeneus, who received his name from the fourth son of Javan (Dodadim). The name Jupiter comes from the name Japheth. His oracle was located in the city of Dodona.
The next grandson is Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech (Ezekiel 39:1). Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria, reigning around 1100 BC, names the descendants of this grandson as Tabali. Josephus called them Tobelites, who later became known as Iberians.
“In the time of Josephus, the Romans called this territory Iberia. Iberia was located where Georgia is today, the capital of which to this day bears the name of Tubal - Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus Mountains, the people moved further to the northeast, calling the Tobol River after their tribe, and hence the name of the famous city of Tobolsk.”
Meshech, the name of Noah's next grandson, is the ancient name of the city of Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia and the region that surrounds the city. One of the geographical areas, the Meshchera Lowland, is still called by the name of Meshekha, having undergone virtually no changes over the centuries.
According to Josephus, the descendants of Thirasan were called Tyrians. The Greeks changed their name and they became known as Thracians.
Thrace stretched from Macedonia in the south to the Danube River in the north and to the Black Sea in the east. The territories of Yugoslavia known to us belonged to this area. The World Encyclopedia says: “The people of Thrace were brutal Indo-Europeans who loved to fight and plunder.”
The descendants of Firas worshiped him under the name Turas, that is, Thor - the god of thunder.
Four sons of Ham
Next come the four sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Puth and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). The descendants of Ham mainly populated the southwestern part of Asia and Africa. The Bible often speaks of Africa as the land of Ham (Ps. 104:23, 27; 106:22).
The name of Noah's grandson Cush is a Hebrew word for ancient Ethiopia. The word Ethiopia in the Bible is always, without exception, a translation of the Hebrew word Cush. Josephus, who calls them Hus, wrote that “even in our days the Ethiopians themselves call themselves Husseins (Hussians), as the inhabitants of Asia also call them.”
Noah's next grandson is Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt. The name Egypt appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with one exception) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. For example, at the burial site of Jacob, the Canaanites saw the crying of the Egyptians and named the place Abel Mizraim, which means the crying of the Egyptians (Genesis 50:11).
The stories of the great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia are strongly associated with biblical characters directly related to the sons of Noah. The origins of most tribes and peoples can be traced back to the sons of Noah - and this can be easily verified by examining their family tree
Fut—the name of the next grandson—is the Hebrew name for Libya. This ancient name appears three times in the Old Testament. The ancient Fut River was located in Libya. By the time Daniel lived, the name had been changed to Livia. Josephus says: “Futians inhabited Libya and called the inhabitants of the country Futians after themselves.”
Canaan, the next grandson of Noah, is the Hebrew name for the territory that was later called Palestine by the Romans, i.e. modern territory of Israel and Jordan. It is worth saying a few words about the descendants of Ham (Genesis 10:14-18). They were: Philistae, who is undoubtedly the ancestor of the Philistines (from which the name of Palestine was derived), Sidon, the founder of the ancient city named after him, and Hittite, the founder of the ancient Hittite Empire.
Canaan is also spoken of in Genesis 10:15-18 as the progenitor of the Jebusites (Jebus is the ancient name of Jerusalem - Judges 19:10), the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkeites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites and the Himathites - the ancient peoples who inhabited the earth Canaan. The most famous descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, as well as Erech, Akkad and Chalneh in the land of Shinar (Babylonia).
Five sons of Shem
And finally, the sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram (Genesis 10:22). Elam is the ancient name of Persia, which itself is the ancient name of Iran. Before the reign of King Cyrus, the people who lived here were called Elamites, they are even mentioned several times under this name in the New Testament. In Acts 2:9, the Jews from Persia who were present on the Day of Pentecost are referred to as Elamites. Thus, the Persians are descendants of both Elam, the son of Shem, and Madai, the son of Japheth (see above).
Since the 1930s, they have called their land Iran. It is very interesting to note that the word "Aryan", which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word "Iran". Hitler wanted to create a pure Aryan “race” consisting of superhumans. But the term “Aryan” itself denotes a mixed line of Semites and Japhetites!
Assur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Whenever the words Assyria or Assyrian are found in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Assur. Assur was one of the first people to be deified and worshiped by his own descendants.
“Throughout the entire existence of Assyria, i.e. before 612 BC, reports of battles, diplomatic and foreign relations were read aloud, referring to the image of Assur; all the Assyrian kings believed that they wore their crown only with the divine permission of the spirit of Assur"
Arphaxad was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. This fact "is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, where his name appears as Ariphurra - the founder of Chaldea." His descendant, Eber, passed on his name to the Jewish people through the Eber-Pelek-Raghab-Serukh-Nachor-Terah-Abram line (Genesis 11:16-26).
Eber's other son, Joktan, had 13 sons (Genesis 10:26_30), all of whom settled in Arabia. Lud was the ancestor of the Lydians. Lydia was located in what is today Western Türkiye. The ancient capital of Lydia was the city of Sardis. One of the seven churches of Asia was located at Sardis (Rev 3:1).
Aram is the Hebrew name for Syria. Every time the word Syria appears in the Old Testament, know that this word is translated from the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Aramaic, and their language is called Aramaic. Until the expansion of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26ff). As Jesus hung nailed to the cross and spoke the words, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” (Mark 15:34), He spoke in Aramaic, the language of the majority of the people.
Conclusion
We've only talked briefly about the 16 grandchildren of Noah, but enough has been said to show that all these people actually lived, that they were exactly what the Bible says they are, and that they and their descendants are real, recognizable characters in the pages. stories. The Bible, far from being a collection of myths and legends, is the only key to the history of the earliest eras of our world
Noah is a controversial but lovable patriarch
Legends about the only survivor of the flood, Noah, exist in the cultures of different peoples of the world.
Some Jewish midrashim detail his righteous deeds in the times before the flood. And in Armenia, the tomb of Noach has still been preserved, to which, several centuries ago, many pilgrims adhering to different Abrahamic religions went. In canonical Christianity, Noah is the biblical patriarch, the ancestor of modern humanity and an example of high morality. Many fundamental principles of modern Christian history are associated with his figure. Life of Noah before and after the flood
Biblical Noah or from Hebrew Noah, according to Christian ideas, is a direct descendant of Adam and the progenitor of all modern humanity. In the Book of Genesis, he is described as the only one who maintained a righteous lifestyle among his contemporaries. For his high moral qualities and love for God, God, who decided to punish people for the fall, saves Noah. Before sending a flood on humanity, he warns the last of the Old Testament patriarchs about the impending disaster and tells him how to save himself.
To survive, Noah had to build a wooden Ark, take his entire family and all known animals, one pair from each species, into it to continue the race.
The same animals that could be sacrificed should have been taken more - so that sacrifices could be made in the first years after the water recedes and a new life begins. Noah had three sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and several wives, but the Book of Genesis says nothing about Noah's daughters and his sons' wives before the flood, which is sometimes the subject of anti-Christian criticism. Subsequently, all known nations descended from the sons of Noah (from Shem - the Semites, from Ham - the Hamites, from Japheth - the Indo-Europeans). Although these terms are now obsolete, the issue of their precedence is still often a stumbling block in interreligious disputes.
Noah's life in the ark
Together with his family, from the moment the flood began until the earth reappeared, Noah had to wait in the ark for about a year. All this time he wandered around the ocean, not knowing anything about when the water would recede and the land would appear along with the food growing on it. According to the biblical legend, he spent a little more than forty days before the flood in the ark waiting for the end of the world. The end of the world: what are we talking about?, then the Flood lasted forty days and nights. After this, the ark rose and floated through the water, which rose higher than the highest mountains, destroying all life on earth. Noah spent six months (150 biblical days) waiting. Then the water began to slowly recede, and in the seventh month, according to legend, the ark first stopped on rocky Ararat.
But in order to live, Noah needed land more suitable for farming. To search for her, he began to release a dove from the ark. The first time the bird did not bring him anything, which meant that the ground had not yet appeared. In the second, the dove brought an olive branch. But on the third day the bird did not return, and soon Noah’s ark found itself near dry land. Then he and his family waited for some time until the ground “dried up”, and only then left the ship. After salvation, the biblical patriarch slaughtered and sacrificed several animals, and then entered into a covenant with God, receiving from him instructions for a righteous life and a promise to no longer punish humanity with a flood for their sins.
The Legend of Nukh in Armenia
Mount Ararat, where Noah descended from the ark after the flood, is located in Armenia. Therefore, many legends are associated with the figure of the biblical patriarch Noah or Nuh. One of the Armenian cities (now located in Azerbaijan), Nakhichevan, according to legend, received its name in honor of this biblical character. It was in the Ararat Valley that Noah, according to legend, made the first sacrifice of “clean animals”, after which God had mercy and promised to no longer punish humanity with a flood for misdeeds. Here Nuh, together with his sons, planted the first vineyards.
In the 13th century, one of the Armenian chroniclers, in a work on the geography of Armenia, mentions that the resting place of Noah is located in Nakhichevan, and the grave of his wife is in Maranda. Over time, Noah's tomb actually appears here. Travelers' accounts from the 19th century contain many indications that it was popular among pilgrims. Despite the fact that later biblical scholars proved that the identification of the Armenian Ararat with the biblical one may be erroneous, in Armenia Noah’s grave is considered real. During Soviet times, the tomb (presumably built in the 16th century) was destroyed. But since 2006, its systematic restoration began, and in 2010, the Mausoleum of Noah (or the Tomb of the Prophet Nuh) opened to visitors.
Semites, Hamites and Japhetes
As mentioned above, from the three sons of Noah came the main groups of biblical peoples - Semites, Hamites and Japheths. With some adjustments, their descendants are correlated with modern Semites, African and island populations, and Indo-Europeans, respectively. According to one biblical legend, Ham was cursed by Noah for mocking his father when he was drunk. According to legend, the biblical patriarch predicted that he would forever be the slave of Shem and Japheth, which in modern times was often a “legitimate” Christian justification for the slave trade.
Today, the definition of Hamites, Semites and Japheths as ethnic groups is not considered relevant in science.
Tellingly, in ancient Sumerian texts there was also a myth about a flood in which the gods destroyed humanity, which was boring to them. And the last righteous man among the Babylonians also survived. In the same way - with a warning about the flood and a story about the construction of the ark - one of the celestials saved him. Scholars who are seriously engaged in the study of issues relating to the historicity of the Bible see this as evidence that the Flood actually took place. Others note that at least this indicates that in the Middle East there was a single cycle of legends about pre- and post-Flood times.
Ksenia Zharchinskaya
The myth of the Flood - the most ancient versions
Evidence of the Flood - science guarding religion
Where is Noah's Ark: it has been found so many times...
Noah's Ark - fiction or a miracle of ancient engineering?
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- global flood
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The Lord is coming!
The Bible is the only key to the history of the earliest eras of our world. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, Japheth, and sixteen grandchildren. The stories of the great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia are strongly associated with biblical characters directly related to the sons of Noah. Secular history provides ample evidence that the survivors of Noah's Flood were real historical figures, and their names are indelibly imprinted on many events and things of the ancient world. When Noah and his family left the Ark, they were the only people on Earth. The sons of Noah and their wives were the people who were to repopulate the earth through their descendants after the Flood. Genesis 10 talks about Noah's 16 grandchildren. God has left us ample evidence that these grandsons of Noah actually lived, that their biblical names are their real names, and that after the Babylonian dispersion (Genesis 11), their descendants spread throughout the earth and gave rise to the various peoples of the ancient world. The first generations of people after the Flood lived long lives, some of them outlived their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. The last long-liver was Noah - 950 years, his son Shem lived 600 years, his son Arfarksad - 438 years, his son Salah - 433 years, his son Eber - 464 years, his son Peleg - 239 years, his son Raghav - 239 years, his son Serukh - 230 years old, his son Nahor 148 years old, his son Terah - 205 years old, the days of Abraham were -175 years old (1948 - 1773 BC), his son Isaac - 180 years old, his son Jacob - 147 years old and his son Joseph lived to be 110 years old. ~400 years later, Moses wrote: “The days of our years are seventy years, and with greater strength, eighty years; and their best time is labor and illness, for they pass quickly, and we fly” (Ps. 89:10). Noah's sons and grandsons became the heads of clans, which grew and became large populations in their respective regions. People in different areas were called by the name of their common ancestor. They named their land, and often large cities and rivers, after him. Sometimes people slipped into the cult of ancestor worship. And when this happened, it was natural for them to call their god by the name of their common ancestor. Or they revered their long-living ancestor as a god. All this means is that the evidence of history is preserved in such a way that it simply cannot be lost, and human ingenuity cannot simply be erased. The origins of most tribes and peoples can be traced back to the sons of Noah - and this can be easily verified by examining their family trees. Let's take a closer look at these testimonies: Genesis 10:1-2 says, “These are the genealogies of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood, their children were born. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. Sons of Gomer: Askenaz, Riphat and Togarmah"
Sons of Japheth - The first grandson of Noah mentioned in Scripture was Gomer. He was the progenitor of the Cimmerians, who originally settled on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Ezekiel wrote that the descendants of Gomer, as well as the descendants of Togarmah (son of Gomer), lived in the northern reaches (Ezek. 38:6). There is an area in modern Turkey that in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the people who in his time (93 AD) were called Galatians or Gauls were formerly called Gomerites. They moved west to the area now called France and Spain. For many centuries, France was called Gaul, named after the descendants of Homer. Northwestern Spain is still called Galicia to this day. Some of the Gomerites moved further into the area now called Wales. The historian Davies reports the traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Homer "arrived in the land of the British Isle from France, about 300 years after the Flood." He also writes that the Welsh language is called Gomeragh (after their ancestor Homer). Other clan members settled in areas along the route of settlement, including Armenia. The sons of Gomer were “Askenaz, and Riphat, and Togarmah” (Gen. 10:3). The Encyclopedia Britannica says that Armenians traditionally consider themselves descendants of Togarma and Askenaz. The borders of ancient Armenia extended into the territory of Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from the name Togarm. Others moved to Germany. Ashkenaz is the name of Germany in Hebrew. There is evidence that the name of the country Turkey was formed from a descendant of Noah named Togarma (see text). - Magog. According to Ezekiel, the descendants of Magog lived in the northern lands (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:2). Josephus writes that those whom he calls Magogitians were called Scythians by the Greeks. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the ancient name of the region that today includes parts of Romania, Ukraine and Russia was Scythia. - Madai. Together with Elam, the son of Shem, Madai is the ancestor of modern Iranians. Josephus says that the Greeks called the descendants of Madai the Medes. Whenever the Medes are mentioned in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word Madai (medai) is used. After the reign of King Cyrus, the Medes are always mentioned (except once) together with the Persians. These two nations became one kingdom, ruled by one law - “the law of the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 6:8,12,15). Later they were simply called Persians. Since 1935, they began to be called in accordance with the name of their country - Iranians. The Medes also "settled in India." Javan is the Hebrew name for Greece. The names Greece, Greece, or Greeks appear five times in the Old Testament, and always in the form of the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel speaks of "the king of Greece" (Dan. 8:21), which literally means "the king of Javan." The names of Javan's sons were Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim (Gen. 10:4). All of them had family ties with the Greek people. The Aeolians (an ancient Greek people) got their name from Japheth's grandson Elisha. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in an area called Cilicia (modern Türkiye). The Encyclopædia Britannica states that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus. The Greeks worshiped Jupiter under the name Jupiter Dodeneus, who received his name from the fourth son of Javan (Dodim). The name Jupiter comes from the name Japheth. His oracle was located in the city of Dodona. — Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech (Ezek. 39:1). Tiglath-pileser I, king of Assyria, reigning around 1100 BC, names the descendants of this grandson as Tabali. Josephus called them Tobelites, who later became known as Iberians. “In the time of Josephus, the Romans called this territory Iberia. Iberia was located where Georgia is today, the capital of which to this day bears the name of Tubal - Tbilisi. From here, having crossed the Caucasus Mountains, the people moved further to the northeast, calling the Tobol River after their tribe, and hence the name of the famous city of Tobolsk.” - Meshech - the name of the next grandson of Noah, is the ancient name of the city of Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia and the region that surrounds the city. One of the geographical areas, the Meshchera Lowland, is still called by the name of Meshekha, having undergone virtually no changes over the centuries. —According to Josephus, the descendants of Firas were called Tyrians. The Greeks changed their name and they became known as Thracians. Thrace stretched from Macedonia in the south to the Danube River in the north and to the Black Sea in the east. The territories of Yugoslavia known to us belonged to this area. The World Encyclopedia says: “The people of Thrace were brutal Indo-Europeans who loved to fight and plunder.” The descendants of Firas worshiped him under the name Turas, that is, Thor - the god of thunder.
The four sons of Ham are Cush, Mizraim, Puth, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). The descendants of Ham mainly populated the southwestern part of Asia and Africa. The Bible often speaks of Africa as the land of Ham (Ps. 104:23,27; 106:22). Cush is the Hebrew word for ancient Ethiopia. The word Ethiopia in the Bible is always, without exception, a translation of the Hebrew word Cush. Josephus, who calls them Hus, wrote that “even in our days the Ethiopians themselves call themselves Husseins (Hussians), as the inhabitants of Asia also call them.” - Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt. The name Egypt appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with one exception) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. For example, at the burial place of Jacob, the Canaanites saw the crying of the Egyptians and named this place Abel Mizraim, which means the crying of the Egyptians (Gen. 50:11). - Fut - the name of the next grandson - is the Hebrew name for Libya. This ancient name appears three times in the Old Testament. The ancient Fut River was located in Libya. By the time Daniel lived, the name had been changed to Livia. Josephus says: “Futus inhabited Libya and called the inhabitants of the country Futians.” - Canaan is the Hebrew name for the territory that was later called Palestine by the Romans, i.e. modern territory of Israel and Jordan. It is worth saying a few words about the descendants of Ham (Gen. 10:14-18). They were: Philistae, who is undoubtedly the ancestor of the Philistines (from which the name of Palestine was derived), Sidon, the founder of the ancient city named after him, and Hittite, the founder of the ancient Hittite Empire. Canaan is also spoken of in Genesis 10:15-18 as the progenitor of the Jebusites (Jebus is the ancient name of Jerusalem - Judgment 19:10), the Amorites, the Gergesites, the Hivites, the Arkeites, the Sinites, the Arvadeites, the Zemarites and the Himathites - the ancient peoples, who inhabited the land of Canaan. The most famous descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, as well as Erech, Akkad and Chalneh in the land of Shinar (Babylonia).
The five sons of Shem are Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram (Gen. 10:22). Elam is the ancient name of Persia, which itself is the ancient name of Iran. Before the reign of King Cyrus, the people who lived here were called Elamites, they are even mentioned several times under this name in the New Testament. In Acts 2:9, the Jews from Persia who were present on the Day of Pentecost are referred to as Elamites. Thus, the Persians are descendants of both Elam, the son of Shem, and Madai, the son of Japheth (see above). Since the 1930s, they have called their land Iran. It is very interesting to note that the word "Aryan", which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word "Iran". Hitler wanted to create a pure Aryan “race” consisting of superhumans. The term "Aryan" denotes a mixed line of Semites and Japhethites! Assur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Whenever the words Assyria or Assyrian are found in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Assur. Assur was one of the first people to be deified and worshiped by his own descendants. “Throughout the entire existence of Assyria, i.e. before 612 BC, reports of battles, diplomatic and foreign relations were read aloud, referring to the image of Assur; all the Assyrian kings believed that they wore their crown only with the divine permission of the spirit of Assur.” - Arphaxad was the progenitor of the Chaldeans. This fact "is confirmed by the Hurrian (Nuzi) tablets, where his name appears as Ariphurra - the founder of Chaldea." His descendant, Eber, passed on his name to the Jewish people through the line of Eber-Pelek-Raghab-Serukh-Nachor-Terra-Abram (Gen. 11:16-26). Eber's other son, Joktan, had 13 sons (Gen. 10:26-30), all of whom settled in Arabia. Lud was the ancestor of the Lydians. Lydia was located in what is today Western Türkiye. The ancient capital of Lydia was the city of Sardis. One of the seven churches of Asia was located at Sardis (Rev. 3:1). — Aram is the Hebrew name for Syria. Every time the word Syria appears in the Old Testament, know that this word is translated from the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Aramaic, and their language is called Aramaic. Before the spread of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language (2 Kings 18:26). When Jesus hung nailed to the cross and uttered the words: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” (Mark 15:34). He spoke Aramaic, the language of the majority of the people.
Conclusion We've only talked briefly about the 16 grandchildren of Noah, but enough has been said to show that all of these people actually lived, that they were exactly what the Bible says they are, and that they and their descendants are real, recognizable characters on the planet. pages of history. They were the heads of clans that grew and became large groups of people in their respective regions. This is what happened: - People in different areas were called by the name of their common ancestor. “They named their land, and often large cities and rivers, after him. “Sometimes people slipped into the cult of ancestor worship. And when this happened, it was natural for them to call their god by the name of their common ancestor. Or they revered their long-living ancestor as a god.
(Read the article - https://www.origins.org.ua/page.php?id_story=625#ixzz4gW53jsjQ)
