Chapter III: THE SEMITIC RACES. (Gen. 10:21-31.)

The descendants of Shem are placed last in the list of the table of nations, not because their founder was the youngest, but because out of their lines one family is chosen as the especial theme of the history, which thus receives a fitting introduction. Shem was the founder of five great races, and of many subordinate tribes.

1. =Elam= everywhere is recognized as the name of a province east of the Tigris and north of the Persian Gulf, called by the Greeks _Elymais_. The name was often applied, in later times, to the whole of Persia, whose capital stood within its territory.

2. =Asshur= is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. It was located on the Tigris, having Nineveh as its capital, and its people at one time were rulers of all the lands westward to the Mediterranean.

3. =Arphaxad=, or _Arpachshad_ (as in the margin of Gen. 11:10), has been supposed to be the ancestor of the Chaldeans, whose home was at the head of the Persian Gulf. The patriarch Abraham belonged to his race, and was born in "Ur of the Chaldees." Another of Arphaxad's descendants was _Joktan_, from whom arose thirteen tribes, named after _Almodad_, _Sheleph_, _Hazarmaveth_, _Jerah_, _Hadoram_, _Uzal_, _Diklah_, _Obal_, _Abimael_, _Sheba_ (the most important of all in after history, absorbing most of the rest), _Ophir_, _Havilah_, and _Jobab_. All these occupied the southeastern and southern sections of the great Arabian peninsula. The fact that some of these names have already been mentioned in the Hamite genealogies may indicate that the two races became mingled.

4. =Lud.= This is believed by most scholars to refer to the _Lydians_, who dwelt on the southwestern border of Asia Minor, and under their king, Croesus, became a powerful nation. Their history was short, as their empire was conquered by Cyrus the Great.

5. =Aram.= This is the word uniformly rendered _Syria_ throughout the Bible. The Arameans, or Syrians, occupied the region between Canaan and Phoenicia, on the east, the Euphrates on the north, and the great desert on the west and south. Four branches of this race formed separate tribes. _Uz_, the race of the ancient Job, was settled in the middle of North Arabia, near Nejd. _Hul_ and _Gether_ are supposed (but with slight evidences) to have occupied the country near Lake Merom, where the _Geshurites_ were afterward found. _Mash_, or, as called in 1 Chron. 1:17, _Meshech_, may have merged with the Meshech of the Japhetic line.

OUTLINE FOR TEACHING.

1. The principal authorities for the map on page 24, and its explanations, are: "Ethnic Affinities," by Canon George Rawlinson; E. H. Browne, in "The Speaker's Commentary"; J. G. Murphy's "Notes on Genesis"; Dillmann, "Commentary on Genesis"; and "The Races of the Old Testament," by A. H. Sayce. To these the student is referred for more thorough discussion of the subject.

2. In teaching, draw on the blackboard a sketch map (no matter how roughly) of the outlines of the coast, as given above, and then write on each place the name of the people occupying it. Take, first, the great divisions of Noah's family; then, the subdivisions; then, the minor tribes. Review the locations as each family is finished. Write on the board only the first syllable of each name, as an aid to memory, as _Ar_ for _Arphaxad_, _Cu_ for _Cush_, etc. If the names of each of the three great races are written in chalk of a different color, it will make the distinctions more readily understood.

3. If practicable, by means of a duplicating process, print a sufficient number of copies of the sketch map to supply the class or audience, and let each person, with pencil, place on the map the names of the tribes as they are located. This will greatly add to the interest of the lesson.

[Transcriber's Note: This family tree was originally one tree. It was separated into families to accommodate size issues.]

REVIEW CHART--THE TABLE OF NATIONS.

NOAH
+---------------------+----------------------+
JAPHETH HAM SHEM
(_Aryan Race_) (_Turanian Race_) (_Semitic Race_)

JAPHETH (_Aryan Race_)
+---------+---------+------------+--------+-------+-------+
| | | | | | |
Gomer Magog Madai Javan Tubal Meshech Tiras
(_Celts_)(_Scythians_)(_Medes_) (_Greeks_) (_Thracians_)
| |
Ashkenaz (_Nysia and Phrygia_) Elishah (_Æolians_)
Riphath (_Riphaean Mts?_) Tarshish (_Tartessus_)
Togarmah (_Armenia_) Kittim (_Cyprus_)
Dodanim (_Trojans_)

HAM (_Turanian Race_)
+-------------+------+--------+
| | | |
Cush Mizraim Phut Canaan
(_Ethiopia_) (_Egypt_)(_Libya_)(_Palestine_)
| |
Seba Ludim
(_Meroë_) (_Nubia?_)
Havilah Anamim
(_Arabia_)
Sabtah Lehabim
(_Sabbatha?_) (_Libya_)
Raamah Naphtuhim
(_Per. Gulf_) (_Na-petu_)
Sabtechah Pathrusim
(_Pathros_)
NIMROD Casluhim-Philistim
(_Philistia_)
Caphtorim
(_Crete_)

SHEM (_Semitic Race_)
+--------------+-------------+------------+-----------+
| | | | |
Elam Asshur Arphaxad Lud Aram
(_Elamites_) (_Assyrians_) (_Chaldeans_) (_Lydians_) (_Syrians_)
| |
Salah Uz
| Hul
| Gether
| Mash
Eber
+---+---+
| |
Peleg Joktan(_Arabia_)

PHYSICAL PALESTINE.