Refer to Table 2, and Map 2, Map 3 and Map 4.
(16) Ham
'Yt is observed that Cham and his famely, were the only far Travellers and Straglers into divers unknowne countries searching, exploring and sitting downe in the same: as also yt is said of his famely that what country soever the Children of Cham happened to possesse there beganne both the lgnoraunce of true godliness...and that no inhabited countryes cast forth greater multytudes, to raunge and stray into divers remote Regions'.
Thus the findings of one William Strachey, who added to these words in 1612 the following damning indictment, accusing Ham's posterity of instigating:
'...the Ignoraunce of the true worship of God...the inventions of Heathenisme and adoration of falce godes, and the Devill...' (Hodgen p. 262, see Bibliography).
It must be said that Strachey, in writing such words, was hardly departing from the norm of opinion that historians had been voicing for hundreds of years before him. Indeed, whenever the origin of heathenism or paganism was treated, it was invariably to Ham and his immediate descendants that the accusing finger would be pointed, and not, it seems, without reason.
Even if we discount the testimony of earlier historians, who it could be said, were unduly biased in their opinions either on a cultural or religious basis, we are nevertheless presented with overwhelming and indisputable archaeological evidence that all of the early Hamitic peoples were given over to the most debased and degraded systems of thought and worship. Indeed, to say that they were merely deprived of the knowledge of God would be an understatement, for the immediate descendants of Ham were so quick to divest themselves of that knowledge, and so thorough were they in its complete extirpation among themselves, that we can only conclude that they consented to and were partakers in some grand and wilful conspiracy to destroy that knowledge altogether. In fact, it is within only a few generations of their migration from Babel, that we read of the Canaanites, the Sodomites and others as having filled their cups of iniquity. And this conclusion is more than adequately confirmed by all the documentary and archaeological evidence that has come down to us. Indeed, even if the Bible had itself remained silent on the matter, then the extra-biblical evidence would have been more than sufficient to force us to the sad conclusion that the early Hamitic nations deliberately rendered themselves devoid of all saving knowledge of the One True God.
Regarding Ham himself, secular history is almost completely silent save for the fact that Africa was once known as the Land of Ham. The Egyptians likewise called their own land Kam.
HAM (16)
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Cush (17) Mizraim (26) Put (35) Canaan (36)
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Sebah Havilah Sabta Raamah Sabtecha Nimrod | |
(18) (19) (20) (21) (24) (25) | |
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Sheba Dedan | |
(22) (23) --------------------- |
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Ludim Anamim Lehabim Naphtuhim Pathrusim Casluhim Caphtorim |
(27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) (34) |
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Phillistim |
(33) |
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Zidon Heth Jebusite | Girgashite Hivite | Sinite | Hamathite
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Amorite Arkite Arvadite
Table 2. THE LINEAGE OF HAM. The peoples of Ham's line populated parts of Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula, and eventually the entire continent of Africa - once known as the Land of Ham.
(17) Cush
Josephus writes:
'...time has not at all hurt the name of Chus (i,e. Cush); for the Ethiopians over whom he reigned, are even at this day both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites'.
The name of Cush is preserved in Egypt's hieroglyphic inscriptions as Kush, the name referring to the country that lay between the second and third cataracts of the Nile. This same land was later known as Nubia. Additional confirmation of this location is given in an inscription of Esarhaddon of Assyria (681-668 BC), who tells us that he made himself king of 'Musur (see 26), Patorisi (see 31), and Cush'. Some assert that the name of Cush was also perpetuated in that of the Babylonian city of Kish, ostensibly one of the earliest cities to be built after the Flood (see Map 2).
(18) Sebah
He founded the nation that was known to later history as the Sabaeans, Strubo writes of their chief town of Sabai and its harbour of Saba, both of which lay on the west coast of the Arabian peninsula (see Map 2).
(19) Havilah
The progenitor of the Hamitic tribe of Havilah, his descendants settled on the east coast of Arabia overlooking the Persian Gulf, where their land was known to the pre-Islamic Arabian cosmographers as Hawlan (but see 72). Kautsch renders the name as Huwailah, and confirms their settlement on the eastern coast of Arabia (see Map 2).
(20) Sabta
Josephus records the name of his (Sabta's) descendants as the Sabateni. Ptolemy knew them as the Stabaei, and Pliny called them the Messabathi. They settled on the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula. Sabta's name is also preserved in the ancient city of Shabwat, the capital of the Hadramaut (Hazarmaveth, see 63) (see Map 2).
(21) Raamah
We know from the inscriptions of ancient Sheba (see 22) that Raamah's descendants settled near to the land of Havilah (see l9) to the east of Ophir (see 7l). They are known from other sources to have traded with the children of Zidon (see 37) in the city of Tyre (see Map 2).
(22) Sheba
Minaean inscriptions from the north Yemen, which are dated to the ninth century BC, tell us that Sheba was that kingdom's southern neighbour. The land of Sheba is also known to us from Assyrian records of the eighth century BC. Sheba was once famed as the Land of Spices, and we know from the vast archaeological ruins, some of whose walls still stand some 68 feet above the desert sands, that the land was extremely fertile, being watered by ingenious irrigation systems that were controlled by a vast dam that once spanned the river Adhanat. In the year 542 BC, however, the dam collapsed after more than a thousand years of service, an event that is recalled today in the Koran and described there as a judgment of God upon the people. The ancient world knew of Arabia as consisting of four 'spice kingdoms', these being Minaea, Kataban, Hadramaut (Hazarmaveth, see 63), and Sheba (but see 95) (see Map 2).
(23) Dedan
His posterity are known to have traded with the Phoenicians. Identified from various cuneiform inscriptions, their main place of settlement was the city that is known today as Al-ula, which lies some 70 miles south-west of modern Taima (see l09) (see also 96) (see Map 2).
(24) Sabtecha
Identified by Josephus as the Sabactens, Sabtecha's descendants appear to have settled in south Arabia, the modern Yemen (see Map 2).
(25) Nimrod
Writing in 1876, George Smith tells us that,
'Nearly thirteen hundred years before the Christian era, one of the Egyptian poems likens a hero to the Assyrian chief, Kazartu, a great hunter...and it has already been suggested that the reference here is to the fame of Nimrod. A little later in the period BC 1100 to 800, we have in Egypt many persons named after Nimrod, showing a knowledge of the mighty hunter there.' (Chaldean Genesis p. 313)
In fact, Nimrod was probably the most notorious man in the ancient world who is discredited with instigating the Great Rebellion at Babel, and founding the very features of paganism, including the introduction of magic astrology and human sacrifice. There is, moreover, much evidence to suggest that he himself was worshipped from the very earliest times. His name, for example was perpetuated in those of Nimurda, the Assyrian god of war, Marduk, the Babylonian king of the gods; and the Sumarian deity Amarutu. His image was likewise incorporated very early on in the Chaldean zodiac as a child seated on his mother's lap, and both mother and child were worshipped - a pattern since repeatedly followed throughout history. He was also worshipped as the god Bacchus, this name being derived from the Semitic Cush, meaning the son of Cush. A mountain not far from Ararat has been called Nimrud Dagh (Mount Nimrod) from the earliest times, and the ruins of Birs Nimrud bear the remains of what is commonly reputed to be the original Tower of Babel. Likewise, Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World (1634) shows a map in which the Caspian Sea was once known as the 'Marde Bachu', or the Sea of Bacchus. One of the chief cities of Assyria was named Nimrud, and the Plain of Shinar, known to the early Syrians as Sen'ar, was itself once known as the Land of Nimrod. Iraqi and Iranian Arabs speak his name with awe even today, and such is the notoriety of the man that his historical reality is quite beyond dispute (see Figure 4) (see Map 2).
(26) Mizraim
A collective name, these people settled in Egypt. Indeed Mizraim is still the Israeli name for that nation. The name is also preserved in the Ugaritic inscriptions as msrm; the Amar tablets as Misri; and in the Assyrian and Babylonian records as Musur and Musri. Modem Arabs still know it as Misr. Josephus relates a curious episode that he called the Ethiopic War, an incident that was apparently well known throughout the ancient world. According to this account, some six or seven nations descended from Mizraim were destroyed, clearly a major conflict that would have had profound and far-reaching repercussions on the world of those times. Josephus lists those nations that were destroyed as the Ludim (see 27), the Anamim (see 28), the Lehabim (see 29), the Naphtuhim (see 30), the Pathrusim (see 31), the Casluhim (see 32) and the Caphtorim (see 34) (Map 3).
(27) Ludim
Seemingly known in later records as the Lubim, this people settled on the north coast of Africa and gave their name to the nation of Libya. They are known to have provided Egypt on more than one occasion with mercenary troops, the records that tell us this giving their name as the Lebu. Otherwise, Josephus records their destruction, or father defeat, in the Ethiopic War (see Map 3).
(28) Anamim
Secular records are apparently silent concerning this people, which may be accounted for by the devastations of the Ethiopic War (see 26) (see Map 3).
(29) Lehabim
The Egyptians recorded this name as 'rbw', although it is uncertain where they settled. Some authorities (including Josephus) give Libya as their country. They were, however, destroyed in the Ethiopic War (see Map 3).
(30) Naphtuhim
This people are known to have settled in the Nile Delta and he western parts of Egypt, where early records refer to them as the p't'mhw - literally, they of the Delta or Marshland. Josephus records their destruction in the Ethiopic War (see Map 3).
(31) Pathrusim
The people of this name migrated to Upper Egypt, where the Egyptians recorded their name as the p't'rs (or Ptores), and where they gave their name to the district of Pathros. Esarhaddon, king of Assyria from 681-668 BC, records his conquest of the Paturisi, thus showing that this people, at least could not have been totally destroyed in the earlier Ethiopic War as asserted by Josephus (see Figure 5) (see Map 3).
(32) Casluhim
The precise whereabouts of their country is uncertain, although the book of Genesis does record that the Philistines came from this people. Some cite Crete as their possible place of settlement, which, if true, would make the Ethiopic War of Josephus a truly international conflict as he records the destruction of the Casluhim in that War. This, however, only serves to make Crete a most likely place for their settlement, the northern areas of Egypt being a far more reasonable proposition (but see 34) (see Map 3).
(33) Phillstim
Better know to us as the Philistines, they were known to the Assyrians as the Palashtu, and to the Greeks as 'he Palaistine' - hence the later name of Palestine. After the Assyrian conquest of the eighth century BC, however, the Philistines effectively disappear as a coherent nation. It is currently being taught that the Philistines did not appear until the thirteenth century BC, and that they are to be identified as the 'Sea Peoples' of Egyptian literature. But this view is entirely erroneous. The Genesis record states emphatically that the Philistines occupied parts of Canaan as early as the time of Abraham and far from implying that their place of origin was Crete, as currently supposed, it is much more likely to have been northern Egypt (but see 34) (see Map 3).
(34) Caphtorim
A great deal of quite needless confusion has reigned over the recent question of Caphorim's provenance. This is mainly due to modernist efforts to identify Caphtor as Crete. This would allow the assertion that the Philistines (see 33) were the Sea Peoples of the thirteenth century BC, and that the Genesis record therefore errs when it speaks of the Philistines as the nineteenth century BC contemporaries of Abraham.
The Genesis record, however, gives the common-sense and verifiable place of the Caphtorim's origin as Egypt and North Africa, that is the Mizr (see 26). Genesis tells us that the Caphtorim were descended from the Mizrai and, through the absence of any qualifying remark, leaves us with the strong implication that the Caphtorim therefore dwelt on the mainland of Egypt and North Africa either amongst, or in close proximity to their forebears, the Mizraim. Only the descendants of Japheth (see 1) are said to have occupied the isles of the sea, for example Cyprus or Crete et al.; whereas this qualification is entirely absent with either the Semitic or Hamitic races. The early Cretans, we know, were not a Hamitic people, but were rather Indo-European in race, language and culture, which confirms their descent from Japheth (not Ham) as provided in the Genesis account.
Furthermore, Josephus relates the involvement and subsequent defeat of the Caphtorim in the Ethiopic War, a conflagration that was confined to the borders of Egypt and Ethiopia, and which did not, as for as we know, involve the isles of the sea. Moreover, Jeremiah 47:4 described the Philistines as the 'remnant of the country of Caphtor'; thus implying that by his own day the Caphthorim were a depleted nation. There is also strong evidence of a direct etymological link between the ai-Kaphtor of the Old Testament and the Aiguptos of Greek literature, Aiguptos being merely the archaic form of the western name for Egypt. That Caphtor's descendants were mainland dwellers is also confirmed in the Assyrian inscriptions in which they are named as the Kaptara; and in the Ugaritic inscriptions as the 'kptr'. Later Egyptian records speak of the 'kftyw' or Kaphtur, a term that was used in relation to Phoenicia, not Crete. Intriguingly, the Septuagint translates the name as Kaphtoriim, in Genesis 10:14; whereas in the book of Deuteronomy 2:23 they are recorded as the Kappadokes or Cappadocians. Likewise, the Latin Vulgate gives the rendering Caphtorim in Genesis 10:14, thus following the original Hebrew; whereas in Deuteronomy 2;23 it follows the Greek Septuagint in the rendering Cappadoces and Cappadocia - Cappadocia, of course, referring to mainland Asia Minor. To identify the Caphtorim as early Cretans is therefore a clearly untenable position, and is due to the unquestioning though wrongful assumption amongst today's scholars that the Table of Nations is not to be taken seriously as a historically reliable account (see Map 3).
(35) Put
The country in which the descendants of Put settled is well known to us from Egyptian records, which render the name as Put or Punt. It is always spoken of as closely associated with Egypt, and its close proximity to that nation is confirmed by an inscription from the archives of Darius I the Great, King of Persia from 522-486BC. Here the land of Puta is shown as lying in the proximity of Cyrenaica, that is on the North African coast to the west of Egypt. This same land was also known as Puta to the Babylonians, and as Putiya in the Old Persian inscriptions (see Map 3).
(36) Canaan
The posterity of Canaan settled in the land that was later to be given to Israel. At the time of the Israelite conquest, the population of Canaan consisted of all the tribes descended from him (see 37-47). Both Sanchuniathon and Phylo of Byblos confirm the fact that the Canaanites derived their name from their founder. The Greeks and Phoenicians knew the name as Kna'an; the Egyptians knew it as Kn'nw; and the Hurrians described certain dyed cloth as Kinahne or Canaanite cloth. In spite of their Hamitic descent, however, the Canaanites spoke a Semitic language (see Figure 6) (see Map 4).
(37) Zidon
He settled, with his descendants, on the Mediterranean coast of Canaan, where his name is still preserved today in the city of Sidon. Originally known as Zidonians, his posterity were later called Phoenicians. They are known to us from various inscriptions of the old world (see Map 4).
(38) Heth
Heth was the progenitor of the Hittite nation, whose name was known to the Assyrians as the Khatti. The Hittites were apparently the first nation to smelt iron. The Armarna tablets contain letters that were sent from the Hittite emperor Subbiluliuma to the Pharoah Amenhotep IV. Rameses II also tells us how he engaged the Hittites in what was the earliest recorded battle involving massed chariots. This was the famous battle of Kadesh, and it appears that the Hittites got the better of the Egyptian forces. Heth's name was perpetuated in the Hittite capital Hattushash, that is modem Boghazkoy in Turkey (see Figure 7) (see Map 4),
(39) Jebusite
The posterity of Jebus settled in the mountainous regions of Judea where, due to their strong and natural fortifications, they were able to withstand the armies of Israel. The original city of Jebus came later to be known as Jerusalem, the Urusalimmu of the Amara tablets (see Map 4).
(40) Amorite
Known to the Sumerians as the Martu, and to the Akkadians as the Amurru, this people settled in the land of Canaan. They appear to have initially adapted a nomadic way of life, although they were soon to organize themselves into a very powerful and aggressive nation. The Amorites, indeed, were to conquer Babylonia, subsequently producing one of the most famous kings in the ancient world, Hammui, whose own name contains the designation Amarru (see Map 4).
(41) Girgashhite
The name of this people has been discovered in the Ugaritic inscriptions as 'grgs' and 'bn-grgs', that is, Girgash and the sons or children of Girgash. They are also known to us in the Hittite documents as the karkm; and in Egyptian records as the Kirkash. They settled to the east of the river Jordan between Galilee and the Dead Sea (see Map 4).
(42) Hivite
Known to the ancient Greeks as the Heuaios, this people moved to the foothills of Lebanon during the Israelite conquest of Canaan. Solomon was later to use Hivites as builders (see Map 4).
(43) Arkite
This people come to our notice in the inscriptions of Shalmaneser II and Tiglath-pileser III, both kings of Assyria, and both of whom describe the Arkites as 'rebellious'. The Arkites were also known to the Egyptians, as mentioned in the Amama tablets as the Irkata. Their city is known today as Tell-Arqa, a place that Thutmose III of Egypt refers to as Arkantu. The city was later known to the Romans as Caesari Libani (see Map 4).
(44) Shinite
The name of this people is still to be found today in the cities of Nahr as-Sinn and Sinn addarb, which are both in close proximity to Arqa (see 43). The Phoenicians (see 37) knew the Sinites as the Usnu; the Assyrians called them the Usana and Siannu; and the Ugaritic tablets refer to them as the 'sn' (see Map 4).
(45) Arvadite
This people settled on the island that bore their founder's name, Arvad. Today, it is known as Ruad, and lies north of the bay of Tripoli, about two miles out to sea. The Arvadites were famed in the old world for their skilful seamanship, drawing for this even the grudging admiration of the Assyrians. Later, the island of Arvad was to play a crucial role in controlling certain areas of the mainland during the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Arvadites were also known in the Armarna tablets as the Arwada (see Map 4).
(46) Zemarite
The posterity of Zemar were known to the Assyrians as the Simirra, and to the Egyptians as the Sumur. The name is still preserved in the modern city of Sumra, just north of Tripoli (see Map 4).
(47) Hamathite
The city where this people settled lay on Orontes, and was named after their forebear, Hamath. Sargon II of Assyria tells us how he conquered the city, and it was at Hamath that Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptian armies. The Greeks and Romans subsequently knew the city as Epiphaneia, althongh today it has reverted to its ancient name, Hamath. In 853 BC the men of Hamath were able to successfully check Assyrian ambitions in the west by mobilizing an army of no less than 63,000 foot, 2,000 light horse, 4,000 battle chariots, and l,000 camels (see Map 4).