אָדָם שֵׁת אֱנוֹשׁ

The book opens with a simple list of fathers and sons, starting with Adam. It presents them without noting that each man fathered the person listed next: Adam, Seth, Enosh,

קֵינָן מַהֲלַלְאֵל יָרֶד

Kenan, Mahalalel, Yered,

חֲנוֹךְ מְתוּשֶׁלַח לָמֶךְ

Hanokh, Methuselah, Lemekh. This is one specific line of the descendants of Adam, the first man, which, for example, does not include Cain and his sons, as that branch of the family did not survive.

נֹחַ שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת

Noah, and his sons: Shem, Ham, and Yefet. The text does not explicitly state that all three were Noah’s sons, as it is presumably common knowledge.

בְּנֵי יֶפֶת גֹּמֶר וּמָגוֹג וּמָדַי וְיָוָן וְתֻבָל וּמֶשֶׁךְ וְתִירָס

The chapter specifies some of the nations and kingdoms that descended from Noah’s sons and spread throughout the world: The sons of Yefet: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Yavan, Tuval, Meshekh, and Tiras.

וּבְנֵי גֹּמֶר אַשְׁכְּנַז וְדִיפַת וְתוֹגַרְמָה

The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Difat, called Rifat in the book of Genesis, and Togarma.

וּבְנֵי יָוָן אֱלִישָׁה וְתַרְשִׁישָׁה כִּתִּים וְרוֹדָנִים

The sons of Yavan: Elisha, possibly related to the former name for Greece, Hellas; and Tarshish, Kitim, and Rodanim, called Dodanim in Genesis (10:4). This completes the genealogical list of the children of Yefet, perhaps Noah’s eldest son.

בְּנֵי חָם כּוּשׁ וּמִצְרַיִם פּוּט וּכְנָעַן

The sons of Ham: Kush, Mitzrayim, Put, and Canaan.

וּבְנֵי כוּשׁ סְבָא וַחֲוִילָה וְסַבְתָּא וְרַעְמָא וְסַבְתְּכָא וּבְנֵי רַעְמָא שְׁבָא וּדְדָן

The sons of Kush: Seva, Havila, Savta, Raama, and Savtekha. The sons of Raama: Sheva and Dedan.

וְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת־נִמְרוֹד הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבּוֹר בָּאָרֶץ

Kush begot Nimrod, among others; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. Nimrod appears to have been the first powerful king whose reign extended beyond the confines of his own people. This fact merits mention, but no further details of the events of his life are recorded.

וּמִצְרַיִם יָלַד אֶת־לוּדִים וְאֶת־עֲנָמִים וְאֶת־לְהָבִים וְאֶת־נַפְתֻּחִים

Mitzrayim, the man who eventually became the Egyptian nation, begot Ludim, Anamim,Lehavim, and Naftuhim,

וְאֶת־פַּתְרֻסִים וְאֶת־כַּסְלֻחִים אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מִשָּׁם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְאֶת־כַּפְתֹּרִים

Patrusim, who sometimes appear in the Bible parallel to the residents of Egypt, and Kasluhim, from which the Philistines and Kaftorim emerged, the residents of the island of Kaftor, modern-day Crete. Consequently, the Philistines are a mixed race, descended from the Patrusim and the Kasluhim, or a people that came from the same place as those nations. Although the Philistines settled in the Land of Israel, they were undoubtedly a foreign nation that invaded from overseas.

וּכְנַעַן יָלַד אֶת־צִידוֹן בְּכֹרוֹ וְאֶת־חֵת

Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, Het,

וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי וְאֶת־הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֵת הַגִּרְגָּשִׁי

the Yevusites, the Emorites, the Girgashites,

וְאֶת־הַחִוִּי וְאֶת־הָעַרְקִי וְאֶת־הַסִּינִי

the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

וְאֶת־הָאַרְוָדִי וְאֶת־הַצְּמָרִי וְאֶת־הַחֲמָתִי

the Arvadites, the Tzemarites, and the Hamatites. Some of these peoples are mentioned as having lived in the land of Canaan, while others dwelled in the nearby regions.

בְּנֵי שֵׁם עֵילָם וְאַשּׁוּר וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁד וְלוּד וַאֲרָם וְעוּץ וְחוּל וְגֶתֶר וָמֶשֶׁךְ

The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arpakhshad, whom some consider the father of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, and Lud, Aram, Utz, Hul, Geter, and Meshekh. It seems that there were two people named Meshekh, one among the descendants of Yefet, and the other among the descendants of Shem. In Genesis (10:23), the latter is called Mash.

וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁד יָלַד אֶת־שָׁלַח וְשֶׁלַח יָלַד אֶת־עֵבֶר

Arpakhshad begot Shela, and Shela begot Ever.

וּלְעֵבֶר יֻלַּד שְׁנֵי בָנִים שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פֶּלֶג כִּי בְיָמָיו נִפְלְגָה הָאָרֶץ וְשֵׁם אָחִיו יָקְטָן

To Ever were born two sons: The name of the one was Peleg, as in his days the earth was divided [niflega], as people began to separate into different nations and languages, and the name of his brother was Yoktan.

וְיָקְטָן יָלַד אֶת־אַלְמוֹדָד וְאֶת־שָׁלֶף וְאֶת־חֲצַרְמָוֶת וְאֶת־יָרַח

Yoktan, apparently the younger [katan] of the two brothers, was the father of several nations, as he begot Almodad, Shelef, Hatzarmavet, who lived in Yemen, and Yerah,

וְאֶת־הֲדוֹרָם וְאֶת־אוּזָל וְאֶת־דִּקְלָה

Hadoram, Uzal, Dikla,

וְאֶת־עֵיבָל וְאֶת־אֲבִימָאֵל וְאֶת־שְׁבָא

Eival, Avimael, Sheva,

וְאֶת־אוֹפִיר וְאֶת־חֲוִילָה וְאֶת־יוֹבָב כָּל־אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי יָקְטָן

Ofir, Havila, and Yovav. These nations may have dwelled in Africa or in the Indian Ocean region. All these were the sons of Yoktan.

שֵׁם אַרְפַּכְשַׁד שָׁלַח

The direct genealogical tree of Abraham is now presented: Shem, Arpakhshad, Shalah,

עֵבֶר פֶּלֶג רְעוּ

Ever, Peleg, Re’u,

שְׂרוּג נָחוֹר תָּרַח

Serug, Nahor, Terah,

אַבְרָם הוּא אַבְרָהָם

Abram, the son of Terah, he is Abraham. The text emphasizes that Abram will no longer appear by that name, as God changed his name to Abraham.

בְּנֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל

The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. Abraham’s two sons are listed in order of their importance, not age. However, the details that follow begin with a brief list of Ishmael’s descendants, as they appear in the Torah.

אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹתָם בְּכוֹר יִשְׁמָעֵאל נְבָיוֹת וְקֵדָר וְאַדְבְּאֵל וּמִבְשָׂם

These are their progeny: The firstborn of Ishmael was Nevayot, and Kedar, Adbe’el, Mivsam were born after him,

מִשְׁמָע וְדוּמָה מַשָּׂא חֲדַד וְתֵימָא

Mishma, Duma, Masa, Hadad, Tema,

יְטוּר נָפִישׁ וָקֵדְמָה אֵלֶּה הֵם בְּנֵי יִשְׁמָעֵאל

Yetur, Nafish, and Kedma. These are the sons of Ishmael. Some of these names have been identified as specific Bedouin tribes.

וּבְנֵי קְטוּרָה פִּילֶגֶשׁ אַבְרָהָם יָלְדָה אֶת־זִמְרָן וְיָקְשָׁן וּמְדָן וּמִדְיָן וְיִשְׁבָּק וְשׁוּחַ וּבְנֵי יָקְשָׁן שְׁבָא וּדְדָן

The sons of Ketura, Abraham’s concubine: She bore to Abraham Zimran, Yokshan, Medan, and Midyan. The descendants of Midyan, with whom the people of Israel had extensive contact over the course of history, both as individuals and as a nation, could be considered cousins of Israel. Ketura’s other two sons were Yishbak and Shuah; the sons of Yokshan were Sheva and Dedan, names which already appeared in these lists (verse 9). Perhaps these different groups of people lived together in the same place or they are different nations with identical names.

וּבְנֵי מִדְיָן עֵיפָה וָעֵפֶר וַחֲנוֹךְ וַאֲבִידָע וְאֶלְדָּעָה כָּל־אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי קְטוּרָה

The sons of Midyan: Efa, Efer, Hanokh, Avida, and Eldaa. All these were the sons of Ketura.

וַיּוֹלֶד אַבְרָהָם אֶת־יִצְחָק בְּנֵי יִצְחָק עֵשָׂו וְיִשְׂרָאֵל

Abraham begot Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel. This is Jacob, who was not named Israel at birth, but received that name later in life.

בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו אֱלִיפָז רְעוּאֵל וִיעוּשׁ וְיַעְלָם וְקֹרַח

The sons of Esau: Elifaz, Re’uel, Yeush, Yalam, and Korah.

בְּנֵי אֱלִיפָז תֵּימָן וְאוֹמָר צְפִי וְגַעְתָּם קְנַז וְתִמְנָע וַעֲמָלֵק

The sons of Elifaz: Teman, Omar, Tzefi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek, whose descendants are mentioned on several occasions as enemies of Israel.

בְּנֵי רְעוּאֵל נַחַת זֶרַח שַׁמָּה וּמִזָּה

The sons of Re’uel: Nahat, Zerah, Shama, and Miza.

וּבְנֵי שֵׂעִיר לוֹטָן וְשׁוֹבָל וְצִבְעוֹן וַעֲנָה וְדִישֹׁן וְאֵצֶר וְדִישָׁן

The connection between the following genealogical list and the children of Esau is explained in the book of Genesis, where it is stated that the children of Se’ir were a tribe who lived in the same land in which Esau settled, until over time the two peoples intermingled and became a single nation. The sons of Se’ir: Lotan, Shoval, Tzivon, Ana, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

וּבְנֵי לוֹטָן חוֹרִי וְהוֹמָם וַאֲחוֹת לוֹטָן תִּמְנָע

The sons of Lotan: Hori, perhaps tied to the tribe or nation of the same name that lived in the Land of Israel, and Homam; Timna was Lotan’s sister. Timna would become the concubine of Esau’s firstborn son, Elifaz.

בְּנֵי שׁוֹבָל עַלְיָן וּמָנַחַת וְעֵיבָל שְׁפִי וְאוֹנָם וּבְנֵי צִבְעוֹן אַיָּה וַעֲנָה

The sons of Shoval: Alyan, Manahat, Eval, Shefi, and Onam. The sons of Tzivon: Aya and Ana.

בְּנֵי עֲנָה דִּישׁוֹן וּבְנֵי דִישׁוֹן חַמְרָן וְאֶשְׁבָּן וְיִתְרָן וּכְרָן

The sons of Ana: Dishon. The verse continues its listing of the children of the sons of Se’ir: The sons of Dishon: Hamran, Eshban, Yitran, and Keran.

בְּנֵי־אֵצֶר בִּלְהָן וְזַעֲוָן יַעֲקָן בְּנֵי דִישׁוֹן עוּץ וַאֲרָן

The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, Yaakan. The sons of Dishan, even though the Hebrew is vocalized as Dishon, the reference is to Dishan, Se’ir’s youngest son: Utz and Aran. It is possible that the suffix “an,” as in Dishan and Aran, was characteristic of the grammatical structure of their language.

וְאֵלֶּה הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לִפְנֵי מְלָךְ־מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בֶּלַע בֶּן־בְּעוֹר וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ דִּנְהָבָה

This list completes the story of Esau: These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before a king reigned over the children of Israel. It is possible that the Israelite king to whom the verse alludes is Moses; although he was not explicitly called a king, he was the first leader of the Jewish nation as a whole. The first king of Edom was Bela son of Beor; and the name of his city was Dinhava.

וַיָּמָת בָּלַע וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו יוֹבָב בֶּן־זֶרַח מִבָּצְרָה

Bela died, and Yovav son of Zerah from Botzra, who was not from the family of the previous king, reigned in his stead.

וַיָּמָת יוֹבָב וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו חוּשָׁם מֵאֶרֶץ הַתֵּימָנִי

Yovav died, and Husham from the land of the Temanites, the province of one of the chieftains of Esau, reigned in his stead.

וַיָּמָת חוּשָׁם וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו הֲדַד בֶּן־בְּדַד הַמַּכֶּה אֶת־מִדְיָן בִּשְׂדֵה מוֹאָב וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ עֲוִית

Husham died, and Hadad son of Bedad, who smote Midyan in the field of Moav, reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Avit. The Midyanites were a nomadic tribe. Even if there was a place called the land of Midyan, it is unclear whether that place was a fixed, demarcated area. The king who ruled Edom fought Midyan in the territory of Moav, where he routed the Midyanites.

וַיָּמָת הֲדָד וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו שַׂמְלָה מִמַּשְׂרֵקָה

Hadad died, and Samla from Masreka reigned in his stead.

וַיָּמָת שַׂמְלָה וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו שָׁאוּל מֵרְחֹבוֹת הַנָּהָר

Samla died, and Shaul from Rehovot on the River reigned in his stead.

וַיָּמָת שָׁאוּל וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו בַּעַל חָנָן בֶּן־עַכְבֹּר

Shaul died, and Baal Hanan son of Akhbor reigned in his stead.

וַיָּמָת בַּעַל חָנָן וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו הֲדַד וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ פָּעִי וְשֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ מְהֵיטַבְאֵל בַּת־מַטְרֵד בַּת מֵי זָהָב

Baal Hanan died, and Hadad reigned in his stead; the name of his city was Pa’i. In the Torah he is called Hadar, and his city is Pa’u. And his wife’s name was Mehetavel, daughter of Matred, daughter of Mei Zahav. It is unclear whether these were their actual names, the titles of their professions, or epithets that allude to other aspects of their lives.

וַיָּמָת הֲדָד וַיִּהְיוּ אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם אַלּוּף תִּמְנָע אַלּוּף עַלְוָה אַלּוּף יְתֵת

Hadad died. The chieftains, civil governors, small-scale princes who headed the tribes, of Edom were: The chieftain of Timna, the chieftain of Alva, the chieftain of Yetet,

אַלּוּף אָהֳלִיבָמָה אַלּוּף אֵלָה אַלּוּף פִּינֹן

the chieftain of Oholivama, the chieftain of Ela, the chieftain of Pinon,

אַלּוּף קְנַז אַלּוּף תֵּימָן אַלּוּף מִבְצָר

the chieftain of Kenaz, the chieftain of Teman, the chieftain of Mivtzar,

אַלּוּף מַגְדִּיאֵל אַלּוּף עִירָם אֵלֶּה אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם

the chieftain of Magdiel, the chieftain of Iram. These are the chieftains of Edom.