The writer of Genesis begins with this statement of Noah and his three sons. He further clarifies that those sons had their offspring after the Flood. Seventy nations would come from this family and all of humanity after them. This is the sequence of the son’s birth order. They will not be presented in this chapter in that order. The order will be reversed so that Japheth the youngest will be first and Shem the oldest will be last. Ham the middle child will remain in that position of his line as it is unfolded. Shem is presented last because through his line would come and the Hebrew nation the royal line of the Messiah. This will be a focal point for most of the rest of the Bible. God also wants us to know how He distributed the Gentile nations throughout the world.
Deuteronomy 32: 8-9 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, When he separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel. For Jehovah’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
God gave the different people groups of the world locations to live based upon the number of Hebrews that were instrumental in those nation’s history. No nation was to be superior to another even Israel. They were chosen to fulfill a specific purpose in God’s divine plan and as such had a greater responsibility to implement that plan.
