The Family of Man: The Genre and Purpose of Genesis 10

Within the general context of the so-called “Primeval History” of theworld that makes up the first eleven chapters of Genesis, “the toledoth of the sons of Noah” recorded in chapter 10 is unique. After the granduniversal scope of the first creation narrative (Gen 1:1–2:3) and themore “down-to-earth” second creation and Eden story (2:4–3:24),after the tale of social origins in chapter 4, the linear genealogy of chap-ter 5, and the elaborate and complex flood narrative of chapters 6–9comes the no-less complex and elaborate genealogy of the descendantsof Noah, often dubbed “The Table of the Nations.” This “table” pre-sents all the peoples of the earth as an extended family group, a col-lection of miÍpahôt . The purpose of this paper, respectfully presentedto my teacher Professor Aaron Skaist, is to offer some insight as to thebackground, genre, and purpose of this chapter within the preliminarychapters of the book of Genesis