Dear Steve..
Having always believed that the races come from Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japeth, and that Caucasians descend from Shem, Blacks from Ham, and Orientals from Japeth, I was surprised to read in a Halley’s Bible Commentary that Japeth is the father of the European white race!
I did an online search, and again am amazed, as almost all links say the same! Some seem to say that Shem is the father of Jews, as if they are a race of their own that is separate from other whites, and then they link blacks and orientals together under Ham. Why do they believe this? I remember you saying that Orientals descend from Japeth, through different sons, including Javan (for Japan).Do you know of any DNA evidencethat would support the origins of the races?
Thanks!
Sandra
MYREPLY
Dear Sandra,
Your question highlights a common misconception about who the Semites are in the modern (and ancient) world. You are correct that all modern races originated with Noah’s three sons. Broadly speaking, the Jews, Arabs, Turks, Caucasians, etc. are Semites. The Oriental races are descended from Japheth and the black and brown ethnic and national groups are descended from Ham.
Modern linguistic terms have contributed to the misconception that the Jews are the only Semites. The term “anti-Semite” has come to describe someone who is anti-Jewish, but that term is far too limited in describing the offspring of Shem. Bible resource publications make some very misleading statements on this regard. Harper’s Bible Dictionary makes this very strange statement: “…the list of Shem’s descendants in Gen. 10:21-20 includes non-Semitic peoples (e.g. the Elamites, v.22).” The Bible itself states categorically that the Assyrians, Elamites, Aramaens and others ARE descended from Shem in this biblical text, but Harper’s inexplicably asserts the Elamites are “Non-Semites” even though the Bible says that they are Semites in this very passage!).
Japheth’s offspring were prophesied to be “enlarged” in Gen. 9:27 (a blessing not given to Shem’s or Ham’s seed) so we should expect the offspring of Japheth to outnumber the offspring of either Shem or Ham. This has come to pass as the Oriental nations are the most populous one on earth. However, any careful reading of the Bible quickly makes it obvious that the nations descended from Shem are far more numerous than just the Jews/Israelis. Genesis 10:21-22 and 11:10-26 state that Abraham later descended from Arphaxad and Eber (the namesake of the Hebrews). However, Abraham himself was promised to be the “father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5) which would be exceedingly numerous (Gen. 13:16). Abraham’s son, Ishmael, gave birth to 12 sons who fathered the Arab tribes and nations (Genesis 17:20). Arab traditions and even modern encyclopedias note the Ishmaelite origin of the Arabs. Abraham’s other son, Isaac, gave birth to Esau and Jacob. Esau’s name became Edom and he gave birth to many tribes and nations (Gen. 36). One dominant nation of the Edomites was the nation of “Teman,” whose name was preserved in the “Ottoman” Empire, the precursor of the modern nation of Turkey. These nations are all Semitic nations descended from Abraham.
However, the greatest biblical blessings were given to the 12 sons of Jacob, who was re-named Israel (Gen. 35:10-11). This same biblical passage prophesied that Israel would give birth to a single great nation and a “company of nations” in the distant future. The 12 sons of Israel became the 12 tribes of Israel who formed the two ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The modern Jews and Israelis descended from the ancient kingdom of Judah, but the much-more numerous descendants of the ten tribes of Israel were exiled from the Promised Land and established nations and empires of their own after their exile. Modern Christians have labored under an utterly-false assumption that God was so angry at the ten tribes that he wanted them to “die out” or be “abandoned” after their exile. Balderdash! Hosea 1:10 prophesies that God was going to vastly increase their populations after they went into exile, and Jeremiah 51:5 states that God had NOT forsaken them at all. My books trace the well-documented migrations and later kingdoms and empires of the ten tribes of Israel (Carthage, Iberia, Scythia, Parthia, and their descendants who migrated into Europe, North America, Australia, etc.). The Israelite nations constitute many great modern nations, including the brother tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, who were prophesied to eventually become one great nation and a company of nations in the latter days. We would expect these nations to have “a special relationship,” a common language and culture since they are close brother nations in their origins. They also have to be known by the name of Isaac (Gen. 21:12), and they are! They have been called the “Saka,” “Sacae,” or “Saxon” nations throughout history.
The Semite nations are very large and powerful ones in the world today!
Steve
