Today, the United Nations recognises 195 countries, the majority of which did not exist in biblical times. The most comprehensive ancient record of nations can be found in the “table of nations” in Genesis 10:1–32, which describes how the descendants of Noah spread out and repopulated the world. But why this elaborate list, and what relevance would it have had to the Israelites?

The first hearers or readers of the book of Genesis were the Israelite slaves who had escaped Egypt after more than 400 years of enslavement. They had neither territory nor a national identity, but would form their own nation in the former territory of the Canaanites. The world of that time was one of kings and empires, of city dwellers and nomads, of massive people movements through migration and transnational conflict. Where did the Israelites fit in such a landscape? Genesis 10 answers these questions, and contains four interesting ideas.

First, it suggests that all nations are equal because they share the same ancestor—Noah. At that time, many nations held on to national myths claiming that the gods had created them first. Genesis 10, however, shows that all of them were connected and intertwined—be they empires like Mesopotamia (vv. 8–12) and Egypt (v. 13) or smaller nations like the Canaanites (vv. 15–17).

Second, the chapter mentions the geographic boundaries of Canaan (v. 19), later to become the land promised to the Israelites.

Third, the chapter also mentions “Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth” (vv. 8–12). Many attempts have been made to identify Nimrod and match him to one of the known emperors of the ancient world, but to no avail. What we do know is that without being part of God’s chosen people, he had a standing before God: he is described as being “a mighty hunter before the Lord” (v. 9). In Isaiah 45:1, Cyrus, king of Persia, will also be called God’s “anointed”, showing us that God can use non-Israelite, pagan individuals as His agents to accomplish His purposes in the world.

Fourth, the list names exactly 70 nations. This number suggests that God’s plans for the repopulation of the world after the flood have been most successful. In the Bible, the number seven often represents completeness, and the number 70 likewise evokes a sense of completion.

Genesis 10 presents a fairly positive view of how the world is renewed after the flood. The sons of Noah have fulfilled God’s command to “be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (9:1). Paul would later attribute the human diversity in the world to God himself: “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26).