(HISTORY OF MAN)
The history of the races of mankind is a fascinating subject. Biologically, a race is generally thought of as a variety, or subspecies, within a given species. All the races are a part of the humanrace. We have made the term race to apply to skin color, but the dictionary defines race as "a class or kind of individuals with common characteristics, interests, appearances, or habits as if derived from a common ancestor."
Where did we come from? The answers have always been with us, not in a online university degree classroom- as presented in the original Table of Nations. What you are about to read can best be described as an Exegesis (from the Greek exégesis, verb: exégetikos, meaning interpretation, guide, translation or critical exposition). Once you have read what is presented here, you may not view any race of people the same way again. Note that there is nothing like the Table of Nations (as presented here) in any other national tradition. Here we are presented the origin of nations.
This may seem a gross over-simplification, and even appear to oppose well-established secular scientific opinion; however, science has proven itself over and over to be a double-edged sword. For example, it is often found that what is obviously true, is actually false. The obvious idea that the sun moved around the earth was erroneous, but until that view was corrected, little progress was made in the science of astronomy. On the other hand, on occasion, what is obviously false turns out to be actually true, as in the scientific belief that dinosaurs and humans never coexisted. That changed when fossilized footprints of dinosaurs and humans were found together, with the most recent fossil discovery showing a human footprint slightly overlapped by a dinosaur footprint. Newly discovered artwork and various ancient artifacts depicting live dinosaurs by themselves, or interacting with humans, gave further proof. These include burial stones, burial cloths, clay figurines and cave drawings. While scientific knowledge is characterized by a progressive approach to reality, it has often proved detrimental to the progress of understanding in the things which it has denied. Such is the case here. So before you begin to judge, please continue reading.
As stated earlier, race does not apply to skin color alone. Skin color is essentially the only biological difference in race, and science has been unable to determine what causes skin pigmentation. They have not been able to define the difference in cell pigment or structure. This superficial distinction is the basis for the division of mankind, but the fact is, we are all the same color, and some people have a little more "color" than others. Skin shade is due to the amount of a substance called melanin in the skin; the more melanin, the darker the skin. We are not born with a genetically fixed amount of melanin, but rather with a genetically fixed potential to produce a certain amount, increasing in response to sunlight (why Caucasians "tan" when exposed to the sun for long periods). Racially mixed individuals can have children with skin color that is very dark, very light, or anywhere in between. The predominant shade for freely interbreeding individuals would be brown.
As family groups became isolated by language barriers, environmental factors allowed particular traits already present to be expressed more frequently. Noah's family suggests a "racially mixed" population with biological potential for variation. The Biblical viewpoint is that there is not a black race, white race, yellow race, etc. Instead, there are three distinct families or characteristics of man that make up the oldest Table of Nations in existence, which is a completely authentic statement of how the present world population originated and spread after the flood, as recorded in Genesis 10 of the Bible (a historical document itself). Here we learn the true divisions of mankind, indicating how the present population of the world came to be. The listing of Noah's descendants is more theological than hereditary, so we must understand that Noah's descendants existed because of his righteousness.
Modern genetics shows that when a large, freely interbreeding group is suddenly broken into many smaller groups which from then on breed only among themselves (as the Biblical description of the language dispersion at Babel would imply), different racial characteristics will arise very rapidly. It can be shown that one pair of middle-brown parents could produce all known shades of color, from very white to very black, in one generation. The racial characteristics which exist today have not evolved, and generally speaking, are simply different combinations of pre-existing (created) genetic (hereditary) information. Remee and Kian Hodgson born April 2005, and Layton and Kaydon Richardson born July 2006 (pictured below) are fraternal "black and white" twins. More incredible was the birth of two sets of mixed-race twins by Alison and Dean Durrant. Their first twins were born in 2001, and their second twins arrived November 2008 (all pictured below). Other fraternal twin births include Alicia and Jasmin Singerl born May 2006, and Ryan and Leo Gerth born July 2008 (not picutred), all providing proof of such genetic detail. The environment plays a secondary role in favoring certain combinations over others.
Hodgson Twins
Richardson Twins
Durrant Twins (times two)
Genesis chapter 10 describes how the present world population was derived from Noah's three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their wives (three family groups). Verse 32 states, "From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood." Additional references are given in 1 Chronicles chapter 1. Genesis 10 exactly names 16 grandsons of Noah, and then we are provided further details of the Babel dispersion (Genesis 11) where their descendants fanned out over the earth and established the various nations of the ancient world. The number of descendants of Noah (grandsons, great-grandsons, etc.) mentioned are 26 from Shem, 30 from Ham, and 14 from Japheth, totaling 70 "sons" or "nations." These 70 nations are the descendants (generations, genealogies or family histories) of the sons of Noah, known from Hebrew antiquity (Talmudic tradition of seventy nations in the world), and other ancient sources.
Most, if not all, tribes and nations can be traced to these men through their descendants. Chapter 10 describes the differentiation of nations, and asserts that we were all descended from Noah. It is important to understand that people and nations are referred to in a genealogical form (common in Hebrew and other Semitic languages). We find genealogical references in Genesis 10 are firstly to persons or families (ethnological), and secondly to nations or tribes (ethnographical); thus, the chapter ends with an emphasis on nations or tribes, which helps us understand in following chapters where they settled or "spread out over the earth" (geographical). We must acknowledge the early reality of inter-family marrying as individual family groups were established. This would later define skin color and other unique features within various subgroups and their subsequent populations. They began as hunter-gatherers and/or pastoral nomads (living off the land as they migrated).Evidence shows that Noah's sons kept together at first, then broke up into small groups and eventually arrived from the east in the southern Mesopotamian Plain (Gen. 11:2). The descendants of Elam, the first born son of Shem, were the first people to enter Mesopotamia. Susa, the capital city of the Elamites (Shemitic Elamites), gave rise to other early cities, such as Al-Ubaid (which later gave rise to Hamitic settlements—including the Sumerian civilization) and Jemdet Nasr. Recent excavations have provided very strong evidence of direct cultural links between some of the earliest cities in Babylonia and the lowest layers uncovered at Susa. These people established themselves first in the south and gradually spread toward the north, but without losing the cultural links. There are no known modern descendants of the Elamites. Other excavations have shown that one of the first Hamitic groups, the Sumerians, gave rise to considerable cultural advance and power in that region. Other people groups known very early included the Japhethites, noted especially for their fairness of skin, in the hill country east of the Tigris. Soon the great tower of Babel arose.
Further evidence indicates that the rulers of the City of Babel attempted to avert dispersal of the people by proposing the building of a monument as a visible rallying point on the flat plain of Mesopotamia. Scripture and historical texts note that the tower of Babel, the building of which Nimrod (a Sumerian) supervised, was to have two great significances. The city of Babel would become the metropolis of the world and unite its inhabitants under the dictatorial rule of Nimrod. The tower was to be a monument to man to stand as a symbol of Babel. Given the present knowledge of Babel history, Genesis 11 has a solid historical foundation in early Mesopotamia. Nimrod hoped to prevent the people from scattering abroad into colonies as God intended, thus bringing upon themselves a judgment which led to confusion of the languages and rapid scattering throughout the earth. Babel means confusion. Urbanization, as attested by archaeological records, did not occur until after the dispersal of languages. The history of linguistic development and settlement patterns in Mesopotamia support this. There are dozens of unclassified and isolate languages throughout the world, such as Basque, Ainu and Ticuna, which testify to the widespread language distribution at Babel. The name Babel would be preserved as Babylon, a future world empire. We can safely conclude that all people in the world are descended from the inhabitants of Babel, the first civilization after Noah's flood. From there the great empires of the past arose, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece, and all have strong historical links to the sons of Noah.
We can find validation from research scientists who study human genetics. They claim that lineages derived from known people groups did in fact appear to have migrated from the "Near East", "Middle East" or "Mesopotamia" (also called the "Cradle of Civilization" or the "Cradle of Mankind") sometime during prehistory. This information is derived from DNA haplogroups. Haplogroups are used in DNA tests for markers that give a broad or regional picture; haplotypes are one person's results on various DNA tests. Data comes from either Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) passed down from a father, or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) passed down from a mother. Both can be used to define genetic populations from one generation to the next intact. Here we attest there was a first pair, Adam and Eve. Scientists have traced the mitochondrial DNA in all living humans back to a single female, and similarly, genetic markers in all males in the world today can be traced back to a single male. Y-chromosome Adam and mitochondrial Eve are connected to everyone now living by an unbroken father-to-son or mother-to-daughter line (including everyone else in their generations who's ancestors are connected through one or more father-to-daughter or mother-to-son links). Haplogroup classifications are based on identification of genetic markers which a population of individuals share, passed down from an ancient but common ancestor. These genetic markers are evolving as new markers are found, sometimes resulting from occasional mutations to DNA. Different populations carry distinct markers. Examples of these markers can be seen in the charts below:
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Notice in the images below (public domain) that the genetic lineages originate from "somewhere in the Middle East"
or Mesopotamia as the Bible claims:
| The migration map below represents migration patterns for Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) passed down from a father. The letters represent markers for individual mutations. | The migration map below represents patterns for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) passed down from a mother. The letters represent markers for individual mutations. |
A majority of scholars and Bible historians agree that most of the descendants of Shem stayed in the Middle East, and Shem's descendants are well documented. These include the Hebrews, Persians and Assyrians. Modern day Arabs and Jews trace their lineage to Shem. Many Arabic nomad tribes still claim they descended from Shem. The descendants of Shem (Shemites) are often called Semites, a term first used in the late 18th century for peoples listed in the Bible as descended from Shem. Today the term Semite refers to peoples who speak any of the Semitic languages, including the ancient peoples who inhabited Babylonia (Mesopotamia). Modern peoples speaking Semitic languages include the Arabs and Jews. Several centuries before the Christian Era, many ancient Semitic populations were migrating in large numbers from Arabia to Mesopotamia, the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Nile River delta. Jews and other Semites settled in villages in Judea (southern Palestine). Today, Semitic-speaking peoples are concentrated in the Middle East and northern Africa.
The descendants of Ham include the Egyptians, Ethiopians, Canaanites, Phoenicians and Hittites. His descendants appear to be the first to fill the earth, as they were the early settlers of Africa, Asia, Australia, the South Pacific and the Americas. The descendants of Japheth migrated into Europe and parts of Central Asia. The Greeks, Romans, Spanish, Celts, Scythians and Medes were Japheth's descendants. Some people groups merged to form one nation, as did the Persians (Shem) and the Medes (Japheth), which later became the Medo-Persian empire. We also find that many nations or peoples were named after an ancestor. Romans, and their capital city, were named after Romulus. Israelis and their country are named after their forefather, Israel. The observable fact of attaching the name of a leader to his people and his empire appears often in Ancient Near Eastern history. The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 illustrates this principle, whereby every land was named after its first successful settler: Canaanites were named after Ham's son, Canaan, and so on.
