Genesis 10:14

And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:8-14 Nimrod was a great man in his day; he began to be mighty in the earth, Those before him were content to be upon the same level with their neighbours, and though every man bare rule in his own house, yet no man pretended any further. Nimrod was resolved to lord it over his neighbours. The spirit of the giants before the flood, who became mighty men, and men of renown, Ge 6:4, revived in him. Nimrod was a great hunter. Hunting then was the method of preventing the hurtful increase of wild beasts. This required great courage and address, and thus gave an opportunity for Nimrod to command others, and gradually attached a number of men to one leader. From such a beginning, it is likely, that Nimrod began to rule, and to force others to submit. He invaded his neighbours' rights and properties, and persecuted innocent men; endeavouring to make all his own by force and violence. He carried on his oppressions and violence in defiance of God himself. Nimrod was a great ruler. Some way or other, by arts or arms, he got into power, and so founded a monarchy, which was the terror of the mighty, and bid fair to rule all the world. Nimrod was a great builder. Observe in Nimrod the nature of ambition. It is boundless; much would have more, and still cries, Give, give. It is restless; Nimrod, when he had four cities under his command, could not be content till he had four more. It is expensive; Nimrod will rather be at the charge of rearing cities, than not have the honour of ruling them. It is daring, and will stick at nothing. Nimrod's name signifies rebellion; tyrants to men are rebels to God. The days are coming, when conquerors will no longer be spoken of with praise, as in man's partial histories, but be branded with infamy, as in the impartial records of the Bible.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Mizraim has seven sons, from whom are derived eight nations.

(26) the Ludim are probably mentioned in Isaiah 66:19, in connection with Tarshish and Put; in Jeremiah 46:9, in connection with Kush and Put; and in Ezekiel 27:10; Ezekiel 30:5, in connection with Put. In all these instances the name is in the singular, but in our text in the plural, expressly denoting the nation of which Lud was the progenitor. The Ludim were distinguished for the use of the bow. They were, doubtless, an African tribe, related to the Egyptians, and well known to the prophets, though their country cannot now be pointed out. Josephus intimates that they were destroyed, as well as other tribes descended from Mizraim, in the Ethiopic war of the time of Moses; but they still existed in the times of Ezekiel. Movers finds them in the Lewatah, a tribe of Berbers. Others place them in Mauretania. Pliny mentions a river Laud in Tingitana.

(27) the Anamim are not elsewhere mentioned.

(28) the Lehabim are generally identified with the Lubim 2 Chronicles 12:3; 2 Chronicles 16:8; Daniel 2:43; Nahum 3:9, who are introduced in connection with the Kushim. They are probably the Libyans, who lay to the west of Egypt, and, extending from the Mediterranean indefinitely to the south, came into contact with the Kushites of Abyssinia.

(29) the Naphtuhim Bochart places in Nephthys, near Pelusium on the Lake Sirbonis. Others find a trace of them in Napata, a town of Meroe. This agrees with the indications of Josephus and the Targum of Jonathan.

(30) the Pathrusim have their place in Pathros, a name of upper Egypt or the Thebais. It is arranged by Isaiah Isa 2:11 between Egypt and Kush.

(31) the Kasluhim are supposed by some to be represented by the Colchians, whom Herodotus (ii. 104) traces to Egypt. It is possible the Colchians may have been a colony from them. But their original seat must have been somewhere on the coast of the Red Sea.

(32) Philistim, who came from (31). The Philistines dwelt on the coast of the Mediterranean, from the border of Egypt to Joppa. They had five principal cities, - Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They gave the name פלשׁת peleshet, Pelesheth, to the whole of Kenaan, from which is derived the Greek name Παλαιστὶνη Palaistinee "Palaestina." They are stated by the text to be a colony or offshoot of the Kasluhim.

(33) Kaphtorim. From Jeremiah 47:4, it appears that Kaphtor was a coastland. From Amos 9:7, we learn that the Philistines came from this land. Hence, we conclude that the Kaphtorim dwelt on the coast of the Red Sea, adjacent to the Kasluchim, and left their name, perhaps, in Koptos and Αἴγυπτος Aiguptos. Cappadocia, Crete, and Cyprus only slightly resemble the name, and have no other recommendation. The Kasluhim may have been their southern neighbors, and thus the Philistines may have occupied a part of Kaphtor, before their settlement on the coast of the Great Sea, within the borders of Kenaan, where they would, of course, be another tribe (ἀλλόφυλοι allophuloi). This account of these descendants of Mizraim agrees best with the hint of Josephus, that many of them bordered on the Ethiopians; and perished, or perhaps were forced to migrate, in the Ethiopic or other wars (i. 6, 3). Thus, it appears that the descendants of Mizraim were settled in Africa, with the exception of the Philistines, who migrated into the country to which they gave their name.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. Out of that land went forth Asshur—or, as the Margin has it, "He [Nimrod] at the head of his army went forth into Assyria," that is, he pushed his conquests into that country.

and builded Nineveh—opposite the town of Mosul, on the Tigris, and the other towns near it. This raid into Assyria was an invasion of the territories of Shem, and hence the name "Nimrod," signifying "rebel," is supposed to have been conferred on him from his daring revolt against the divine distribution.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Pathrusim, the inhabitants of Pathros; of which see Isaiah 11:11 Jeremiah 44:1, er 44:15, ze 29:14.

Out of whom came Philistim: the meaning is, they came out of his loins, or were his offspring, which might be true; though afterwards we find them seated amongst the offspring of Canaan, having driven out the former inhabitants, as was usual in those ancient times.

Object.

The Philistines are elsewhere said to come from Caphtorim: see Jeremiah 47:4.

Answ. Therefore some make a trajection here, which is not unusual; and read the words thus, and Casluhim, and Caphtorim, out of whom me Philistim. But this seems forced, nor is it necessary; for the place may be thus read without any parenthesis, and Casluhim, out of whom came the Philistim and Caphtorim, which two latter were brethren, both the sons of Casluhim; and so might at first dwell together, whence their names are promiscuously used one for another; and the Caphtorims are said to dwell in Azzah, or Gaza, the known seat of the Philistines, Deu 2:23. Afterwards they might be divided, first in their dwellings, then in their affections, and war one against another; and the Caphtorims seem to have subdued and enslaved the Philistines, and carried them into their country, whom therefore God is said to bring and deliver from Caphtor, Amos 9:9; and the Caphtorims either then or afterward might be destroyed and extirpated by the hand of God or men, whence the Philistines, in after-times, are called The remnant of the country of Caphtor, Jeremiah 47:4.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Pathrusim,.... These are other descendants of Mizraim, the name of whose father very probably was Pathros, from whom the country of Pathros was called, and which is not only spoken of in Scripture along with Egypt, but as a part of it, Isaiah 11:11 and these Pathrusim were doubtless the inhabitants of it; which, as Bochart (u) has shown, is no other than Thebais, or the upper Egypt. Hillerus (w) takes the word to be compounded of and and renders it the corner of the Rosians, and makes it to be the same with the bay of Issus, where was a colony of Egypt, called Cilicians; but the former is more probable.

And Casluhim; these also were the posterity of Mizraim, by another son of his, from whence they had their name: according to Hillerus (x), they are the Solymi, a people near the Lycians and Pisidians, that came out of Egypt, and settled in those parts; but it is much more likely that they were, as Junius (y) observes, the inhabitants of Casiotis, a country mentioned by Ptolemy (z) in lower Egypt, at the entrance of it, where stood Mount Casius: but Bochart (a) is of opinion that they are the Colchi, the inhabitants of the country now called Mingrelia, and which, though at a distance from Egypt, the ancient inhabitants came from thence, as appears from several ancient authors of good credit, as the above learned writer shows.

Out of whom came Philistim, or the Philistines, a people often spoken of in Scripture: these sprung from the Casluhim, or were a branch of that people; according to Ben Melech they sprung both from them and from the Pathrusim; for Jarchi says they changed wives with one another, and so the Philistines sprung from them both; or these were a colony that departed from them, and settled elsewhere, as the Philistines did in the land of Canaan, from whence that part of it which they inhabited was called Palestine: and, if the Casluhim dwelt in Casiotis, at the entrance of Egypt, as before observed, they lay near the land of Canaan, and could easily pass into it. Some think this clause refers not to what goes before, but to what follows after:

and Caphtorim, and read the whole verse thus: "and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, and Caphtorim, out of whom came Philistim"; that is, they came out of the Caphtorim. What has led to such a transposition of the words in the text is Amos 9:7 "and the Philistines from Caphtor": but though they are said to he brought from a place called Caphtor, yet did not spring from the Caphtorim: to me it rather seems, that the two latter were brothers, and both sprung from the Casluhim; since the words may be rendered without a parenthesis: "and Caluhim, out of whom came Philistim and Caphtorim"; though perhaps it may be best of all to consider the two last as the same, and the words may be read, "out of whom came Philistim, even", or that is, "the Caphtorim"; for the Philistines, in the times of Jeremiah, are said to be the remnant of the country of Caphtor, Jeremiah 47:4 and as in Amos the Philistines are said to come out of Caphtor, in Deuteronomy 2:23 they are called Caphtorim, that came out of Caphtor, who destroyed the Avim, which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, or Gaza, afterwards a principal city of the Philistines: for then, and not before their settlement in the land of Canaan, were they so called; for the word Philistim signifies strangers, people of another country; and the Septuagint version always so renders the word: their true original name seems to be Caphtorim. Bochart (b) indeed will have the Caphtorim to be the Cappadocians, that dwelt near Colchis, about Trapezunt, where he finds a place called Side, which in Greek signifies a pomegranate, as Caphtor does in Hebrew; and so Hillerus (c) takes it for a name of the Cappadocians, who inhabited "Cappath Hor", or the side of Mount Hor, or , the side of Mount Taurus; and in this they both follow the Jewish Targumists, who everywhere render Caphtorim by Cappadocians, as the three Targums do here, and Caphtor by Cappadocia, and as Jonathan on Deuteronomy 2:23 but then thereby they understood a people and place in Egypt, even Damietta, the same they suppose with Pelusium; for other Jewish writers say (d), Caphutkia, or Cappadocia, is Caphtor, and in the Arabic language Damietta: so Benjamin of Tudela says (e), in two days I came to Damietta, this is Caphtor; and it seems pretty plain that Caphtor must be some place in Egypt, as Coptus, or some other, and that the Caphtorim, or Philistines, were originally Egyptians, since they descended from Mizraim.

(u) Phaleg. l. 4. c. 31. (w) Onomastic. Sacr. p. 161, 585. (x) Ibid. p. 161, 583, 777. (y) In loc. (z) Geograph. l. 4. c. 5. (a) Phaleg. l. 4. c. 31. (b) Phaleg. l. 4. c. 32. (c) Onamastic. Sacr. p. 160, 282. (d) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Cetubot, c. 13, p. 11. (e) ltinerarium, p. 125.

Geneva Study Bible

And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. Pathrusim] Clearly to be identified with Upper Egypt, “the southlanders.” “The land of the midday,” Egyptian Ptrsi, is the Pathros of Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 44:1; Jeremiah 44:15; Ezekiel 29:14; Ezekiel 30:14.

Casluhim] Not known; LXX Χασμωνιείμ, which has caused Max Müller to conjecture Nasamonim, a tribe in the vicinity of the great oasis of Ammon. Cf. 1 Chronicles 1:12.

(whence went forth the Philistines), and Caphtorim] The parenthetical clause within the brackets seems to be out of place. According to Deuteronomy 2:23, Jeremiah 47:4, Amos 9:7 the Philistines came out of Caphtor. Accordingly, we may conjecture the clause originally stood after the word “Caphtorim,” and has been accidentally transposed. On the other hand, this explanation seems so obvious, that some scholars consider that the clause “whence … the Philistines” is in its right place, but that the words “and Caphtorim” are only a gloss on the mention of “the Philistines.”

the Philistines] Heb. Pelishtim, identified by many Assyriologists with the Purasati, a predatory horde which established itself in the 13th century b.c. in the south of Phoenicia. On the origin of the Philistines, see Macalister’s Excavations at Gezer (Pal. Ex. Fund, 1912).

Caphtorim] The people of Caphtor which has commonly been identified with Crete. The only traces of real artistic work found at Gezer by Macalister were Minoan in character.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - And Pathrusim. Pathros in Upper Egypt. And Casluhim. The Colchians, of Egyptian origin (Bochart, Gesenius); the inhabitants of the primitive Egyptian town Chemuis, later Panoplis (Kalisch). Out of whom came Philistim. The Philistines on the Mediterranean from Egypt to Joppa, who had five principal cities - Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They are here described as an offshoot from Casluhim. The name has been derived from an Ethiopic root falasa, to emigrate; hence "immigrants" or "emigrants." Jeremiah 47:4 and Amos 9:7 trace the Philistines to the Caphtorim. Michaelis solves the difficulty by transposing the clause to the end of the verse; Bochart by holding the Casluhim and Caphtorim to have intermingled; Keil and Lange by the conjecture that the original tribe the Casluhim was subsequently strengthened by an immigration from Caphtor. Against the Egyptian origin of the Philistines the possession of a Shemitic tongue and the non-observance of circumcision have been urged; but the first may have been acquired from the conquered Avim whose land they occupied (Deuteronomy 2:28), and the exodus from Egypt may have taken place prior to the institution of the rite in question. And Caphtorim. Cappadocia (Bochart), Syrtis Major (Clericus), Crete (Calmer, Ewald), Cyprus (Michaelis, Rosenmüller), Coptos, Kouft or Keft, a few miles north of Thebes (Kalisch). Genesis 10:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

From Mizraim descended Ludim: not the Semitic Ludim (Genesis 10:22), but, according to Movers, the old tribe of the Lewtah dwelling on the Syrtea, according to others, the Moorish tribes collectively. Whether the name is connected with the Laud flumen (Plin. v. 1) is uncertain; in any case Knobel is wrong in thinking of Ludian Shemites, whether Hyksos, who forced their way to Egypt, or Egyptianized Arabians. Anamim: inhabitants of the Delta, according to Knobel. He associates the Enemetiei'm of the lxx with Sanemhit, or Northern Egypt: "tsanemhit, i.e., pars, regio septentrionis." Lehabim ( equals Lubim, Nahum 3:9) are, according to Josephus, the Δἰβνες or Δύβιες, not the great Libyan tribe (Phut, v. 6), which Nahum distinguishes from them, but the Libyaegyptii of the ancients. Naphtuchim: in Knobel's opinion, the Middle Egyptians, as the nation of Pthah, the god of Memphis: but Bochart is more probably correct in associating the name with Νέφθυς in Plut. de Is., the northern coast line of Egypt. Pathrusim: inhabitants of Pathros, Παθούρης, Egypt. Petrs, land of the south; i.e., Upper Egypt, the Thebais of the ancients. Casluchim: according to general admission the Colchians, who descended from the Egyptians (Herod. ii. 104), though the connection of the name with Cassiotis is uncertain. "From thence (i.e., from Casluchim, which is the name of both people and country) proceeded the Philistines." Philistim, lxx Φυλιστιείμ or Ἀλλόφλοι, lit., emigrants or immigrants from the Ethiopic fallâsa. This is not at variance with Amos 9:7 and Jeremiah 47:4, according to which the Philistines came from Caphtor, so that there is no necessity to transpose the relative clause after Philistim. The two statements may be reconciled on the simple supposition that the Philistian nation was primarily a Casluchian colony, which settled on the south-eastern coast line of the Mediterranean between Gaza (Genesis 10:19) and Pelusium, but was afterwards strengthened by immigrants from Caphtor, and extended its territory by pressing out the Avim (Deuteronomy 2:23, cf. Joshua 13:3). Caphtorim: according to the old Jewish explanation, the Cappadocians; but according to Lakemacher's opinion, which has been revived by Ewald, etc., the Cretans. This is not decisively proved, however, either by the name Cherethites, given to the Philistines in 1 Samuel 30:14; Zephaniah 2:5, and Ezekiel 25:16, or by the expression "isle of Caphtor" in Jeremiah 47:4.