Difficult Passages · Who, Where, and Which

Were the nations divided by their tongues before Babel?

Genesis 10 sets out the nations as they came to be; chapter 11 goes back to tell how the tongues and the scattering began.

The Passages

Genesis 10:5
5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Genesis 11:1
1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

See Also

Genesis 11:7-9
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Genesis 10:25
25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

The Difficulty

Genesis 10 says of the sons of Japheth, “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations” (Genesis 10:5), and of Ham’s and Shem’s sons the same (10:20, 31). But Genesis 11 begins, “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech” (11:1), until the LORD confounded their language at Babel (11:7–9).

The Answer

Genesis 10 is the table of the nations as they came to be, each “after his tongue”; chapter 11 then goes back to tell how the tongues and the scattering came about. The table speaks by anticipation, Gill says: the lands were divided according to the tongues, which shows it was done after the confusion. Chapter 11 ends where chapter 10 began: “from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9). And chapter 10 points to the time itself: Peleg was so named because “in his days was the earth divided” (10:25).

Sources

  1. this shews, that what is said concerning the division of countries to the sons of Japheth is by way of anticipation; and that though thus related, was not done till after the confusion of languages, since the partition was made according to the different languages of men
    Checked against: Internet Archive scan of the first edition, 2026-10-28
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