In a previous message we saw that these constituted the Canaanite tribes
which occupied the land of Palestine at the time of Abraham. They were a morally
degraded people, and were that as a result of demonic invasion. That does not
mean that every individual was demonically possessed, but there was considerable
experience of this among these people. We must note certain individuals in this
listing, but not all:

 

Sidon is mentioned as the first-born of Canaan. He founded the city by the
same name, located near Tyre, on the coast of Phoenicia. Since there is no
mention of Tyre here we can see how early this account is. Heth is the father of
the Hittite nation. The Hittites were once regarded by archaeologists as a
biblical blunder. Archaeologists said the Bible was absolutely wrong when it
mentioned the Hittites, for there was no such people. But since that time,
Hittite relics have been discovered in abundance, and scholars are now well
aware of the great civilization that flourished under the Hittites. The Hebrew
form of this word, Hittite, is Khettai and from this comes the word Cathay,
which many of you will recognize as an ancient name for China. Certain of the
Hittites migrated eastward and settled in China. Also, another name in this
list, the Sinites, is linked with China. It derives from a presumed son of
Canaan whose name was Sin. The Sinites migrated eastward until they came into
Western China, where they founded the ancient Empire of China and gave their
name to the land. There is a direct connection between the word China and the
word Sinim, the biblical name for China. (I remember reading as a boy of the
Sino-Japanese War, showing how the ancient name still persists.) They pushed
eastward and toward the north over the land bridge into Alaska. The Sinites are
the people who settled the Americas in prehistoric days and became the ancestors
of the Eskimos and Indians who, to this very day, betray their Mongoloid
ancestry.

 

Now the third family that is traced here is Shem:

 

    To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder bother
of Japheth, children were born. The sons of Shem: Elam Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud,
and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arpachshad became the
father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber. To Eber was born two
sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and
his brother's name was Joktan. Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph,
Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah,
and Jobah; all these were the sons of Joktan. The territory in which they lived
extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east.
These are the sons of Shem, by their families, their languages, their lands, and
their nations.

 

    These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their
genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations spread abroad on the
earth after the flood. {Gen 10:21-32 RSV}

 

The noteworthy thing said here is that:

 

Shem was the father of the children of Eber. Actually, Eber was a
great-grandson of Shem, but from Eber comes the word Hebrew. Abraham, who was
really the founder of the Hebrew nation, was six generations beyond Eber. Yet
Eber is of such note that Abraham is identified as an Eberite, or Hebrew.