אֵ֣לֶּה בְנֵי־חָ֔ם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לִלְשֹֽׁנֹתָ֑ם בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖ם בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם׃ (ס)
Itulah anak-anak Ham, menurut kaum-kaum mereka, menurut bahasa-bahasa mereka, di negeri-negeri mereka, dalam bangsa-bangsa mereka.
Ramban
FROM THERE WERE PARTED THE INHABITANTS OF THE MARITIME SETTLEMENT OF THE NATIONS IN THEIR LANDS. The meaning of this is that the children of Japheth are those who dwell on the isles of the sea, and they are separated, each one of his sons residing singly on another isle, and their countries are far from each other. This was indeed the blessing of their father Noah, who said, May G-d enlarge Japheth,264Above, 9:27. meaning that they be numerous in the expanses of the earth. The sons of Ham, however, are all near one another as they dwell on the continents. Therefore Scripture said, And the boundary of the Canaanite was from Sidon…in their lands and in their nations.265Verses 19-20 here. The same is true of the sons of Shem.
Now Scripture narrates all this in order to inform us of Abraham’s lineage from Shem, and Ham’s descendants are mentioned to inform us of those nations whose lands Abraham was favored with on account of the sin of their fathers. Therefore it tells also of Japheth and of the dispersion266Genesis 11:1-9. in order to inform us of the cause of the difference in languages and the scattering of the nations to the ends of the earth in a short period of time after the first man. Moreover, this narration serves to let us know the kindness of G-d and His keeping the covenant He made with Noah that he would not destroy them.
The Rabbi267Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam or Maimonides). See Seder Bereshith, Note 139. said in Moreh Nebuchim268III, 50. that the genealogy of the nations verifies to those that hear it the principle of the creation of the world.269“It is one of the fundamental principles of the Torah that the universe has been created out of nothing, and that of the human race, one individual being, Adam was created. As the time which elapsed from Adam to Moses was not more than about two thousand five hundred years, people would have doubted the truth of that statement if no other information had been added, seeing that the human race was apread over all parts of the earth in different families and with different languages, very unlike the one to the other. In order to remove this doubt the Law gives the genealogy of the nations [Genesis 5 and 10], and the manner how they branched off from a common root. It names those of them who were well known, and tells who their fathers were, how long and where they lived. It describes also the cause that led to the dispersion of men over all parts of the earth, and to the formation of their different languages, after they had lived for a long time in one place, and spoken one language [ibid., 11], as would be natural for descendants of one person.” (Ibid., Friedlander’s translation III, p. 273.) This also is true, for our father Abraham will command his children and his household after him270Genesis 18:19. and will affirm to them the narration concerning Noah and his sons who saw the flood and were in the ark. Thus he, [Abraham, not having seen the flood but hearing of it], was witness from mouth to mouth in the whole matter of the flood, and he was a fourth witness to creation since Noah saw his father Lamech who saw Adam. Isaac and Jacob saw Shem, the witness of the flood, and Jacob told all this to those that went down to Egypt, as well as to Pharaoh and the people of his generation. The people in every generation similarly know from their fathers who tell them the deeds and progeny of the four to five previous generations.
Now Scripture narrates all this in order to inform us of Abraham’s lineage from Shem, and Ham’s descendants are mentioned to inform us of those nations whose lands Abraham was favored with on account of the sin of their fathers. Therefore it tells also of Japheth and of the dispersion266Genesis 11:1-9. in order to inform us of the cause of the difference in languages and the scattering of the nations to the ends of the earth in a short period of time after the first man. Moreover, this narration serves to let us know the kindness of G-d and His keeping the covenant He made with Noah that he would not destroy them.
The Rabbi267Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam or Maimonides). See Seder Bereshith, Note 139. said in Moreh Nebuchim268III, 50. that the genealogy of the nations verifies to those that hear it the principle of the creation of the world.269“It is one of the fundamental principles of the Torah that the universe has been created out of nothing, and that of the human race, one individual being, Adam was created. As the time which elapsed from Adam to Moses was not more than about two thousand five hundred years, people would have doubted the truth of that statement if no other information had been added, seeing that the human race was apread over all parts of the earth in different families and with different languages, very unlike the one to the other. In order to remove this doubt the Law gives the genealogy of the nations [Genesis 5 and 10], and the manner how they branched off from a common root. It names those of them who were well known, and tells who their fathers were, how long and where they lived. It describes also the cause that led to the dispersion of men over all parts of the earth, and to the formation of their different languages, after they had lived for a long time in one place, and spoken one language [ibid., 11], as would be natural for descendants of one person.” (Ibid., Friedlander’s translation III, p. 273.) This also is true, for our father Abraham will command his children and his household after him270Genesis 18:19. and will affirm to them the narration concerning Noah and his sons who saw the flood and were in the ark. Thus he, [Abraham, not having seen the flood but hearing of it], was witness from mouth to mouth in the whole matter of the flood, and he was a fourth witness to creation since Noah saw his father Lamech who saw Adam. Isaac and Jacob saw Shem, the witness of the flood, and Jacob told all this to those that went down to Egypt, as well as to Pharaoh and the people of his generation. The people in every generation similarly know from their fathers who tell them the deeds and progeny of the four to five previous generations.
Rashi
שבע שנים נבנתה [NOW HEBRON] WAS BUILT SEVEN YEARS [BEFORE ZOAN IN EGYPT] — Is it possible that Ham (who was the father of both Canaan and Mizraim; cf. Genesis 10:6) would have built Hebron for Canaan, his younger son, before he built Zoan for Mizraim, his elder son? But the meaning is that it was furnished (lit., built up) with all excellencies seven times better than Zoan. It (Scripture), by mentioning this, means to tell you the excellency of the Land of Israel. For you have no rockier ground in the Land of Israel than Hebron, — for this reason, indeed, they set it apart for a place of burial — and there is, on the other hand, no soil in any country as good as that of Egypt, for it states, (Genesis 13:10) “like the garden of the Lord, viz., like the Land of Egypt”. Now Zoan must have been the best part in the land Egypt since the residence of the kings was there, as it is said, (Jes. 30:4) “For in Zoan were its princes”, and yet Hebron was seven times better than it (Sotah 34b; Ketuvot 112a).