Editing Generations of Noah (section)

===Book of Genesis===
[[File:Noah (Grigoriants' coll.).jpg|thumb|Noah dividing the world between his sons. Anonymous painter; [[Russian Empire]], 18th century.]]

Chapters 1–11 of the [[Book of Genesis]] are structured around five ''[[toledot]]'' statements ("these are the generations of..."), of which the "generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth" is the fourth. Events before the [[Genesis flood narrative]], the central toledot, correspond to those after: the post-Flood world is a new creation corresponding to the [[Genesis creation narrative]], and Noah had three sons who populated the world. The correspondences extend forward as well: there are 70 names in the Table, corresponding to the 70 Israelites who go down into Egypt at the end of Genesis and to the 70 elders of Israel who go up the mountain at Sinai to meet with God in Exodus. The symbolic force of these numbers is underscored by the way the names are frequently arranged in groups of seven, suggesting that the Table is a symbolic means of implying universal moral obligation.{{sfn|Blenkinsopp|2011|pp=4 and 155–156}} The number 70 also parallels Canaanite mythology, where 70 represents the number of gods in the divine clan who are each assigned a subject people, and where the supreme god [[El (deity)|El]] and his consort, [[Asherah]], has the title "Mother/Father of 70 gods", which, due to the coming of monotheism, had to be changed, but its symbolism lived on in the new religion.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

The overall structure of the Table is:
*1. Introductory formula, v.1
*2. Japheth, vv.2–5
*3. Ham, vv.6–20
*4. Shem, vv.21–31
*5. Concluding formula, v.32.{{sfn|Towner|2001|p=102}}

The overall principle governing the assignment of various peoples within the Table is difficult to discern: it purports to describe all humankind, but in reality restricts itself to the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian lands]] of the south, [[Mesopotamia]], [[Asia Minor]], and the [[Ionian Greeks]], and in addition, the "sons of Noah" are not organized by geography, [[language family]] or [[ethnic groups]] within these regions.{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|p=140–141}} The Table contains several difficulties: for example, the names Sheba and Havilah are listed twice, first as descendants of Cush the son of Ham (verse 7), and then as sons of Joktan, the great-grandsons of Shem, and while the Cushites are North African in verses 6–7 they are unrelated Mesopotamians in verses 10–14.{{sfn|Towner|2001|p=101–102}}

The date of composition of Genesis 1–11 cannot be fixed with any precision, although it seems likely that an early brief nucleus was later expanded with extra data.{{sfn|Blenkinsopp|2011|p=156–157}} Portions of the Table itself 'may' derive from the 10th century BCE, while others reflect the 7th century BCE and [[Priestly source|priestly]] revisions in the 5th century BCE.{{sfn|Rogers|2000|p=1271}} Its combination of world review, myth and genealogy corresponds to the work of the Greek historian [[Hecataeus of Miletus]], active {{circa|520&nbsp;BCE}}.{{sfn|Brodie|2001|p=186}}