What Does Genesis 10:26 Mean?

Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, and Jerah. Joktan's thirteen sons form one of the longest lists in the Table of Nations and have been associated with various tribal groups throughout the Arabian peninsula. Almodad may be connected to a region in southern Arabia; Hazarmaveth corresponds to the Hadhramaut region of modern Yemen, still known today by essentially the same name. The persistence of these names across millennia in the geography of the Arabian peninsula is one of the subtle confirmations of the historical content preserved in the Table of Nations.

Joktan's large family contrasts with the single-son genealogy of Peleg's line at this point. The covenant line narrows as it approaches Abraham; the non-covenant line spreads and populates a large territory. This pattern is not unique to Genesis: the line of Esau is given extensive treatment in Genesis 36 while Jacob's line moves into Egypt. The non-covenant lines receive enough documentation to demonstrate their reality and their divine accounting, but the narrative energy moves through the covenant line.

That Joktan and his descendants received their own portion in the distribution of the earth's peoples reflects the comprehensive reach of the Table of Nations' theology. God is not only the God of those who carry the covenant; He is the God of the Hazarmaveth valley and the Hadhramaut plateau and the Arabian tribal societies whose origin this genealogy traces. The same God who called Abraham from Ur knew by name every descendant of Joktan in their Arabian territories, which is why the prophets could speak of Arabia's eventual inclusion in the worship of God.