Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 10:31 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 31. 31These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Shem's branch closes with the same categories of families, languages, lands, and nations used elsewhere. The selected line toward Abram remains part of a diverse set of peoples.
Read It With
- Genesis 10:1–32
Read verses 21–31 and compare verses 5, 20, and 32. Each major branch is summarized corporately, and the final verse gathers all three into the post-flood nations.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Shem's summary completes the third branch using the same corporate categories as Japheth and Ham.
Read Genesis 10:31–32 together
Why these verses belong together: Shem's branch summary and the whole-table summary close the genealogy and prepare Babel.
Verse 31. 31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
Verse 32. 32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
What Remains True
Particular covenant history unfolds within shared and diverse humanity rather than outside it.
How It Can Shape Life
- Hold commitment to a particular faith community together with respect for neighbors of every language, family, land, and nation.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 10:1–32 — The Families of the Nations Spread Across the EarthSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, genealogy, embedded notices, repeated summaries, and transition to Babel.
Exact location: Genesis 10:1–32 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Generations, families, tongues, lands, nations, Nimrod clauses, Asshur syntax, elder wording, and Peleg's division.
Exact location: Genesis 10:1–32 forms, lemmas, syntax, names, and verse structure in Gen.xml
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Difficult names, coastlands, Nimrod grammar, city clauses, Philistine parenthesis, birth-order syntax, and Peleg wording.
Exact location: Genesis 10:1–32 translator and study notes
Open NET Genesis 10 ↗