Genesis 10:17

17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

Genesis 10:17 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 10:17

And the Hivite
These dwelt in Hermon, a part of Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath, ( Joshua 11:3 ) ( Judges 3:3 ) to the east of the land of Canaan; hence they were sometimes called Kadmonites, or Easterlings, ( Genesis 15:19 ) and are thought to have their name from dwelling in holes and caves like serpents; hence Cadmus the Phoenician, and his wife Hermonia, who seem to have their names from hence, are reported to be turned into serpents, they being Hivites, which this word signifies, as Bochart ^F9 observes.

And the Arkite;
the same with the Aruceans, or Arcaeans, Josephus

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 speaks of in Phoenicia about Sidon, and from whom the city Arce had its name, which he places in Lebanon; and is mentioned by Menander ^F12 as revolting to the king of Assyria, with Sidon and old Tyre; and which is reckoned by Ptolemy ^F13 a city of Phoenicia, and placed by him near old Byblus; and hence Bothart ^F14 thinks Venus had the name of Venus Architis, said by Macrobius ^F15 to be worshipped by the Assyrians and Phoenicians.

And the Sinite:
either the inhabitants of the wilderness of Sin, who dwelt in the northern part of the desert of Arabia, or the Pelusiotae, as Bochart ^F16 thinks, the inhabitants of Pelusium, which was called Sin, ( Ezekiel 30:15 ) the former being its Greek name, the latter its Chaldee or Syriac name, and both signify "clay", it being a clayey place; but Canaan or Phoenicia seems not to have reached so far; Jerom speaks of a city not far from Arca called Sin, where rather these people may be thought to dwell.

F9 Ut supra. (Phaleg. l. 4. c. 36. fol. 304.)
F11 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2. & l. 5. c. 1. sect. 23.
F12 Apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect. 2.
F13 Geograph. l. 5. c. 15.
F14 Ut supra. (Phaleg. l. 4. c. 36. fol. 304.)
F15 Saturnal. l. 1. c. 21.
F16 Ut supra. (Phaleg. l. 4. c. 36. fol. 304.)

Genesis 10:17 In-Context

15 Canaan's sons - Sidon, the oldest, and Heth - were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names.

16 Canaan was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. The different tribes of the Canaanites spread out,

19 until the Canaanite borders reached from Sidon southward to Gerar near Gaza, and eastward to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim near Lasha.