Genesis 10:3

What does Genesis 10:3 mean?

This short genealogy lists the descendants of Gomer, one of Noah's grandsons, establishing the family lines that spread across the ancient world after the flood. These names became associated with regions and peoples in what we now know as Asia Minor and beyond—Ashkenaz eventually became a name for Jewish communities in Northern Europe and Central Asia. While it might seem like just a list of names, genealogies in Genesis were how ancient people understood their own origins and their connections to the wider world, and these particular names echo through biblical history and Jewish tradition for centuries to come.