Genesis 10:16

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

Genesis 10:16 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 10:16

And the Jebusite
Who had their name from Jebus, a third son of Canaan, and from whom Jerusalem was called Jebus, ( Judges 19:10 ) and where his posterity continued to dwell when the land of Canaan was possessed by the Israelites; for they were so strong and powerful, that the men of Judah could not drive them out from thence, and here they remained until the times of David, who dispossessed them of it, ( Joshua 15:63 ) ( 2 Samuel 5:6-8 ) . There is an island near Spain, formerly called Ebusus, now Ibissa, where was one of the colonies of the Phoenicians, in which, Bochart F7 observes, the name of the Jebusites is thought to remain.

And the Emorite;
so called from Emor, the fourth son of Canaan, commonly called the Amorite, a people so strong and mighty, that they are compared to cedars for height, and to oaks for strength, ( Amos 2:9 ) they dwelt both on this and the other side Jordan: Sihon, one of their kings, made war on the king of Moab, and took all his country from him unto Arnon, ( Numbers 21:26 ) and in the times of Joshua there were several kings of the Amorites, which dwelt on the side of Jordan westward, ( Joshua 5:1 ) hence it may be Amor, in the Arabic tongue signifying to command, and Emir, a commander.

And the Girgasite;
the same with the Gergesene in ( Matthew 8:28 ) who, in the times of Christ, lived about Gerasa, or Gadara: a Jewish writer


FOOTNOTES:

F8 says, that when they left their country to Israel, being forced to it by Joshua, they went into a country which to this day is called Gurgestan.


F7 Phaleg. l. 4. c. 36. fol. 304.
F8 R. Zacuth. Sepher. Jachasin, fol. 135. 2.

Genesis 10:16 In-Context

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
The King James Version is in the public domain.