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In the beginning was the Word...John 1:1a

History for Noah's Descendants

Noah�s ark

In Genesis 8:4 we read �...the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. It does not state that it landed on Mt. Ararat, the tradi tional site for the Ark. On the north side of Mount Ararat there is a beautiful fertile valley called Araxes River Valley. This valley is high in the Mountains of Ararat. It is about 70-90 miles in length and follows the Araxes (Aras) River.

Some believe the ark came to rest in this valley just a few miles north of Mt. Ararat. Today there is a town in the eastern part of the valley called Cemanum (Kazakh or Kazan), which interpreted means �eight,� possibly named after the eight persons who came out of the ark and are thought to have built the town in that location. The people who lived in that area would, for generations, have known the exact location of the ark.

Noah�s home

In this valley there is a vast complex of extremely ancient stone fences radiating outward from an ancient stone house. North of this complex is a very ancient stone altar upon a ridge between two hills. In front of this house they discovered two tombstones which seem to indicate that they were marking the graves of Noah and his wife. Perhaps this was Noah�s home where he lived out the next 350 years of his life. South of this home is a village in which a large number of anchor stones (from the ark?) can still be seen today, some with eight crosses carved on them, possibly representing the eight people that left the ark.

Metallurgical Sites

Across the Araxes River from this home lies the site of Metsamor. Within a few miles of the home, is what has been termed �one of,� if not �THE� oldest metallurgical site ever found! Analyses of the copper found there showed 14 different alloys, including tin, lead, antimony and zinc. This metallurgy center is quite sophisticated!

It is believed that Noah founded this metallurgical site.

Archaeologists, at the earliest inhabited level of this dig, found bronze slag. This bronze alloy requires tin and sometimes zinc for increased hardness. Glass making also flourished at Metsamor, as indicated by six types of metallurgical material, including zinc and mangonese, alloyed in different ways to make different colors. Large samples of ballast possibly from the hull of the ark tested over 85% manganese. They also discovered large metal rivets, from the ark? Noah and his sons obviously had vast knowledge from the pre-flood years that they taught to their descendants.

Another extremely old metallurgical site has been uncovered farther east along the Araxes Valley at Nakhichevan. Numerous Armenian traditions ascribe the founding of this city to Noah. Noah probably traveled the area with his descendants, helping to get them established in various areas where they would have room for their crops and animals.

It is possible that many other small towns were founded in this area that no longer exist today. There seems to be strong evidence that Noah�s descendants first migrated eastward, following the Araxes River.

The fact that what is believed to be Noah�s grave was found in the valley, seems to indicate that Noah stayed in the valley until the time of his death 350 years later.

People wonder why there are so few artifacts found that are metal. Metal was a very precious commodity. When an item was no longer useful or was worn out, it would most likely have been melted down and made into something else. Metal products would never have been left behind the way pottery was. Pottery was cheap and easy to obtain. That is probably why so many pottery artifacts are found and so few metal artifacts. They did have tools made from obsidian. Several volcanoes in the area would have made obsidian readily available.

The first concentration of Noah and his family would have been to plant crops and increase their herds and flocks. They also had to build their homes. Migration could not really have begun until there were more people on the earth. This would not have taken more than about one hundred years. They lived very long lives, had large families and were extremely healthy. The death rate would have been relatively low.

Food

Before entering the ark God told Noah to provide enough food for his family and for all the animals. This meant not only food for the long period that they were in the ark but also for the first months after leaving the ark. They would have brought all kinds of seeds and plants with them for planting in the New World. Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard (Genesis 9:10). We are not told what the sons did, but it is obvious they would have planted grains, vegetables and fruits that were necessary to their survival. Also, they all had to start building up their herds and all the other farm animals. These were necessary, not only for food, but also for the sacrifices that God required of them.

The Araxes River Valley possesses a special fertility which is indicative of the careful provision God made for the first family in reestablishing life on earth. Even today travelers are discovering the size of the vegetables from this area are larger than found in most areas of the world!

It was in Anatolia (Turkey) that many plants were reborn, planted in Turkey by Noah and his family from seeds brought there from before the flood. Recent studies have shown that a large percentage of plants are found only in Turkey, nowhere else in the world. Archaeologists and scientists who do not accept the account of Noah and the flood have long puzzled over this fact. Of course, as Christians, we know how those plants got there. When the people migrated, they would only have room to take essential foods, fruits and grains, leaving behind a variety of plants whose beginnings were in the pre-flood world.

Even to this day Turkey has fruits that thrive in spite of the cold climate of northeastern Turkey! Apples, plums, apricots, peaches and mulberries are common in the Eastern Highlands, including the districts around Lake Van, where they are hardy enough to survive the severe winters.

First major migration

Genesis 11:1-3 says, �And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime (a petroleum product) had they for mortar.�

Shinar referred to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and has also been referred to as Babylonia or Mesopotamia. Traveling the Araxes River Valley westward and then following other tributaries, they would have reached either the Euphrates or the Tigris River and by following them down would emerge upon the plain of Shinar, a distance of about 250 miles.

The only other route would have been along the west side of Lake Van and through a mountain pass to the Tigris River and then follow it down to the plain of Shinar. Either route would take them to the same general area, because the two rivers are very close together where they exit from the mountains. In the area just out of the mountains the land is fertile. They would most likely not have traveled any farther for some time, as long as all their needs could be met in this area.

After studying the map carefully, it seems most logical for Babel to be located on the east side of the Euphrates, just a short distance beyond the mountains. There is plenty of water and fertile land in this area. The mountains nearby would provide the trees and metals necessary for their survival.

Another ancient metallurgical site has been found, located at Dyarbakir. Coincidence? I think not. Dyarbakir is located on the east bank of the Tigris River at the closest point after both rivers emerge from the mountain range to the north. Samples of old brick from tells in this area had mortar consisting of a mixture of sand and tar (bitumen/asphalt) which hardens when dried. This is a petroleum product. Did they have access to this product to build a city and tower? Yes!

Petroleum Sites

Just a few miles from the suggested site for Bethel is a town called Gazientep. There is an oil field there today. There is another oil field called Ramana near today�s city of Bacu located on the coast of modern Azerbaijan. Oil is still bubbling and oozing out of the ground there. It is possible that this was even happening at Gazientep in the days of Babel. Archaeological evidence seems to point to this fact.

Babel

The command had been given to Noah�s family to �Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.� Genesis 9:1 The people, however, didn�t want to be separated, so they decided to build a city with a big tower that would �reach unto heaven� so that they could make a name for themselves by which they would be remembered. This was possible for them to do because all the necessary materials were near at hand.

But God looked down from heaven and decided to interfere in the plans of the humans He had created. They were disobeying the command that He had given them.

Genesis 11:5-9 states, �But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 'Look,' He said. If they can accomplish this when they have just begun to take advantage of their common language and political unity, just think of what they will do later. Nothing will be impossible for them!

Come, let�s go down and give them different languages. Then they won�t be able to understand each other.' In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the earth; and that ended the building of the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because it was there that the Lord confused the people by giving them many languages, thus scattering them across the earth.� NLT

The name of this city means �confusion.�

Descendants of Shem (In blue on the map)

Genesis 10:11� �Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh: the same is a great city.�

Shem�s son, Asshur, had founded the next kingdom. Asshur left Nimrod�s Kingdom and founded Rehoboth, Calah, Resen and Nineveh. They are all very close together and situated on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of Babel. The location of Nineveh has been confirmed.

From there Shem�s descendants migrated south, spreading out to the west as they did. Eventually, they went as far as the southern end of Saudi Arabia and west to the Mediterranean coast, settling mainly in Palestine, Syria, Land of Uz, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Assyria and Elam.

Descendants of Japheth (In green on the map)

Japheth�s descendants first settled in the area near the ark. His descendants belong to what is called the Aryan or Indo-European race. They spread northward both to the east and to the west.

Most of the Oriental races were from his descendants, the descendants of Ham making up the rest. Japheth�s descendants �became the seafaring peoples in various lands.� Genesis 10:5 They eventually populated the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and all the way up to and including the British Isles, Europe and Russia.

Descendants of Ham (In yellow on the map)

The descendants of Ham were the first to occupy Canaan and later became known as Canaanites!

The descendants of Ham settled all of Africa and, predominantly, in the two southern tips of Saudi Arabia on the west and east coasts, spreading across the southern coast of Asia and the western portion of India along the Indian Ocean.

Important: Many battles among the descendants resulted in the Old Testament lands changing hands many times. This map shows only the first migrations and the later areas that were predominantly occupied by these descendants.

NOTE: All of the text given here is in chart form and comes as a file when you purchase the map that goes with this text.

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