This is a debated subject. Of course, this is after the
Dispersion (
Tower of Babel) as they are “divided by their tongues.” Though Genesis 10 & 11 overlap somewhat (
The Table of Nations) they also differ. Genesis 11 is a genealogy listing the descendants of Seth—Terah to Abraham, where Genesis 10 lists names—the sons of Noah and their sons—but these sometimes become names, not merely of the ancestors of people, but also of the peoples or nations involved (Boice).
Thus, I would say that Genesis 10:5 refers to the descendants of Japheth all over the Indo-European sphere. Indo has to do with India and the common countries to be found when moving eastward from the Middle East. European has do with the peoples on the European continent. The family of languages is divided into
two divisions (this is a secular site, however very informative. When you are finished looking at the
satem languages click (to the upper right following the [color:"00FF00"]green line[/color]) on the
centrum languages) ): (1) satem, and (2) centrum (some interesting comments are made in
Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: an Introduction by Robert Beekes). Thus, historically we see the preservation of Japheths’s name being preserved in both branches of the Indo-European family; (1) the Greeks traced themselves back to
Japetos (a variant form of Japheth)—see the reference in Aristophanes’
The Clouds, and (2) the Eastern peoples have him in the flood account where he is known as
Iyapeti, where Noah gave him the land north of the Himalayan mountains (Boice).
I like what Robert Harbach states in his
Studies in the Book of Genesis. In reference to, “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,” he states,
There is a fourfold division here: (1) geographical: isles, coast; (2) lingual: "every one after his tongue;” (3) tribal: families; and (4) ethnological: nations.
Calvin states (
Calvin's Commentaries: Genesis),
1. These are the generations… First, in these bare names we have still some fragment of the history of the world; and the next chapter will show how many years intervened between the date of the deluge and the time when God made his covenant with Abraham. … Moreover, although no certain cause appears why Moses begins at Japheth, and descends in the second place to Ham, yet it is probable that the first place is given to the sons of Japheth, because they, having wandered over many regions, and having even crossed the sea, had receded farther from their country: and since these nations were less known to the Jews, therefore he alludes to them briefly. …When Moses says, that the islands of the Gentiles were divided by the sons of Japheth, we understand that the regions beyond the sea were parted among them. For Greece and Italy, and other continental lands, — as well as Rhodes and Cyprus, — are called islands by the Hebrews, because the sea interposed. Whence we infer that we are sprung from those nations.
If you are so inclined to research this further, Luther has some interesting comments in Volume 2 of his works.
