Moses begins with Japheth's family, either because he was the eldest,
or because his family lay remotest from Israel and had least concern
with them at the time when Moses wrote, and therefore he mentions that
race very briefly, hastening to give an account of the posterity of
Ham, who were Israel's enemies and of Shem, who were Israel's
ancestors; for it is the church that the scripture is designed to be
the history of, and of the nations of the world only as they were some
way or other related to Israel and interested in the affairs of Israel.
Observe, 1. Notice is taken that the sons of Noah had sons born to them
after the flood, to repair and rebuild the world of mankind which the
flood had ruined. He that had killed now makes alive. 2. The posterity
of Japheth were allotted to the isles of the Gentiles (v. 5), which
were solemnly, by lot, after a survey, divided among them, and probably
this island of ours among the rest; all places beyond the sea from
Judea are called isles (Jer. xxv. 22), and this directs us to
understand that promise (Isa. xlii. 4), the isles shall wait for his
law, of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ.