The Sons of Eber or Bnei Ever (בני-עבר) a synonym for the earliest cultural Hebrews, are first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...

 in Genesis 10:21 (text). In orthodox circles the term is understood to refer to the wider family of Hebrew peoples from whom Abraham came. Each of the names of the children in question is understood to stand for the different Hebrew nations. In Protestant & Reform circles Hebrews

Hebrews

Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...

 are defined as descending from Abraham and the identification of the Bnei Ever of Genesis 10:21 remains obscure except for the eighth generation around whose descendants the biblical narratives are mainly concerned.

The first contemporary dynasties of Bnei Ever consists solely of Joktan

Joktan

Joktan or Yoktan was the second of the two sons of Eber mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. His name means "small" or "smallness"....

 & Peleg

Peleg

__notoc__Peleg is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two sons of Eber, an ancestor of the Israelites, according to the "Table of Nations" in and . Peleg's son was Reu, born when Peleg was thirty, and he had other sons and daughters. According to the Hebrew Bible, Peleg lived to the age...

  in whose time "the earth was divided" (Gen 10:25).

In the second generation there are thirteen children of Joktan -- Almodad

Almodad

Almodad was a descendant of Noah and the first named son of Joktan in and . While the Bible has no further history regarding Almodad, this patriarch is considered to be the founder of an Arabian tribe in "Arabia Felix"...

, Sheleph

Sheleph

Sheleph was a son of Joktan, of the family of Shem. . Sheleph means "drawing out" or "who draws out" ....

, Hazarmaveth

Hazarmaveth

Hazarmaveth is the third of thirteen sons of Joktan, who was a son of Eber, son of Shem in the table of the Sons of Noah in Genesis chapter 10 and 1 Chronicles chapter 1 in the Bible...

, Jerah, Hadoram

Hadoram

Hadoram is the son of Joktan mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. One of Shem's sons was Arpachshad. One of Arpachshad's sons was Eber...

, Uzal

Uzal

Uzal, in the Hebrew Bible, is a descendant of Joktan whose clan supposedly settled in Yemen. He was believed to be the founder of an Arabian tribe. Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah...

, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba

Sheba

Sheba was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an...

, Havilah, Jobab and Ophir

Ophir

Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon is supposed to have received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years.- Citations :...

 are mentioned while only Reu

Reu

Reu or Ragau in Genesis was the son of Peleg and the father of Serug, thus being Abraham's great-great-grandfather.He was 32 when Serug was born and lived to the age of 239 , according to the Masoretic text...

 is recorded as being from Peleg.

In the third to fifth generations only Reu's descendants are mentioned being namely Serug

Serug

Serug was the son of Reu and the father of Nahor, according to Genesis 11:20-23. He is also the great-grandfather of Abraham.In the Masoretic text that modern Bibles are based on, he was 30 when Nahor was born, and lived to the age of 230...

 or Surug/Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

 who fathered the first Nahor

Nahor

Nahor, Nachor, or Naghor may refer to three different names in the Hebrew bible: two biblical people, who were both descendants of Shem, and one biblical place named after one of these descendants....

 whence came Terah

Terah

Terah or Térach is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug and father of the Patriarch Abraham, all descendants of Shem. He is mentioned in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament.-Genesis narrative:...

.

In the sixth generation only Terah's children are mentioned in the bible: the second Nahor, Harran

Harran

Harran was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is near the modern village of Altınbaşak, Turkey, 24 miles southeast of Şanlıurfa...

, and Abram.

In the seventh generation, Nahor fathered Uz, Buz, Chesed

Chesed

The Hebrew noun khesed or chesed is the Hebrew word for "kindness." It is also commonly translated as "loving-kindness," or "love." Love is a central Jewish value, and leads to many particular commandments. Chesed is central to Jewish ethics and Jewish theology...

, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, Bethuel

Bethuel

Bethuel , in the Hebrew Bible, was an Aramean man, the youngest son of Nahor and Milcah, the nephew of Abraham, and the father of Laban and Rebekah....

 (Laban's father) and Kemuel

Kemuel

Three Kemuels are mentioned in the Bible.* One is mentioned in Genesis 22:21 as the nephew of Abraham, son of Nahor, brother of Bethuel .* The second Kemuel was ruler of the tribe of Ephraim in Numbers 34:24....

. Harran fathered Lot. Abram fathered Ishmael

Ishmael

Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...

 and then as Abraham

Abraham

Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

 fathered Isaac

Isaac

Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...

, Zimran

Zimran

Zimran , also known as Zambran. was according to the Hebrew Bible the first son of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah whom he wed after the death of Sarah...

, Jokshan

Jokshan

Jokshan ; most probably Josephus' Jazar. According to the Bible he was the second son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah...

, Medan

Medan

- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....

, Midian

Midian

Midian , Madyan , or Madiam is a geographical place and a people mentioned in the Bible and in the Qur'an. It is believed to be in northwest Saudi Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern Red Sea...

, Ishbak

Ishbak

Ishbak , also spelt Jisbak and Josabak. According to the Bible he was the fifth son of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah whom he wed after the death of Sarah...

 and Shuah

Shuah

Shuah , also known as Sous, was, according to the Bible, the sixth son of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah whom he wed after the death of Sarah...

.

In the eighth generation the nations of the biblical settings finally emerge. Bethuel's son is Laban

Laban (Bible)

Laban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob...

, Kemuel's son is Aram

Aram

-Bible:* Aram, son of Shem, according to the "Table of Nations" in Genesis 10* Aram-Naharaim , the land in which the city of Haran lay* Aram , an ancient region containing the state of Aram Damascus...

 (Aram of the Two Rivers or Aram-Narharaim) by whom the Nahorites came to be known as Arameans. Lot's children were the Ammon

Ammon

Ammon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...

ites and Moabites.

Still in the eighth generation a special "cousin" relationship is supposed to be the ideal amongst the following. Ishmael's children Nebaioth

Nebaioth

Nebaioth is mentioned at least five times in the Hebrew Bible according to which he was the firstborn son of Ishmael, and the name appears as the name of one of the wilderness tribes mentioned in the Book of Genesis 25:13, and in the Book of Isaiah 60:7.-Biblical occurrences:In the Book of...

, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. Isaac's children the Edomites and Israelites. Jokshan's children Sheba

Sheba

Sheba was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an...

 and Dedan

Dedan

The word Dedan means "low ground". The people are called Dedanim or Dedanites.In the Bible, it can refer to either:* A son of Raamah . His descendants are mentioned in Isaiah 21:13, Ezekiel 25:13 and Ezekiel 27:15...

. And finally Midian

Midian

Midian , Madyan , or Madiam is a geographical place and a people mentioned in the Bible and in the Qur'an. It is believed to be in northwest Saudi Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern Red Sea...

's children Ephah

Ephah

Ephah was one of Midian's five sons as listed in the Hebrew Bible. The son of Abraham, Midian's five sons were Ephah, Epher, Enoch, Abida, and Eldaah...

, Henoch, Abida

Abida Midian

Abid According to Genesis 25:4, Abida was the son of Midian, and the grandson of Abraham and his wife Keturah.Abraham sent his sons by Keturah to live in the east, far from their half-brother Isaac...

, Eldaah and Epher

Epher

Epher was a grandson of Abraham, according to Gen. 25:4, whose descendants, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus claimed, had invaded Libya. Josephus also claimed that Epher's name was the etymological root of the continent Africa. According to the Bible, he was a son of Midian....

.