בראשית, פרק י׳, פסוק י״ג

The expansion of the Egyptian family line is recorded not as a simple list of individual children, but as the birth of entire nations, families, and city-states. By focusing on the act of begetting rather than simply listing sons, the historical record draws attention directly to the founding patriarch who established these distinct groups [קאסוטו]. The primary approach among commentators is that the names emerging from this lineage refer to collective districts or city-states that developed within the broader Egyptian nation, rather than private individuals [אבן עזרא, רמב״ן, רלב״ג, שד״ל, ביאור יש״ר]. This is supported by later historical descriptions that speak of people coming out from these places, implying a geographic origin rather than a single human ancestor [אבן עזרא, רמב״ן, הטור הארוך].

Unlike other ancient peoples whose specific borders are carefully mapped out, the exact locations of these Egyptian factions are left unrecorded. They all settled closely together in the regions surrounding Egypt, with each family ultimately giving its name to the specific territory it inhabited [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך].

Every group in this lineage shares a distinct plural suffix in their names. It is highly likely that the original heads of these families bore singular names, and the plural ending was attached later to describe the entire nation that grew from them [משכיל לדוד]. Some suggest this shared ending hints at a specific historical event at the time of their birth. Alternatively, the suffix contains the letters for the word "sea," serving as a subtle foreshadowing that the Egyptian forces would one day drown in the sea [רד״ק, מחוקקי יהודה].

The specific identities and locations of these groups vary. The Ludim were known as skilled archers serving in the Egyptian military, possibly located in Asia Minor [קאסוטו] or situated further south in modern-day Libya [פרדס יוסף]. While the Anamim remain largely unknown [שד״ל], they may have been North African inhabitants [קאסוטו]. The Lehavim stand out because their name closely resembles the Hebrew word for a flame. Since the other names lack a Hebrew translation, this specific linguistic connection suggests that the Lehavim were named for their physical traits, specifically that their faces resembled fiery flames [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים, גור אריה, משכיל לדוד, ברכת אשר]. Historically, they may have been Libyans living along the Mediterranean coast [קאסוטו]. Finally, the Naftuhim are identified either as residents of northern Lower Egypt [קאסוטו] or as a coastal Libyan nation named after a local Egyptian idol [אם למקרא].