Phut

Phut, rendered Put in the UPDV, is one of the four sons of Ham and the eponymous ancestor of the people and territory bearing that name. The name surfaces in the Table of Nations and then again in prophetic oracles, where Put appears as a North African military auxiliary fighting alongside Egypt, Cush, Persia, and Lud against Tyre, against the king of Babylon, and ultimately against Yahweh.

Son of Ham

Put stands third in the list of Ham's sons in the Table of Nations: "And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan" (Gen 10:6). The Chronicler repeats the lineage in identical order, "The sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan" (1Ch 1:8). The placement between Mizraim (Egypt) and Canaan situates Put among the southern and African branches of the post-flood family.

The Country and Its Soldiers

In the prophets, Phut is no longer just a name in a genealogy but a recognizable people supplying troops. Ezekiel's lament over Tyre lists Put among the foreign mercenaries who staffed the city's army: "Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in you; they set forth your majesty" (Eze 27:10). Nahum, recounting the fall of No-Amon, says of that city's allies, "Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were your helpers" (Nah 3:9). In both passages Put is paired with neighboring African or eastern peoples and is associated with shield-bearing infantry.

Allies of Egypt Against Babylon

Jeremiah's oracle against Pharaoh Necho's army at Carchemish summons the same coalition into the field: "Go up, you⁺ horses; and rage, you⁺ chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow" (Jer 46:9). Ezekiel, prophesying against Egypt, foresees the collapse of these same allies under the sword: "Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the sons of the land that is in league, will fall with them by the sword" (Eze 30:5). The recurring triad — Cush, Put, Lud — marks Phut's place in the long arc of Egyptian military history as a steady source of auxiliary strength that shares Egypt's defeats.

Put in the Eschatological Coalitions

Phut also appears in the further-out prophetic horizon. Ezekiel's vision of Gog includes Put among the nations marshalled with him: "Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet" (Eze 38:5). Daniel's last-king oracle returns to the same geography from the opposite direction: when the king of the north overruns Egypt, "the Libyans and the Ethiopians will be at his steps" (Da 11:43). Whether marching with Gog from the north or trailing the conquering king through Egypt, Phut is consistently pictured as a shield-bearing people drawn into the great climactic conflicts.