Genesis 11:10-26

The Descendants of Shem. This section, like Genesis 11:5, is taken from P. Here the formula is abbreviated, but whether this was so originally or due to an impatient editor is uncertain. There is also great difference between the Heb., Sam., and LXX, but it cannot be discussed here. It is characteristic of P, where no information is available, to bridge over the gap by a genealogy rather than leave an absolute blank. The period from the Flood to the birth of Abraham is given in Heb. as 292, in Sam. as 942, and in LXX as 1172 (variant gives 1072). The period in Heb. is incredibly short, but the Sam. destroys the proportion between the period before and that after the begetting of the eldest son, and its text thus becomes suspicious.