Genesis 11:12

_AND SHEM LIVED AFTER HE BEGAT ARPHAXAD FIVE HUNDRED YEARS, AND BEGAT SONS AND DAUGHTERS._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

10-26 Here is a genealogy, or list of names, ending in Abram, the friend of God, and thus leading towards Christ, the promised Seed, who was the son of Abram. Nothing is left upon record but their names and ages; the Holy Ghost seeming to hasten through them to the history of Abram. How little do we know of those that are gone before us in this world, even of those that lived in the same places where we live, as we likewise know little of those who now live in distant places! We have enough to do to mind our own work. When the earth began to be peopled, men's lives began to shorten; this was the wise disposal of Providence....

Verse Genesis 11:12. _AND ARPHAXAD LIVED_] The Septuagint bring in here a second Cainan, with an addition of one hundred and thirty years. St. Luke follows the Septuagint, and brings in the same person in the same way. But the Hebrew text, both here and in 1 Chronicles 1:1, is perfectly silent on this subject, and the best chronologists have agreed in rejecting this as a spurious generation....

- Section IX - The Line to Abram - XXXV. The Line of Abram 18. רעוּ _re‛û_, Re‘u, “friend;” verb: “feed, delight in, enjoy.” 20. שׂרוּג _śerûg_, Serug, “vine-shoot.” 22. נחור _nāchôr_, Nachor, “snorting.” 24. תרה _terach_, Terach, “delay?” Aramaic. 26. אברם _'abrām_, Abram, “high father.” הרן _hārān_ Haran, “mountaineer.” The usual phrase, “These are the generations,” marks the beginning of the fifth document. Accordingly, we now enter upon a new phase of human development. The nations have gradually departed from the living God. They have not, however,

EXPOSITION GENESIS 11:10 THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF SHEM. The new section, opening with the usual formula (cf. Genesis 2:4; Genesis 5:1; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 10:1), reverts to the main purpose of the inspired narrative, which is to trace the onward development of the line of promise; and this it does by carrying forward the genealogical history of the holy seed through ten generations till it reaches Abram. Taken along with Genesis 5:1

AND ARPHAXAD LIVED THIRTY FIVE YEARS, AND BEGAT SALAH. Arphaxad is the first on record that had a son born to him so early; of Salah, Genesis 10:24....

CHAPTER 11:1-9 THE TOWER OF BABEL AND THE SCATTERING OF THE NATIONS _ 1. The unity of the nations in Shinar (Genesis 11:1)_ 2. Their attempt: “Let us make” (Genesis 11:3) 3. The divine answer: “Let us go down” (Genesis 11:5) 4. The Result (Genesis 11:8) All the earth had one language. This is also proven by philological research. The whole human family journeyed together. They left the mountainous regions and went down to the plain. This expresses their descent morally; they turned away from God, though they had the knowledge of God ...

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....

SALAH. Luke 3:36 says Cainan, but this was probably. gloss from Septuagint, and crept into the text. No second Cainan in Hebrew text here or elsewhere. Compare 1 Chronicles 1:18....

The Genealogy of the Patriarchs from Shem to Abram. (P.) This genealogical table is taken from P. It resembles the table in chap. 5 (1) in the manner of the enumeration of years, (_a_) at the birth of the firstborn, (_b_) at the patriarch's death: (2) in the general length of the list, nine (or, including Cainan, ten) generations: (3) in the last name, Terah, being represented, like Noah, as the father of three sons. The gradual diminution in the duration of life from Shem (600 years) and Arpachshad (438 years) to Nahor (148 years) should be noticed. See Special Note on the Longevity of the Patriarchs, Genesis 14:17-24. The period from the Flood to the birth of Abram covers 290 years. In LXX the period is given as 1070, in the Samaritan text as 940. See Note on the Genealogy of Shem, see below. The names Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, and Peleg coincide wi