Genesis 11:10-26

Genesis 11:10-26

[10] These are the generations  of Shem:  was an hundred  years  old,  and begat  Arphaxad  two years  after  the flood:  [11] And Shem  lived  after  he begat  Arphaxad  five  hundred  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [12] And Arphaxad  five  and thirty  years,  and begat  Salah:  [13] And Arphaxad  lived  after  he begat  Salah  four  hundred  and three  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [14] And Salah  thirty  years,  and begat  Eber:  [15] And Salah  lived  after  he begat  Eber  four  hundred  and three  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [16] And Eber  lived  four  and thirty  years,  and begat  Peleg:  [17] And Eber  lived  after  he begat  Peleg  four  hundred  and thirty  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [18] And Peleg  lived  thirty  years,  and begat  Reu:  [19] And Peleg  lived  after  he begat  Reu  two hundred  and nine  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [20] And Reu  lived  two  and thirty  years,  and begat  Serug:  [21] And Reu  lived  after  he begat  Serug  two hundred  and seven  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [22] And Serug  lived  thirty  years,  and begat  Nahor:  [23] And Serug  lived  after  he begat  Nahor  two hundred  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [24] And Nahor  lived  nine  and twenty  years,  and begat  Terah:  [25] And Nahor  lived  after  he begat  Terah  an hundred  and nineteen  years,  and begat  sons  and daughters.  [26] And Terah  lived  seventy  years,  and begat  Abram,  Nahor,  and Haran. 

What does Genesis 11:10-26 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"The Babel account ( Genesis 11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11 , God"s grace once again supersedes human sin, insuring the continued possibilities of the promissory blessings ( Genesis 1:28; Luke 3:37-387).... The scaffolding of human pride would be dismantled by the erection of the Shemite line that culminates in obedient Abraham, who likewise is found in the region of Shinar. Abraham would prove to be the nations" deliverance." [1]
"Without the blessing of God the situation of humanity is without hope: that seems to be the chief thrust of the opening chapters of Genesis." [2]
In contrast to the genealogy in chapter5 , this one emphasizes life and expansion rather than death, even though longevity was declining. [3] This genealogy starts with Noah"s son Shem whom God blessed, and it concludes with Abram whom God purposed to bless. This is the line of Israel"s ancestors. It is a vertical list of the type used in the ancient Near East to document legitimate claims to thrones or inheritances. [1] This genealogy, as the one in chapter5 , appears to be complete. The purpose of the genealogy is to connect Abram to Noah and to give background information essential for understanding the story of Abram that follows. [5]
". . . the author"s aim is to show that God"s promise concerning the seed of the woman cannot be thwarted by the confusion and scattering of the nations at Babylon." [6]
"If the message of Genesis is essentially one of redemption, Genesis 3-11explains why man needs salvation and what he needs to be saved from. Chaps1-2 , in describing the original state of the world, also describe the goal of redemption, to which ultimately the world and humanity will return when the patriarchal promises are completely fulfilled." [7]
"An extensive statistical analysis of the life-spans of the patriarchs, as given in Genesis Chapter5,11 , shows that statistically the life-span can be considered constant before the Flood, while after the Flood the data can be fitted by an asymptotic exponential decay curve. Also, it is concluded that as for the life-spans reported in Genesis Chapter11 , the data in the Masoretic text are the authentic ones; those in the Septuagint have been tampered with. Moreover, it is statistically unlikely that there are gaps in the genealogies in Genesis Chapter11." [5]1
The genealogies in Genesis 11:10-26 and 1 Chronicles 1:17-27 are identical, but the one in Luke 3:34-36 inserts the name Cainan between Arpachshad and Shelah. The inclusion of Cainan may indicate that Luke used the Septuagint to compose his genealogy since this name appears in this translation but not in the Hebrew Bible genealogies. Cainan appears elsewhere in Luke"s list as Adam"s great-grandson ( 1714596288_5), so this may be a scribal error. [9]
Most scholars regard "Eber" ( Genesis 11:14) as the individual from whom the Jews received the name "Hebrew." Adam, Noah, and Abram all fathered three named sons linking them as saviors of humanity. In Abram"s case these sons (descendants) were Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
The genealogy of Shem ( Genesis 11:10-26) in this pericope prefaces the story of Abram ( Genesis 11:27 to Genesis 25:11). This structure serves as a prototype for the narrative that follows in Genesis. Similarly the genealogy of Ishmael ( Genesis 25:12-18) introduces the story of Jacob and Esau ( Genesis 25:19 to Genesis 35:29), and the genealogy of Esau ( Genesis 36:1-43) introduces the story of Joseph ( Genesis 37:2 to Genesis 50:26).
"With Genesis 11:26 the scene has finally been set for the patriarchal history to unfold. The opening chapters of Genesis have provided us the fundamental insights for interpreting these chapters properly. Genesis 1revealed the character of God and the nature of the world man finds himself in. Genesis 2 , 3portrayed the relationship between man and woman, and the effects man"s disobedience has had on Prayer of Manasseh -woman and divine-human relations. Chap5 sketched the long years that passed before the crisis of the great flood (chaps6-9), which almost destroyed all humanity for its sinfulness. The table of the nations (chap10) started the process of Israel"s geographical and political self-definition with respect to the other nations in the world, but Genesis 11:1-9 reminded us that the nations were in confusion and that mankind"s proudest achievements were but folly in God"s sight and under his judgment.
"However, according to Genesis 11:10-26, just five generations after Peleg, whose lifetime according to Genesis 10:25 saw the confusion of languages at Babel, Abram arrives. As Genesis 12:3 will declare, it is through him that all the families of the earth will be blessed. Man is not without hope. The brevity of this genealogy is a reminder that God"s grace constantly exceeds his wrath. He may punish to the third or fourth generation but he shows mercy to thousands ( Deuteronomy 5:9; Deuteronomy 7:9)." [10]
The chronological framework for the patriarchal stories (Abraham through Joseph) rests on two important texts.
1. 1 Kings 6:1 states that the Exodus took place480 years before the fourth year of Solomon"s reign (i.e, 967 B.C.). This makes the date of the Exodus close to1446 B.C.
2. Exodus 12:40 records that "the sons of Israel lived in Egypt" 430 years before the Exodus , or about1876 B.C. This is the probable date when Jacob"s family moved to Egypt (ch46).
From these two texts we can calculate other dates in the patriarchal period. [11]
The historicity of the patriarchs continues to be a matter of scholarly debate. The problem is the lack of explicit reference to the patriarchs in nonbiblical literature and in archaeology. Scholars who reject the biblical testimony as unauthentic have been labeled "minimalists," and those who belive the Hebrew Bible credibly supplements nonbiblical material are known as "maximalists." I am one of the latter believing that the biblical records reliably testify to historical individuals and events recorded in this section of Genesis. [5]8
"It is ... not because scholars of to-day begin with more conservative presuppositions than their predecessors that they have a much greater respect for the patriarchal stories than was formerly common, but because the evidence warrants it." [13]
"It is beyond question that traditional and conservative views of biblical history, especially of the patriarchal period, will continue to be favored by whatever results accrue from ongoing Ebla research." [14]
Patriarchal Chronological Data [15] ||2296Birth of Terah Genesis 11:242166Birth of Abram Genesis 11:272091Abram's departure from Haran Genesis 12:42081Abram's marriage to Hagar Genesis 16:32080Birth of Ishmael Genesis 16:162067Reaffirmation of covenant Genesis 17:12067-66Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19:242066Birth of Isaac Genesis 21:2-3; cf. Genesis 21:52029Death of Sarah Genesis 23:22026Marriage of Isaac Genesis 25:202006Birth of Jacob and Esau Genesis 25:261991Death of Abram Genesis 25:71966Marriage of Esau Genesis 26:341943Death of Ishmael Genesis 25:171930Jacob's journey to Haran Genesis 28:21923Jacob's marriages Genesis 29:23; Genesis 29:28; Genesis 30:4; Genesis 30:91918Birth of Judah Genesis 29:351916End of Jacob's14year labor for his wives Genesis 29:301916Birth of Joseph Genesis 30:231910End of Jacob's stay with Laban Genesis 31:411910Jacob's arrival at Shechem Genesis 33:181902Rape of Dinah Genesis 34:1-21900Marriage of Judah Genesis 38:1-21899Selling of Joseph Genesis 37:2; Genesis 37:281888Joseph imprisoned Genesis 39:20; cf. Genesis 41:11886Joseph released Genesis 41:1; Genesis 41:461886Death of Isaac Genesis 35:281879Beginning of famine Genesis 41:541878Brothers' first visit to Egypt Genesis 42:1-31877Judah's incest with Tamar Genesis 38:181877Brothers' second visit to Egypt Genesis 43:1; Genesis 43:15; Genesis 45:6; Genesis 45:111876Jacob's descent to Egypt Genesis 46:6; cf. Genesis 47:91859Death of Jacob