These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.
After the tower at Babel, the story leaves the nations and follows one family. Genesis 11:10 opens the record of Shem's line, and it raises two questions: why the focus narrows here, and what a list of names and ages can teach.
Genesis falls into sections. Each one opens with the words "these are the generations of." One writer marks where each section starts and ends:
Genesis 2:4 — Genesis 4:26, Generations of heavens and earth. Genesis 5:1 — Genesis 6:8, Generations of Adam. Genesis 6:9 — Genesis 9:29, Generations of Noah. Genesis 10:1 — Genesis 11:9, Generations of sons of Noah. Genesis 11:10 — Genesis 11:26, Generations of Shem. Genesis 11:27 — Genesis 25:11, Generations of Terah.
These headings track a series of tests, and this one closes the sequence:
First, God set Adam up in innocence, and he failed. "The generations of the heavens and of the earth" (Gen. 2:4) include Adam before the fall. Next God tested man with no restraint on him, up to the flood, and "the book of the generations of Adam" [now fallen] (Gen. 5:1) brings us up to the flood and Noah. After the flood God tests man again — He put government into Noah's hands — and man failed. God chooses Noah's son Shem, and "these are the generations of Shem" (Gen. 11:10) brings us up to Abram.
Shem's descendants were already listed in chapter 10. This second list is selective, and the selection has a destination:
From verse 10 Scripture traces the line of Shem further than Chapter 10:21-31 does. That earlier list goes as far as Joktan the son of Peleg and stops with his thirteen sons. This genealogy of Chapter 11 continues with Reu the son of Peleg, ignoring Joktan and his sons. The reason is clear. Reu's line leads on to Nahor, Terah and Abram. God had purposed Abram to be the father of a chosen race whom He would separate from the rest of the nations. … Matthew 1 begins the New Testament by showing that Christ, the Messiah of Israel, is the official descendant of Abraham.
The genealogy is therefore a runway, not a detour:
Here we have a genealogy that ends with Abram. The next chapter follows it with the mighty principle of grace: God's call. That prepares the way outwardly. But Jehovah shines through this dealing and revelation. Here we have the special line. It is no more an "endless genealogy" than that of Adam to Noah in Gen. 5. We may notice ten links in the chain of both chapters.
Genesis 5 repeats a refrain that this chapter drops, and the silence is deliberate:
The sorrowful chime sounds all through the earlier list: "and he died." Not once does it sound in the later one, though as a fact all spoken of in chap. 11 did die… The second half of chap. 11 gives us the line of blessing. It names each succession down to Abram, the time when the promise was made, and the years each man lived. But it says nothing of death. Others may call either one an accident. To the believer, a distinct purpose in each is hard to miss.
Shem's hundred years open a run of numbers that shrink fast:
Compared with his father Noah and those before him, Shem's years mark the growing decline of human age after the flood. Yet it was given to him, before he came near the end of his six hundred years, to live into the days not of Abram only but of Isaac. Peleg, the fifth in this series, did not reach half the limit of Shem's term; and Nahor, the father of Terah, dwindled to a hundred and forty-five years.
Shem's long life served a purpose:
One remarkable fact in Gen. 11:10-26 is the long life of Shem. He outlived many generations of his own descendants, and that in turn shows God's gracious purpose in his very long life. He had seen the flood with his own eyes, and he was an honoured saint of God (Gen. 9:26). He lived on to bear witness to very many of the things he had himself seen and heard.
The shrinking numbers match something worse — a spiritual slide in the very family God had marked out:
Abram's descent from Shem shows him in the line of promise. … But the promise itself expressed a grace in God which came before any claim on Abram's part. In the chosen line itself we have only a scanty record of names and lengths of life. Even so, the decay is plain, and it never stops. … Elsewhere we read that they fell away from God, and that left every hope resting on the sovereign grace of God.
- Heading. "These are the generations of Shem" starts a fresh section of Genesis. It closes the series of man's testings and runs from the flood to Abram.
- Narrowing. Chapter 10 spread out into nations. Chapter 11 drops the side branches and keeps only the names that lead to Abram — and through him to Christ.
- Silence. Genesis 5 tolls "and he died" at every link; this list of blessing never once says it, though every man in it died.
- Decline. Ages fall fast after the flood, and decay runs through the chosen family too. Only God's grace is left to hope in.
- Witness. Shem's six hundred years let him outlive generations of his own children. He could still tell of the flood he had seen, and he lived on into the days of Abram and Isaac.
And Shem lived after he had begotten Arphaxad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:11 is one link in a chain of ten names that runs from Shem, the son of Noah, down to Abram. It gives only a number of years and a quiet note about more children. Yet commentators see a plan in the list: where the line is heading, why the years keep shrinking, and why death is never named.
This genealogy is not a bare record of names. It moves toward a person, and toward an act of God.
Here is a genealogy that ends with Abram. The next chapter follows it with the mighty principle of grace: God's call... Here we have the special line.
The line is also selective. Genesis 10 followed one branch of Shem's family. This chapter drops that branch and keeps only the line that leads to Abram.
From verse 10 the record traces the line of Shem further than Genesis 10:21-31 does. That chapter goes as far as Joktan the son of Peleg and stops with his thirteen sons. This genealogy in Genesis 11 carries on with Reu the son of Peleg instead, and leaves Joktan and his sons out. The reason is clear. Reu's line leads to Nahor, Terah and Abram... God has taken care to trace that line down through the ages. Matthew 1 opens the New Testament by showing that Christ, the Messiah of Israel, is the official descendant of Abraham.
Genesis 5 has the same shape — a name, the years, the sons and daughters — but one phrase is missing here.
The sad chime sounds all through the earlier list: "and he died." It never sounds in the later one, though in fact everyone named in chapter 11 did die... The second half of chapter 11 gives us the line of blessing. It tells us of each generation down to Abram, the time when the promise was made, and the years they lived. But it says nothing about death. Let anyone call either of these an accident; the believer can hardly miss a clear purpose in each.
Shem's remaining five centuries were not idle time.
One remarkable fact shown in Genesis 11:10-26 is how long Shem lived. He outlived many generations of his own descendants. That in turn shows God's gracious purpose in giving him such a long life. He saw the flood himself, and he was an honoured saint of God (Genesis 9:26). So he lived on to testify to very many of the things he had seen and heard. How the heart of Shem must have grieved when not only the sons of Ham and Japheth, but his own children, turned to gross idolatry (Joshua 24:2)! He was living at the time when God called Abram.
Shem's number is large. It is already smaller than his father's, and the numbers keep falling through the chapter.
Compared with his father Noah and those before him, Shem's years mark the shrinking of human life after the flood. Yet God let him live, before his own six hundred years were nearly over, into the days not only of Abram but of Isaac. Peleg, the fifth in this list, did not reach half of Shem's total. Nahor, the father of Terah, dropped to a hundred and forty-five years. So under God's ordering, man was moving fast toward the ordinary lifespan of the days since the prayer of Moses (Psalm 90).
The falling numbers match something happening in the family itself.
Here again ten names stand out, the same number as in Genesis 5. Both lists, in chapters 5 and 11, end with a man to whom God reveals Himself, and with each of them a new age begins: Noah and Abram... The line of Shem was breaking down, and some of the names show it. Terah (which means delay), the father of Abram, worshipped idols... When the line of Shem had failed, God called Abram.
That decline is what makes the next chapter necessary. Nothing in the list earns what follows it.
But the promise itself expressed a grace in God that came before any claim Abram could make. In the chosen line itself we have only a thin record of names and ages, yet the decay is plain, and it never stops... elsewhere we read that they fell away from God, so that hope could rest only on His sovereign grace.
One caution belongs with these figures. The ancient copies do not all agree on them.
Once again the Hebrew Scriptures and the Septuagint, the old Greek translation, do not agree... So any dating we work out for the time between Shem and Abraham could be wrong by as much as 650 years.
- Line — Ten names run from Shem to Abram. The list drops every side branch, because it is heading somewhere.
- Life — Shem's five hundred remaining years outlasted generations of his own descendants. He could still speak as a witness of the flood.
- Loss — Each generation after him lives a shorter life, down toward the ordinary span of Moses' day (Psalm 90).
- Decline — The shrinking years match a shrinking faith. The family God had blessed ended up worshipping idols.
- Grace — The chosen line failed. So the call of Abram in the next chapter rests on God's grace, not on anything the family earned.
And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Shelah.
Genesis 11 turns from the scattered nations at Babel to a quiet list of names. This verse is one link in that chain, and it raises three questions: why this family line, why the ages keep falling, and why Luke's list in the New Testament adds a name here.
This chapter follows one family thread only, and it has a destination in view.
We are now given a family line that ends with Abram. The next chapter follows it with the mighty principle of grace: God's call. That prepares the way on the outside. But Jehovah shines through this working and this revelation. Here we have the special line. It is no more an "endless genealogy" than the line from Adam to Noah in Genesis 5. We can count ten links in the chain in both chapters.
The choice is deliberate. The record drops the other branches without comment and carries this one forward.
From verse 10 the line of Shem is traced further than in Genesis 10:21-31. That earlier list goes as far as Joktan the son of Peleg and stops with his thirteen sons. The list in Genesis 11 carries on instead with Reu the son of Peleg, and passes over Joktan and his sons. The reason is clear. Reu's line leads to Nahor, Terah and Abram, and God had planned for Abram to be the father of a chosen people whom He would separate from the rest of the nations.
Little is said about the man named here. What matters is where his line leads.
Of Arpachshad we can say even less. He leads straight down to the time of promise, and that is what the Old Testament is almost entirely taken up with.
Arpachshad fathers Shelah at 35. Read the whole list and a pattern appears. Each generation lives a shorter life than the one before.
Compared with his father Noah and those before him, Shem's years show how human life was shrinking after the flood. Yet God let him live, well before the end of his six hundred years, into the days not only of Abram but of Isaac. Peleg, the fifth in this series, did not reach half of Shem's span. Nahor, the father of Terah, dropped to a hundred and forty-five years. So in God's ordering of things, man was coming by rapid steps to the normal length of life since the prayer of Moses (Psalm 90).
Shem's unusually long life had a purpose.
One remarkable fact shown in Genesis 11:10-26 is the long life of Shem. He outlived many generations of his own descendants, and that shows God's gracious purpose in giving him such a long life. He had seen the flood himself, and he was an honoured saint of God (Genesis 9:26). He lived on to tell of many of the things he had himself seen and heard.
The shrinking ages are not the only decline in this list.
Abram's descent from Shem shows him in the line of promise... But the promise itself expressed a grace in God that came before any personal claim at all on Abram's part. In the chosen line itself we have only a thin record of names and lengths of life. Even so, it is plain that there is decay, and that it never stops. No doubt the years of man's life were growing shorter everywhere, but here too there was no exception. Elsewhere we read that these men turned away from God, and that left every hope resting on His sovereign grace.
Luke's family list places a man called Cainan between Arpachshad and Shelah. The Hebrew text of this verse does not have him. The Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Old Testament, does.
He is usually called the "second" Cainan, because an earlier Cainan is mentioned in Luke 3:37. What is striking is that his name does not appear in Genesis 10:24, Genesis 11:12 or 1 Chronicles 1:18 in the Hebrew, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Vulgate, the Syriac or the Arabic texts. But it is in the Septuagint, and from there it may have found its way into Luke's Gospel.
Commentators differ on how the extra name arose. Some think it came from the Septuagint into Luke. Others think later copies of the Septuagint took it from Luke, or that Luke drew it from a list not kept in the Old Testament.
- Line. The record follows one son of Shem and drops the rest, because Arpachshad "leads straight down to the time of promise."
- Length. Each name in the list lives a shorter life than the last. After the flood, man moves by rapid steps toward the normal span of Psalm 90.
- Legacy. Shem outlived many generations of his own family, so he could tell them first-hand what he had seen of the flood.
- Loss. The chosen line decayed in years and in faith, so every hope rested on God's sovereign grace.
- Later. Luke's list adds a name here that the Hebrew text lacks, and commentators differ on where it came from.
And Arphaxad lived after he had begotten Shelah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:13 is one line in a chain of ten names running from Shem down to Abram. It reads like bare bookkeeping: a father, a son, a number, and a crowd of unnamed children. Yet the shape of the record, its numbers, and its silences all carry meaning.
The same family appears twice in these chapters, and the two accounts are not duplicates.
The divine wisdom of the record is certainly not in question; but it is not man's way of working. God's design is stamped on this case, as on the other lists. There is no repetition here and no oversight, still less any clash between different documents or writers. And we can see that the plan in chapter 10 was not to follow Arphaxad's line past his grandson Peleg, Eber's son. It was to state the deeply interesting fact that Peleg's name refers to the division of the earth in his days. From there the record turns aside to Peleg's brother Joktan.
The text handles Arphaxad (spelled Arpachshad in the ESV) differently from the men around him. Compare him with Nimrod, the hunter who dominates chapter 10.
Notice that the inspiring Spirit led Moses to change his manner at this point. He brings in Arphaxad and his family as a kind of fresh start... In evil, a new departure was made with Cush and his descendants; here, for good, Arphaxad comes before us. Yet for now little is said of him, unlike Nimrod, who shot into prominence at once. Nimrod was not content to be a mighty hunter before Jehovah; then and afterwards he began to be mighty on the earth. Good is rare here below, and it grows slowly.
Of Shelah himself the Bible tells us almost nothing beyond his place in the chain. His name is the one clue we have.
Little can be said with certainty about Salah, or Salach, because the Bible is silent. He was the father of Eber, in the direct line of the chosen patriarch Abram, the man entrusted with the promise. The name means shoot or extension; but to treat it as a fiction on that ground ought to be too absurd even for sceptics to believe.
The 403 years are long by any standard we know. Yet they are already short next to the lives of the men before the flood. Read down the list and the numbers keep falling.
Compared with his father Noah and those before him, Shem's years mark the growing decline in human lifespan after the flood. Yet before he came near the end of his six hundred years, he lived on into the days not only of Abram but of Isaac. Peleg, the fifth in this series, did not reach half of Shem's total; and Nahor, the father of Terah, shrank to a hundred and forty-five years. So in God's providential arrangements man was coming by rapid steps to the lifespan that has been normal since the prayer of Moses (Psalm 90).
Another writer notes what the list leaves out. It never adds up the whole span of a man's life.
The whole span of the lives of the members of Shem's family is not noted, so that the Spirit would draw our attention to it there, in chapter 11. Here the change is the important thing.
Arphaxad had other children besides Shelah, and the verse names none of them. Whole branches of the family disappear into one phrase.
Divine purpose is the key... It explains why the general genealogy leaves out every detail outside the direct line of the chosen people, and above all outside the line of the Messiah — God's salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel. The rest of their children, however many or however notable in human eyes, are simply merged into the "sons and daughters" they had.
The chain does not end in strength. It ends in a family that had turned to idols.
Here again we find ten names standing out. We have the same number in Genesis 5. Both genealogies, in chapters 5 and 11, end with a man to whom God reveals Himself, and with each one a new era in God's dealings begins — Noah and Abram. Notice the decreasing years of life. Shem was 600 years old, the grandfather of Abram only 148. The line of Shem was degenerating; some of the names show this. Terah (delay), the father of Abram, was an idolater. The descendants of Shem worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2). When the line of Shem had failed, God called Abram.
- Chosen line. Moses introduces Arphaxad's family as a fresh start on the side of good. The record says little about it, unlike Nimrod, who rose fast into prominence.
- Counted line. The record shows design, not accident. It drops the side branches. It gives the years after each birth, but never totals a man's life.
- Shrinking line. The 403 years are long, yet part of a steady fall from Noah's span toward the ordinary human lifetime.
- Narrow line. The record folds every other child of Arphaxad into "other sons and daughters." It follows only the line that runs to the chosen people and to the Messiah.
- Failing line. The line ends in Terah, an idolater. There God calls Abram and starts again.