From Shem To Abraham – The Line Of Abram

   December 29, 2019
FROM SHEM TO ABRAHAM

Now we will take up the line of Shem since it is the line which will be followed throughout the Old Testament.

Genesis 11:10-32 KJV

[10] These are the generations of Shem: 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 lived 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 lived 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.

[27] Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

[28] And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

[29] And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

[30] But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

[31] And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

[32] And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Genesis 11:10 
These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

  • The Tower of Babel incident of Genesis 11:1–9 is tied to the genealogical table of chapter 10 by the reference to Nimrod, a grandson of Noah’s son Ham, at 10:8–12.
  • The Babel narrative serves to explain what has preceded and what will follow by connecting the development of distinct nations and cultures to the corresponding distribution of languages.
  • Following this story, the author resumes the account of the line of Noah’s son Shem.
  • The list in Genesis 11 shows that God’s earlier promise in 3:15—that Eve’s “seed” would bruise the head of the serpent, an allusion to Christ’s victory on the cross—ultimately could not be stopped by the chaos following Babel.
  • Even though Noah’s descendants are scattered and divided, God’s purpose to redeem His creation through a chosen line is not compromised.

Genesis 11:11
And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • The present genealogy, moreover, being that of Shem, also serves as an adept literary-theological transition to the next thematic “half” of Genesis.
  • The expectation is thus laid that the present genealogy of Shem will likewise be followed by a narrative episode involving the making of a shem (“name”) for a man.

Genesis 11:12
And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

  • Observe here, That nothing is left upon record concerning those of this line, but their names and ages; the Holy Ghost seeming to hasten thro’ them to the story of Abraham.
  • How little do we know of those that are gone before us in this world, even those that lived in the same places where we live!
  • Or indeed of those who are our contemporaries, but in distant places. That there was an observable gradual decrease in the years of their lives.
  • Shem reached to 600 years, which yet fell short of the age of the patriarchs before the flood; the three next came short of 500.

Genesis 11:13
And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • In all, he lived four hundred and thirty eight years;
  • Not mentioned by name: he died, as the above and a Jewish writer says he died in the forty eighth year of Isaac, and who also says, that in his days they began to build the city of Babel.

Genesis 11:14
And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

  • He had a son born to him five years sooner than his father had.
  • This man was the progenitor of the Hebrews (i.e., Eber’s descendants).

Genesis 11:15
And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • In all, he lived four hundred and thirty three years.

Genesis 11:16
And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

  • Eber lived a total of 464 years. This distinguishes him as the longest living person who was born after the flood.

Genesis 11:17
And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • All the years of his life were four hundred and sixty four:
  • One of which is elsewhere mentioned, whose name is Joktan, Genesis 10:25 according to the above Jewish writer, he died in the seventy ninth year of Jacob.

Genesis 11:18
And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

  • He was 30 years old when he fathered Reu.

Genesis 11:19
And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • He was 239 years old, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:20
And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

  • He was 32 years old when he fathered Serug.

Genesis 11:21
And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • He was 239 years old, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:22
And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

  • He was 30 years old when he fathered Nahor.

Genesis 11:23
And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • He was 230 years old when he fathered other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:24
And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

  • He was 29 years old when he fathered Terah.

Genesis 11:25
And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • He was 148 years old when he fathered other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:26
And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

  • This was the age that Terah began to father children. Abram was born later when Terah was 130 (c. 2165 B.C.). Cf 11:32 with 12:4.

THE DESCENDANTS OF TERAH

Genesis 11:27
Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

  • Now we see why the author focuses on Shem: it is his line that leads to Terah, the father of Abram.

Genesis 11:28
And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

  • A prosperous, populous city in Mesopotamia.

Genesis 11:29
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

  • Sarai means “Princess,” implying a person of noble birth. Sarah (as she is later called; see 17:15) has the same meaning.
  • The name Milcah is related to the verb that would be translated “to reign” and means “Queen.”
  • Evidently, Nahor married his niece. We learn later that Sarai was Abram’s half sister.

Genesis 11:30
But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

  • The sad fact that Sarai was barren marred her life and yet led to an opportunity for God to accomplish a miracle on her behalf (see 21:1–5).

TERAH MOVES FROM UR TO HARAN

Genesis 11:31
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

  • Terah’s clan had settled in the city of Ur (Genesis 11:28)—likely located in southern Mesopotamia at the mouth of the Euphrates River by the Persian Gulf (in modern Iraq).
  • Modern archaeological research has revealed that this was among the most advanced civilizations in antiquity, with a well-developed legal and political system and a strong economy.
  • Ur was a major trade center, and its archaeological remains are impressive for the sophistication of its buildings and infrastructure. The city was one of the wealthiest in the world at the time Abram was born there.
  • Some think that Abram received his initial call from God to leave home while still in Ur. They base their conclusion on Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7; and especially Acts 7:2, 3.
  • On the other hand, Genesis 12:1–4 (in the context of 11:31, 32,) suggests that God appeared to Abram in the town of Haran.
  • And 12:1 refers specifically to Abram’s need to leave his “father’s house,” which he proceeds to do by leaving Haran with only Lot and the respective families.
  • A trip from Ur would not be entirely consistent with this command, since Abram’s father, Terah, left Ur with him.
  • Perhaps God had already appeared to Abram in Ur and then came to him again after his father died (11:32).
  • A command to depart from Ur would be consistent with the larger story line of God’s creation and re-creation that runs through the early chapters of Genesis.
  • After the creation was ruined by sin (Genesis 6:1–7), God worked through Noah’s family to renew the world following the flood.
  • While God had intended for humans to spread out and populate the earth (1:28; 9:1, 7), various clans attempted to stay together and build a large city, including the Tower of Babel (11:4).
  • God foiled this plan by scattering them (Genesis 11:5–9).
  • Generations later, however, major cities like Ur emerged, with advanced political and economic systems and religions with a multitude of deities (see Joshua 24:2).
  • Another solution to human rebellion was needed.
  • After leaving Ur, Terah decides to stop in Haran, a town that later becomes a major stop on the caravan trade network.
  • Haran is located in what is now southern Turkey, near the border of Syria.
  • While this appears to be an indirect route from Ur to Canaan, it reflects the practice of traveling northwest around the Syrian desert and then southwest near the Mediterranean coast.

Genesis 11:32
And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

  • Terah’s death leaves Abram, apparently the oldest of his children (Genesis 11:26, 27), as the head of the clan.

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