Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Genesis 11:12
ESV When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah.
NIV When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.
NASB Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah;
CSB Arpachshad lived 35 years and fathered Shelah.
NLT When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.
KJV And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
NKJV Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah.

What does Genesis 11:12 mean?

The line from Noah to Abraham follows through Shem to Arpachshad and now to Shelah. This is a noteworthy point in Genesis due to the age of Arpachshad when he fathers Shelah: "only" 35 years old. This is a drastic reduction in the age of having children when compared to the pre-flood era (Genesis 5). Of course, the genealogies listed prior to the flood don't demand those children were the first-born, so those patriarchs might well have had other, earlier children. And yet, it's significant that the ages associated with children are decreasing, as are the lifespans.

Whether as a result of the world being damaged by the flood (Genesis 7:22–24), or by God's direct intervention (Genesis 6:3), humanity's lifespans will taper off very quickly in the generations following Noah. To multiply and fill the earth, people had to start having children at much younger ages.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit