Genesis 11:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

NIV: And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

NASB: and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

CSB: After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

NLT: After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

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

NKJV: After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

The previous verse began this genealogy linking Shem to Abraham and the Israelites. Shem fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old. This verse now establishes the pattern for the rest of the genealogy, revealing how long Shem lived after the birth of the next in the line.

Putting the two ages together, Shem lived to be 600 years old, allowing him many years to have other sons and daughters as humanity set about refilling the earth with people. Verse 10 was the last mention of the flood found in Genesis, setting this passage up as a milestone. In the same vein, this genealogy does not focus on phrases such as "and then he died," as did the genealogy of chapter 5.

Genesis 11:10–26 provides a direct genealogy from Noah to Abram, through Noah's blessed-by-God son, Shem. This record shows a direct genetic line from Noah and the flood, through Peleg and the dispersion of humanity at the Tower of Babel, to Terah, Abram's father.

Genesis 11 contains three sections: God confuses and scatters the people of the world to stop the building of Babel and its tower. A genealogy is provided showing the direct links between Noah and Abram. The ''generations'' of Terah are introduced, providing a description of the family out of which God will call Abram to become the father of His chosen people.

Genesis 10 provided a table of the nations, describing the peoples and tribes that descended from Noah's three sons and where they settled. Genesis 11 describes how God scattered the peoples of the world after confusing their languages to stop the building of Babel and its tower. The chapter also provides a direct genealogy from Noah to Abram and then introduces Abram by way of his father Terah. The following chapter will begin the story of Abram and God's chosen people, Israel.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 11/22/2024 4:21:01 AM