For the Genesis 11:10-26 PODCAST, Click Here!
10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. 20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. ~ Genesis 11:10-26
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 11 where we find ourselves only 100 years after the Flood and sinful man has forgotten the lessons learned from the Flood. It is not fear, not even fear of God that changes the human heart. It is only the grace of God that changes the heart of a sinner. In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord said, "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart."
Not long after the Flood, sinful man traveled to Babylon which means confusion. Such is the destination of the life not guided by the God of the Bible. With man's move to Babylon, the world moved ever increasingly away from God. Man's continuing move away from God galvanized his resolve against God to the point that he defied Him openly by building the Tower of Babel. In response, God did what was necessary to halt man's destructive move away from Him; He limited man's ability to bring together his efforts to destroy himself.
In today's passage, God takes us back before the Tower of Babel to list the line of Shem. Although God had given us a more detailed listing of Shem's lineage in Genesis 10, here in Genesis 11, God hones in on a sliver of Shem's lineage in order to show us how Shem's line led us to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters."
This is now the fifth genealogy that the Bible has given us thus far. The Flood ended in the year 1657 BC and so Shem was 100 years old in the year 1659 when his son Arphaxad was born. After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 years and so he died in the year 2159.
In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters."
Arphaxad was born in the year 1659 and he had Salah in the year 1694. Arphaxad died in the year 2097 at 438 years of age.
In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters."
Salah was born in the year 1694 and he had Eber in the year 1724. Salah died in the year 2127 at 463 years of age.
In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters."
Eber was born in the year 1724 and he had his son Peleg in the year 1758. Eber died in the year 2188 at 464 years of age. He is the last person who would live to be more than 450 years of age and in fact, he is the last one who would even live beyond 300 years. Man’s years drop quickly after the flood.
Interestingly, Eber means "One from beyond" or "He who crossed over." It is from Eber that we get the term "Hebrew." Eber was alive at the time of the divisions of languages and he certainly was the father of the family line that maintained the original language of the earth which we call Hebrew today. Since his name means, "He who crossed over" and it’s recorded that his descendants lived in Ur which is on the opposite side of the Euphrates from Babylon, it’s probable that he and several generations of his descendants moved away from Babylon to Ur some time after the time of the Tower of Babel. In Genesis 14, we will see the word Hebrew used for the first time in the Bible when speaking of Abraham who was the man who "crossed over" the Euphrates and away from the area of Babel. In Joshua 24:2 we read of Abraham’s father who lived on the other side of the Euphrates and worshipped other gods.
In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters."
Peleg was born in the year 1758 and he had Reu in the year 1788. Peleg died in the year 1997 at 239 years of age. He died 191 years before his father Eber and 9 years before his great, great, great grandfather Noah. Peleg is the last person in this line of Shem who was mentioned in the generations of the sons of Noah in Genesis 10. He was listed with his brother Joktan, and Joktan’s sons were mentioned, but not Peleg’s. Joktan is no longer relevant to the story and so this line in Genesis 11 focuses on Peleg and those who come after him. It is he, not Joktan, who is an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters."
Reu was born in the year 1788 and he had his son Serug in the year 1820. Reu died in the year 2027 at 239 years of age.
In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters."
Serug was born in the year 1820 and he had his son Nahor in the year 1850. Serug died in the year 2050 at 230 years of age.
In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters."
Nahor was born in the year 1850 and he had his son Terah in the year 1879. Nahor died in the year 1998 at the age of 148. This was 22 years before his father Serug and 8 years before his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Noah. Noah was still alive in the 9th generation when Abraham’s father Terah was born and even when Nahor died. The environment of the post flood world was obviously much harsher on humans than it was before the flood. And this harshness has a cumulative effect, transferring down the line. We know this because Noah lived 350 years after the flood and each generation lived less than the one before.
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran."
Terah was born in the year 1879. Abram, one of Terah's sons is listed first in this verse, but he was not the oldest. We know this because the oldest son, Haran, died back in their hometown of Ur. Abram was actually the second son of Terah. With this verse so ends the generations of Shem and leads us into a new section of the biblical account which will focus on Abram and his sons.
And, so, we complete the genealogy that has led us to Abram. Whereas the focus on the line of Shem in Genesis 10 showed all the various people groups that came, in Genesis 11, it narrows down to focus on one line, the line of those who believed in the God of the Bible. As we see throughout the Genesis, this story is an ongoing juxtaposition between those who believed in the God of the Bible and those who did not. Most in today's world believe the value of a person is measured by their achievements in this world or their status in it. This is not the emphasis discovered in the Scriptures. In fact, in the Scriptures we discover that our value is truly measured best by the object of our faith, and, the God of the Bible has the best definitions for things.
