Genesis 10:26

Study note

Setting — The narrator records a genealogical list tracing the descendants of Joktan, son of Eber, immediately following the birth account of his brother Peleg. This passage functions as a structured record within the broader Table of Nations.

The words — The Hebrew term יָלַד (yalad) translates literally as "he fathered," establishing direct paternal lineage. The proper names אַלְמוֹדָד (Almodad) and שָׁלֶף (Sheleph) mark specific offspring in the recorded line without additional descriptive qualifiers.

The thread — This genealogical sequence appears verbatim in 1 Chronicles 1:20 as a parallel account of Joktan’s descendants. The list continues in Genesis 10:27 with Hadoram, Uzal, and Diklah.

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge the documented continuity of Joktan’s lineage without supplying explanatory commentary. It establishes a factual foundation for subsequent tribal histories by preserving specific ancestral names in a fixed order.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.