Bible Strands
Genesis 11:10
This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a genealogical transition immediately after the floodwaters recede and the nations scatter from Babel. This moment shifts the narrative focus from the pre-flood patriarchs to the specific lineage of Shem.
The words — The term תּוֹלְדֹת (tol-dot) literally means "accounts of" or "generations," functioning as a formal heading for a lineage record. The verb וַיּוֹלֶד (va-yyo-led) states plainly that he "fathered" Arphaxad at the age of one hundred.
The thread — This genealogical formula appears again in Genesis 11:27 for Terah and aligns with the lineage lists in 1 Chronicles 1:17 and Genesis 10:21. These passages consistently use Shem as the structural anchor for tracing subsequent ancestral lines.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge Shem’s recorded birth of Arphaxad at a precise chronological point. Readers must treat the genealogy as a factual record of descent rather than a theological allegory.
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.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 1:17 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
- Genesis 10:21 And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth; Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.
- Genesis 11:27 This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
- Luke 3:34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,