To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
And Shem, the older brother of Japheth, the father of the children of Eber, had other sons in addition.
To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
To Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber - It is generally supposed that the Hebrews derived their name from Eber or Heber, son of Shem; but it appears much more likely that they had it from the circumstance of Abraham passing over (for so the word עבר abar signifies) the river Euphrates to come into the land of Canaan. See the history of Abraham, Genesis 14:13 (note).
- XXXIII. Shem
21. אבר 'eber, "'Eber, yonder side; verb: pass, cross."
22. עילם 'eylām, "'Elam." עוּל ‛ûl, "suckle." עלם ‛ālam, "hide; be mature." ארפכשׁד 'arpakshad, "Arpakshad." כשׂד ארף 'arp keśed, "boundary of Kesed, or (von-Bohlen) Arjapakshata, beside Aria." ארם 'ǎrām, "Aram, high; verb: be high."
23. עוּץ ‛ûts, "'Uts; verb: counsel; be firm, solid." חוּל chûl, "Chul; verb: rub, twist, writhe, be strong, await." גתר geter, "Gether, bridge?" משׁ meshek, "Mash; related: feel, touch."
24. שׁלח shelach, "Shelach, missile, shoot."
25. פלג peleg, "Peleg; noun: brook, canal; verb: divide." יקטן yāqṭān, "Joctan, small."
26. אלמודד 'almôdād, "Almodad." למד lāmad, "learn." מדד mādad, "measure." שׁלף shelep, "Sheleph; verb: draw out or off." חערמות chatsarmāvet, "Chatsarmaveth, court of death." ירח yerach, "Jerach, moon, month."
27. הדורם hadôrām, Hadoram, "majesty, beauty;" verb: "swell, honor." אוּזל 'ûzāl, Uzal; verb: "go out or away." דקלה dı̂qlâh Diclah, "palm."
28. עובל ‛ôbāl, 'Obal, "bare, bald." אבימאל 'ǎbı̂ymā'ēl, Abimael, "father of Mael" (circumcision).
29. אופיר 'ôpı̂r, Ophir; verb: "break, veil." יובב yôbāb, Jobab; verb: "cry, call."
30. משׁא mēshā', Mesha, שׁאה shā'âh equals שׁוא shô', "roar, crash." ספר sepār Sephar, "counting. writing."
From Japheth, who penetrated into the remotest regions, the writer proceeds to Ham, who came into close contact with Shem. From Ham, he passes to Shem, in whom the line of history is to be continued.
Genesis 10:21
Shem is here distinguished by two characteristics - the former referring to a subsequent, the latter to an antecedent event. He is "the father of all the sons of Heber." It is evident from this that the sons of Heber cast luster on the family of Shem, and therefore on the whole human race. It is unnecessary to anticipate the narrative, except so far as to note that the sons of Heber include most of the Arabians, a portion of those who mingled with the race and inhabited the land of Aram, and, most probably, the original element of the population in the land of Kenaan. This characteristic of Shem shows that the table in which it is found was composed after the Hebrews had become conspicuous among the descendants of Shem.
continued...
10:21 Two things especially are observable in this account of the posterity of Shem. [1.] The description of Shem, Genesis 10:21, we have not only his name, Shem, which signifies a name; but two titles to distinguish him by. 1. He was the father of all the children of Eber. Eber was his great grandson, but why should he be called the father of all his children, rather than of all Arphaxad's or Salah's? Probably because Abraham and his seed, not only descended from Heber, but from him were called Hebrews. Eber himself, we may suppose, was a man eminent for religion in a time of general apostasy; and the holy tongue being commonly called from him the Hebrew, it is probable he retained it in his family in the confusion of Babel, as a special token of God's favour to him. 2. He was the brother of Japheth the elder; by which it appears, that though Shem be commonly put first, yet he was not Noah's first-born, but Japheth was elder. But why should this also be put as part of Shem's description, that he was the brother of Japheth, since that had been said before? Probably this is intended to signify the union of the Gentiles with the Jews in the church. He had mentioned it as Shem's honour, that he was the father of the Hebrews; but lest Japheth's seed should therefore be looked upon as shut out from the church, he here minds us, that he was the brother of Japheth, not in birth only, but in blessing, for Japheth was to dwell in the tents of Shem. [2.] The reason of the name of Peleg, Genesis 10:25, because, in his days, (that is, about the time of his birth) was the earth divided among the children of men that were to inhabit it; either when Noah divided it, by an orderly distribution of it, as Joshua divided the land of Canaan by lot, or when, upon their refusal to comply with that division, God, in justice, divided them by the confusion of tongues.