GENESIS 11:10 Shem’s Descendants
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-f ive 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-t wo 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. 10
F ocus
• G e n . 11: 8 , 9 From Babel to Pentecost: Sc attering and Gathering The confusion of languages at Babel was an explosive moment in history, introducing linguistic and societal barriers that survive to this day. However, in breaking up the unified community at Babel, God was working out His beneficent purposes. He knew that people had united around a sinful desire to thwart His will (Gen. 11:6). He miraculously disrupted their communication as an act of grace, preventing humanity from totally committing itself to rebellion and eventual self-destruction. Many centuries later, the same God who scattered the people at Babel began to gather them together again. At Pentecost, His Spirit birthed a new community unified around Jesus Christ (see “Pluralism at Pentecost” at Acts 2:5). The Lord even breached linguistic barriers on that day, working a miracle to match the miracle of creating language barriers at Babel. Since the beginning of history, God has endeavored to save people from sin. He still uses the principles of scattering and gathering, except after Pentecost, the people whom He scatters take the message of His grace in the power of His Spirit. He helps them overcome every barrier standing in the way of gathering people back to Himself (see “Connecting Sunday to Monday” at Acts 2:46, 47). M o r e: To learn more about God’s plan to offer salvation to all people and the responsibility of God’s people to help deliver that message, see the articles under “Jesus” and “Witness and Missions” in the Themes to Study index.
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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.
Terah’s Descendants
This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in 27
F ocus • G e n . 10 :32 Many Nations Under God The list of peoples and nations in Genesis 10 reminds us that just as God’s judgment came upon the earth through a flood, so God’s blessings on Noah have spread through his descendants to the ends of the earth. God made “from one blood every nation” of the world (Acts 17:26), the outcome of His charge to Noah to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen. 9:1). Genesis 10 shows that all nations exist under God. No nation has always served God or submitted itself completely to His sovereignty. Some have even violently opposed God’s ways. Nevertheless, this passage implies that God is concerned about the whole world and loves all its peoples (compare John 3:16, 17). As we survey the many nations of our world, we can know we are ultimately all part of the same family, all descendants of one righteous man, Noah (Gen. 10:32).
I nsight
• G e n . 11:3 Brickmak ing
Bricks made of clay or a mixture of mud and straw were a primary construction material of the ancient world. There were at least two methods for making bricks. The easiest was to pack clay into a mold and let the block dry in the sun. The Hebrews likely used this method in Egypt (Ex. 5:7) and later in the Promised Land (2 Sam. 12:31; Jer. 43:9). The Babylonians, whose ancestors probably constructed the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4), used more advanced technology, firing their bricks in kilns to make them harder and more durable. They also made their bricks larger—up to a foot square— and flatter in order to support more weight than sun-dried bricks. M o r e: Learn more about the workers who used bricks in the numerous construction projects of the ancient world at the entry for “Bricklayer” in the Jobs and Occupations index.
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