EXPOSITION. Yer, 10.-These are the generations of and thirty years (the first indication of a Shem. The new section, opening with the change having transpired npon human life usual formula (cf. eh. ii 4; v. 1 ; vi. 9; x. after the Flood, the average age of pate)'llity 1), reverts to the main purpose of the inspired prior to that event being 117, the ea.rlie_st narrative, which is to trace the onward deve- 65, e.nd the latest 187), and begat Salah. lopment of the line of promise ; and this it Shalach, literally, emission, or the .sending <loes by carrying forward the genealogical forth, of water, a niemprial of the Flood history of the holy seed through ten genera- (Bochart); or of an arrow or dart (i>ide eh. tious till it reaches Abram, Taken along with L 24).• And Ari>he.xe.d lived after he be~at eh. "I'., with which it coITesponcls, the present Salah four hundred aud t)lree years (makwg fable comp1etes the chronological outline a total of 438, i. e. 339 years less than the from Adam to the Hebrew patriarch. Shem youngest complete life in the ptediluvian was en hundred years old (literally, the son • table,-Enoch's, of course, being excepted,- of an hundred years, i. e. in his hundredth and 162 less than Shem's: a second indica- year), and begat Arpha.xad. The English tion of the sho1tening of the period of exist- term is borrowed from the LXX., the Hebrew ence), and begat sone and daughters. being Arpachshadh, a compound of which Vers. 14, 16. -And Sala.h lived thirty the principal part is ie>:i, giving rise to the yee.rs, and begat Eber. Literally, the 1·egion Cllashdim or Chald:eans ; whence Professor on the otlurside (11'ipav); from i~,V, to pass Lewis regards it e.s originally the name of a over (cf. v1rip, GreQ)c; ube1·, German ; ove1·, peopk b·ansferred to tlleir ancestor (cf. eh. L Saxon). The ancestor of the Hebrews (eh. L 22). Two years after the flood. So that in 21), so called from his descendants having Noah's 603rd year Shem was 100, and must crossed the Euphrates e.nd commenced a accordingly have been born in Noah's 503rd southward emigration, or from, the circum- year, i. e. two yearn after Japheth (cf. eh. v. stance that he or another portion of his 32; x. 21). The mention of the Flood indi- posterity remained on the other side. Prof'. cates the point of tirne from which the present Lewis thinks that thia brauch of the Shcm- section is designed to be reckoned. ites, having lingered so long in the upper Ver. 11.-And Bhem lived after he begat country, had not much to do with the tower Arpha.xad five hun4red yeara (making his building on the plain of Shinar. And Balah life in all 600 years), and bege.t 10D.1 and lived after he begat Eber four hundred and daughters (concerning whom Scripture is three years (in all 433 years, or fi.vo yoara silent, as not being included in the holy line). less than Arphaxad), and begat sone and Vere. 12, 13.-And Arphau.d lived 11.ve daughter,. Oh. XI. 10--26.] '1.'HE BOOK OF GENESIS. 171
Vors, 16, 17.-And Eber lived f~n: _and singularly appropriate to his future cbaractcr thirty years, and begat Peleg. Dw1,Swn; ancI history, from wbich probably the nam~ from palag, to d_ivide. For the reason of reverted to him. Ewald renders Terar,h hy this cognomen vide eh. x. 25. And Eber "migration," considering Tarach arach, = lived 11fter he begat Peleir four hundred and to stretch out. And Nahor lived after he thirty years (thus reachmg the nge of 464, begat Terah an nundred and nineteen years tho longest-lived of the postdiluvian fathers), (148 in all, the shortest liver amoncr the and begat sous and danghters. postdiluvian patriarchs), and bege.t so;s and Vera. 18, 19.-And Peleg lived thirty daughters. 7eara, and bege.t Ren. Friend (sc. of God, Ver. 26.-And Tere.h lived seventy years, or of men), or friendsliip; from a root signi- e.nd bege.t Abram. First named on account fying to pasture, to tend, to care for. Bo- of his spiritual pre-eminence. If Abram was chart traces his descendants in the great Terah's eldest son, then, as Abram was Nis::ean plain Ragau (Judith i. 6), situated seventy-five years of age when Terah died on the confines of .Armenia and Media, and (eh. xii. 4), Terah's whole lifo could only having, according to Strabo, a city named have been 145 years. Bnt Terah lived to the Rng::e or Ragi::e. And Peleg lived e.fter he age of 205 years (eh. xi. 32); therefore bege.t Ren two hundred e.nd nine yee.rs (thus Abram was born in Tcrah's 130th year. making bis entire age 239 years), e.nd begat This, however, makes it surprising that sons and de.ughters. .Abraham should have reckoned it impossible Vers. 20, 21.-And Ren lived two and for him to have a son at 100 years (eh. xvii. thirty years, and begat Serug. Vine-shoot, 17); only, after having lived so long in from sarag, to wind (Gesenius, Lange, Lewis, childless wedlock, it was not strange that he Murphy) ; strength, firmness, from the should feel somewhat doubtful of any issue sense of twisting which the root bears by Sarai. Kalisch believes that S:ephen (Fiirst). And Reulived after he bog11t Serug (Acts vii. 4) made a mistake in sayinl!; Terah two hundred and seven years (in 1111 239), died before his son's migrati0n from Charran, and bege.t sons and daughters. and that he really survived that event by Vers. 22, 23.-And Serug lived thirty sixty years ; while the Samaritan text escapes yee.rs, and begat Nabor. Panting (Gese- the difficulty by shortening the life of Terah nius) ; from nachar, to breathe hard, to to 145 years. And Nahor, who must have snort. Piercer, slayer (Fiirst) ; from an un- been younger than Haran, since he married used root signifying to bore through. And Haran's daughter. And He.ran, who, as the Serug lived after he bege.t Ne.hor two eldest, must have been born in Terab's hundred years (or 230 in all), and begat seventieth year. Thus the second family sons e.nd daughters. register, like the first, concludes after ten Vers. 24, 25.-And Nabor lived nine aud generations with the bu-th of three sons, twenty years, and begat Terah. Terach, or who, like Noah's, are mentioned not in tho turning, tarrying ; from tarach, an unused order of their ages, but of their spiritu.~l Chaldrean root meaning to delay (Gesenius) ; pre-eminence.
CIIRONOLOC!ICA.L TA.DLE,
liEDilEW TEXT. SAMARITAN. SEPTUA.GIN NAMES OF PATRIARC!IS. Age at son's birth. Rest of life. Total no. of yonrs. Agent son's birth. Rest of life. Total 110. of years. Agent son's birth. I Re.st of lifo. Toto.I no, of years.