Genesis 10:21

10:21 And sons were also born ¹  to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), ²  the father of all the sons of Eber.

Genesis 10:24-25

10:24 Arphaxad was the father of ³  Shelah, ⁴  and Shelah was the father of Eber. ⁵  10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, ⁶  and his brother’s name was Joktan.

[10:21]  ¹ tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”

[10:21]  ² tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.

[10:24]  ³ tn Heb “fathered.”

[10:24]  ⁴ tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.

[10:24]  ⁵ sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).

[10:25]  ⁵ tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.