Genesis Chapter 11:10-32

Family Tree time!

Ge:11:10: These are the generations of Shem

A more specialized family tree, the line of Shem…from Shem to Abram.  One of the most interesting things about this family line is how you see the ages of man greatly drop off.  They live in a new world, and I’m wondering if it has anything to do from the atmosphere to even man contracting diseases…cancer, getting sick from eating raw meats?  And I wonder if the interbreeding had anything to do with DNA corruption?  Anyway here’s a cool Beard Chart for you!

Right Click...open in new window

Ge:11:10: These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
Ge:11:11: And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

Shem’s third son.  I think it’s interesting that it is the third son, since God is so fond of 3 and 7.

Ge:11:12: And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

Arphaxad becomes the youngest man to have a son mentioned in his lineage, 35 years.  So not only is man starting to live less (although 438 years is still a LONG time) he’s starting to have children very young!  Although compare 35 to 16 and pregnant (show on MTV)…but since we don’t know anything about any wives, who knows how young they were.

I wonder if men fathering children at a younger age has anything to do with living in cities?  Living in cities has to make it easier to find wives.  When you live as a farmer and a shepherd how much time to you have to find wives?  Unless they’re still marrying sisters?  I wonder if at this time marriages were used for making alliances or joining powerful families?  Or maybe it’s still to early for that.

I'll trade you one daughter..For 100 of these.

Salah -30 years-> Eber -43 years-> then we get Peleg and the scattering.

So I just want to look at this for myself.  Ok so Noah lived for 350 years after the flood.

Ge:11:10: These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood

Arphaxad was born 2 years after the flood. Flood -2 years-> Arphaxad -35 years-> Salah -30 years-> Eber -34 years-> Peleg

So that isn’t very long at all.  If the people of the Earth were scattered during Peleg’s time then it’s completely possible that Noah was still alive right? That’s only 101 years between the flood and Peleg’s birth.  I wonder how close Noah still was with his son’s.  I wonder if this line of Shem stayed with Noah and if so was it only the people building the tower who’s languages were scramble?

Maybe not if Abram had to be called out of Ur.  I wish we could know all this.  I’m just saying, a historical documentary in heaven would be nice.

right click...new window or tab. This is a neat chart.

According to this Noah and Abram could have chatted.  Maybe they even hiked up to have lunch in the Ark?  Anything could have happened and we can imagine and wonder all we want since there is no real information.  Makes it fun and exciting.

Ge:11:24: And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
Ge:11:25: And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

29 years when Nahor had Terah.  Very interesting, and he lives a relatively short life, Just 148 years.

This chart shows how different judgments seem to have been the reason for the rapid and steady decline of the age of men.

But then we get to Terah, Abrams father.  He was old fashioned it seems.  He waited 70 years to have Abram.  I wonder if he was cursed with daughters (Although I’m sure that Grandpa felt blessed with daughters, with a huge sigh of relief with Billy and Jimmy).

Ge:11:26: And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Ge:11:27: Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

Abram is the line of Christ, but I guess since we are getting to a story about Abram –> Abraham, it’s time we are given a little more information.  Also Lot plays a large role pretty soon.

Ge:11:28: And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

This is interesting that it says that Haran died before his father, where he was born in Ur.  I wonder if that left Lot to be fostered by his uncles or his grandfather.  If you already know the answer, it’s because I’m not that knowledgeable about the upcoming chapters.  So please forgive my ignorance, I’m working under the assumption that I’ll be wrong far more often than not.

Ge:11:29: And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

Whoa!  Talk about some crazy intermingling.  So, nahor took his niece for a wife!  That would make him her Huncle, husband/uncle.  Crazy!  Oh look at that, Iscah…name sounds familiar doesn’t it…

Iscah --- Rumors of Eden

Ge:11:31: And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
Ge:11:32: And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Good foreshadowing for future chapters, Sarai barren.  I think it’s interesting that the land they went into was Haran.  I wonder Terah named the land in memory of his son, or if it was already known as Haran?

Well there it is.  I didn’t think I could squeeze a full post out of that *whew*.  All right Chapter 12 next week!  As always if you are interested in doing chapter 12 or any other chapter let me know.  All you have to do is write it and email it to me @ adambrock25@gmail.com.  Jimmy?  Kathy and Mom have already done one.  Or if John would be interested in doing one, let him know.

Oh yeah…I was interested so here is what Haran means:

Haran 4Share The name Haran is assigned four times in the Bible. The first Haran is a son of Terah and brother of Abraham and Nahor (and the half-brother of Sarah – Genesis 11:26). This Haran is the father of Lot. Haran is also the name of the city where Abram‘s family settled (Genesis 11:31). A third Haran is a son of Caleb and Ephah (1 Chronicles 2:46). A fourth Haran is a Levite of the family of Gershon (1 Chronicles 23:9). The name Haran is probably derived of the word (har) meaning hill, mountain. The post-fixed nun serves as a personification (Hill Guy). As such the name Haran is distantly similar to Aaron. A salient detail is that the verb (hara) means to be with child, to be pregnant. The derived noun (hara) means pregnant and the noun (herayon) means conception or pregnancy. The name Haran means Mountaineer, says Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, or Mountainous, according to NOBS Study Bible Name List.

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Genesis Chapter 11:1-9

That’s the United Nations General Assembly, what does that remind you of?

Ge:11:1: And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

It looks like we are getting there doesn’t it!

Ge:11:2: And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar (Check out the link.  Wikipedia is awesome.); and they dwelt there.

Babylon, Babel, on right side of Map.

Do you think that they still lived in the area of the ark?  How long do you think they stayed there before they decided to migrate west.  One…Two hundred years?  How long before they forgot about God?  How big of a community can four families create in 10 generations?  All interesting questions, I think, maybe I’m too much of a lover of history and small details though.  But I wish that this kind of stuff was in there, even though it is completely irrelevant.

But who do you think finally left?  Probably the descendants of Ham.  If Noah’s curse was held true then Ham’s children were servants and second class citizens.  And were ready to get away from that life.  Or maybe it was a difference in faith.  If they had forgotten God they could have been forced out?  Who knows.  This Link, Bible Maps, has some cool maps and some history and relations to other scriptures.  Check it out.

Ge:11:3: And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.  And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

I guess Ecclesiastes 1:9 applies here:

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Remember that Cain built the first city before the flood.  Interesting that It was probably Cush, or his descendants that began building the new city.  It seems that every time that a city is built evil is close behind.  Idle hands are the devils playthings.  And there is nothing but time in the city.  When you aren’t tending a flock or a farm all day you have nothing but time.  We are very self destructive with our free time.

Ge:11:4: And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Ge:11:5: And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

You know, I’ve always thought that they built the tower to see God.  It says heaven.  I wonder if they had an idea of heaven yet?  It hasn’t talk about eternal life or heaven yet.  I wonder if Adam and his children were promised that?  Or if they were just expected to worship, expecting nothing in return?

So, when I read “heaven” in that verse, I think they just wanted to kiss the sky.  How knowledgeable were they?  Did they literally expect to reach the heavens?  It sounds like they were building the tower as a show of power.  Like the Egyptian pharaohs, and almost every other ruler on earth, built great architectural monuments to show how powerful and wealthy they were.

But then there is this, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”  Maybe the tower was supposed to be like a light house?  Calling people from all over the world with a giant tower to be seen from miles and miles, attempting to build a mighty empire.

I’ve also always thought that God scattered men before the tower could be completed, but it sounds like they finished it.  One thing that interests me is that the Lord came down.  Any other time he’s been mentioned so far he was already with us.  Walking in the garden, speaking with Cain, and bringing Noah into the Ark.  But this time he descends to earth, like he has decided to leave us to ourselves.

Get out of here!

Ge:11:6: And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

How could it not be the end of days?  This is exactly where we are now!  We live in a time where there are zero barriers.  We can go anywhere in the world in less than a day.  We can speak to anyone anywhere in the world face to face with the click of a button.  We can launch military attacks with machines and missiles while the operators sit safely hundreds if not thousands of miles away.

Heck, we sent man to the moon nearly half a century ago, and now we have plans to send a manned mission to mars and even to harvest precious minerals from asteroids!  What can’t we achieve?  Pretty soon there are going to be so many people on the face of the planet that we’ll start running out of room.

Ge:11:7: Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Ge:11:8: So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

I wonder how advanced man was becoming?  And I wonder if anyone kept the original language?  Maybe Shem’s line?  Isn’t that the tradition, or not?  I don’t know?

“Go to, let “US” go down”…The trinity again?  And again, they are now longer among men.  “and they left off to build the city”, I wonder what that means?  Had they not finished building?  Or is it man going off to build other and newer cities?

Assyrian city dated to 6000 BC! Arbil Here's the link, pretty interesting.

Ge:11:9: Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

I love this.  I think it is so neat that, when someone is spouting nonsense, we say that they are babbling.  And that’s when man was scattered.  Which makes me wonder.  If the Semetic (The line of Shem) people got to stay where they were then maybe they weren’t scattered.  Maybe they were still true to the Lord.

Do you think that there was war after this?  I bet there was a HUGE WAR!  Think about it, everyone was being forced to leave and find a different home.  There must have been a great struggle to decide who got to stay and keep Babel.  Even if Babel had a king, Nimrod?, how loyal would an army be if they couldn’t understand each other?  How were the languages spread out?  Families stayed together?  Tribes stayed together?  Or was it just random chaos?  I don’t know, I know Kathy did some research on the traditions and myths about Nimrod and the time.  I would be interested in hearing some of that Kathy!

Anyway.  Genesis 11:10-32 is more lineage.  And I’ve already written a lot.  So I’m going to start on that, but it will be a separate post since it is almost a completely different subject than the first half of the chapter.  Also this is a pretty long half chapter.  So we’ll catch up with Abram and the end of Chapter 11 later.  Again, I really got a kick out of this chapter…If you think I wrote down a lot of stupid questions and ideas that don’t really matter then we’re lucky I didn’t ramble on with everything that popped into my head.  This is a very neat chapter, I look forward to hearing from everyone…

And of course next week we get…

Abram...

 

 

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