Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Edward Andrews" <edandrews AT adelphia.net>]

Bruce Prince:



Although the three sons are consistently listed as "Shem, Ham and Japheth," 
there is some uncertainty as to their relative positions according to age. 
The fact that Shem is mentioned first is of itself no definite indication 
that Shem was Noah's firstborn, since Shem's own firstborn son (Arpachshad) 
is listed third in the genealogical records. (Ge 10:22; 1Ch 1:17) In the 
original Hebrew, Genesis 10:21 allows for more than one possible 
translation, some translations referring to Shem as "the brother of Japheth 
the oldest ["elder," KJ]," while others call him the "elder ["older," AT] 
brother of Japheth." (AS, Dy, RS, JB, Ro) The ancient versions likewise 
differ-the Septuagint, the translation by Symmachus, and the Targum of 
Onkelos present Japheth as the older, while the Samaritan Pentateuch, the 
Latin Vulgate, and the Syriac versions place Shem as the older brother of 
Japheth. The weight of evidence found in the rest of the Bible record, 
however, indicates that Shem likely was Noah's second son, younger than 
Japheth.



The record shows that Noah began to father sons after reaching 500 years of 
age (2470 B.C.E.), the Deluge occurring in his 600th year. (Ge 5:32; 7:6) 
Already married at the time of the Deluge (Ge 6:18), Shem is stated to have 
fathered his first son, Arpachshad, two years after the Deluge (2368 B.C.E.) 
when he, Shem, was 100 years old. (Ge 11:10) This would mean that Shem was 
born when Noah was 502 years of age (2468 B.C.E.); and since Ham appears to 
be referred to as the "youngest son" (Ge 9:24), Japheth would logically be 
the first son born to Noah, when he was 500 years of age.



Edward Andrews

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bruce Prince" <bruceprince AT bigpond.com>
To: "b-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 1:57 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] Shem and Japheth


> Hi Folks
>
>
>
> I'm wondering if you could tell me who the elder of these two was.
>
>
>
> Some versions state Gen 10:21 as reading, "Also to Shem, the father of all
> children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born."
> (NASV).
>
>
>
> The NIV puts it this way: "Sons were also born to Shem, whose older 
> brother
> was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all sons of Eber."
>
>
>
> I apologise if this matter has been discussed prior to me becoming a 
> member
> of your list.
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
>
>
> Bruce Prince
>
> Australia
>
> _______________________________________________
> b-hebrew mailing list
> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew