Arphaxad

Biblical Record

Arphaxad was the son of Shem, the son of Noah. Shem and his brothers are discussed in the article Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Genesis 10:22 lists the sons of Shem in order as Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. Genesis 10:24 records, "And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber."

Genesis 11:10–13 summarizes his life in numbers. Shem was one hundred years old when he fathered Arphaxad, two years after the Flood. Arphaxad fathered Salah at the age of thirty-five, and afterward he lived four hundred and three years and had other children. Apart from these figures, the text records no deeds or events from his life. The same genealogy is repeated in 1 Chronicles 1:17–18 and 1:24.

Significance Within the Bible

Arphaxad is significant chiefly because of his place in the genealogy. The line that begins with Shem passes through Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor to Terah and Abraham. Through this genealogy, Genesis 11 links the history following the Flood to the account of God's call of Abraham.

In the New Testament, his name appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3:36. The New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) renders the name in this verse as "Abaksat." Luke's genealogy traces Jesus back to Adam, and Arphaxad stands within that line. He does not appear in Matthew's genealogy, which begins with Abraham.

Interpretation and Issues

• Differences in textual tradition: The Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, give different figures in this passage. The Septuagint is reported to give Arphaxad's age at the birth of his son as 135. It also inserts "Cainan" between Arphaxad and Salah. Because Luke 3:36 likewise lists Cainan after Arphaxad, many scholars hold that Luke followed a tradition associated with the Septuagint.
• Genealogy and chronology: One tradition adds up the figures in this genealogy to calculate the time elapsed since the creation of the world. Other interpreters hold that biblical genealogies may omit intervening generations. This difference also bears on the creation and evolution debate, and views are divided even within denominations. The shorter lifespans, compared with those of the figures before the Flood, are likewise read by some literally and by others symbolically.
• Name and ethnicity: The meaning of the name is uncertain. The Jewish historian Josephus is said to have regarded Arphaxad as the ancestor of the Chaldeans, but the biblical text itself does not state this.
• Another person of the same name: Among the apocryphal books, the Book of Judith mentions Arphaxad, king of the Medes. The Catholic Church accepts Judith as deuterocanonical, whereas Protestants do not include it in the canon. This figure is a different person from the son of Shem.

In the Korean Church

Sermons devoted to Arphaxad alone are rare. He is usually mentioned when genealogies are read during through-the-Bible reading programs or in expository preaching on Genesis, and when the line from Shem to Abraham is explained. In Sunday school, his name is introduced as children learn the genealogy from the sons of Noah to Abraham.