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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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Genesis 10:21
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It is surprising that Shem should be said to be the father of Eber. Eber was neither the son nor the grandson of Shem, but his great grandson. This points to the significance and fame of Eber that his name should be more memorable than his well-known ancestor, Seth. The name Hebrew is thought to come from Eber and this is supported by this use of his name. Abraham is said to be a Hebrew in Genesis 14:13 without any prior explanation of the term. Similarly the term Semitic or Shemitic or Semite derives from Shem. The descendants of Shem did not spread out, even after the confounding of language by God, as either the descendants of Japheth or of Ham, but remained local to the Middle East.
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Elam was a province in Persia (modern Iran). Elam is said by Josephus to be the founder of the Persians, and its inhabitants were called the Elamites. ‘Asshur are the people who lived on both side of the Tigris’ (Aalders). Arphaxad means ‘boundary of the Chaldeans’ (Jones). ‘It seems we should think of the territory which the Greeks called “Arrapchitis”’ (Aalders). Lud is obviously not the same as the Ludites in verse 13, but is thought to refer to the country of Lydia in Asia Minor (Aalders). ‘The fifth name is “Aram” or “Syria”’ (Aalders). Uz was the land of Job probably in the south of Canaan.
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