The Generations of Shem

"These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: and Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: and Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: and Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Eber lived four and thirty years and begat Peleg. And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: and Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." (Genesis 11:10-26)

Having reviewed many of these names in the earlier posting of the "Table of Nations," there is left very little for us to discuss about this passage. There are in fact, only two points to make note of, one of which is provided by Matthew Henry's Commentary and one which is obvious for any to see.

First, Matthew Henry points out that if we put together the genealogies listed in Genesis chapter 5, Genesis chapter 11, and Matthew 1, we will have an extremely complete and detailed genealogy of Jesus Christ going back all the way to Adam; verifying that He was indeed Son of Man, as well as being the Son of God.

Secondly, this passage of scripture shows a gradual decrease of the span of a man's life; even though not totally consistent, there is a definite downward trend:

Shem lived 600 years; Arphaxad lived 438 years; Salah lived 433 years; Eber lived 464 years (an increase rather than a decrease from his father before him); Peleg lived 239; Reu lived 239; Serug lived 230; Nahor (the grandfather of Abram) lived 148; and Terah (Abram's father) outlived his own father's years and lived to the ripe old age of 205 (I skipped ahead to Genesis 12 for that last bit of information). Still, 205 years is a long ways away from pre-flood Methuselah who lived 969 years.

Still further from that is the age of the oldest human being alive right now, known as a supercentarian (there are 7 "verified" supercentarians alive at this time). According to Wikipedia a "verified supercentarian" is "one whose claim to an age of 110 or more is supported by three documents or more, submitted in a standard process and validated in reliable fashion, by an international body widely recognized for specific expertise in longevity research." As of April 7, 2011, the oldest verified living person is an American woman by the name of Besse Cooper. Besse is 114 years, 224 days old.

Is God orchestrating the shortening of man's life span? Is this the ravages of sin on the human body, increased by the effects of living in a sin-ravaged world? Or is it a general winding-down of the cycle of life that parallels the winding down of earth's life expectancy?

I can't say for sure, but it give us food for thought.

Tomorrow, we will begin a long study of Abram, aka Abraham.