Summary

The Shemites, destined to give rise to God's people, were those who remained closest to mankind’s original home in west-central Asia. Yet they ranged from Elam, north of the Persian Gulf, to Aram (the area the Greeks called Syria),¹ Asshur (the ancient name of Assyria) and Lud (Lydia) in Asia Minor or central Turkey.²

1 Chronicles 1:17–27 is derived directly from Genesis 10:22–29, though there are a few minor differences. For instance, 1 Chronicles' omission of the opening verse of that genealogy, “To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born” (Genesis 10:21), is particularly striking since it emphasizes the senior status of Shem among the sons of Noah and also the forefather of the Hebrews, through whom the line of God’s blessing would run. The Chronicler skips this fact because he probably assumes that his readers already knew this.

The Chronicler, however, after having introduced the brothers, reverses the order to Japheth, Ham, Shem, the ancestor of Israel (1 Chronicles 1:5–27).

The reference to Eber and his two sons Peleg and Joktan is of particular importance (1 Chronicles 1:18–23). Eber (עֵבֶר) is the root word from which arises the name Hebrew, (עִבְרִי), by which Abraham and his descendants were known, especially by outsiders, as a term of mockery and derision (Genesis 14:13; Genesis 39:14, Genesis 39:17; Genesis 40:15; Genesis 41:12; Genesis 43:32; Exodus 1:19; Exodus 2:11; 1 Samuel 4:6, 1 Samuel 4:9; 1 Samuel 13:3, 1 Samuel 13:7, 1 Samuel 13:19).³ The Chronicler purposely draws attention to this ancestor of Abraham in anticipation of his place in the line of the messianic promise.

The puzzling comment that in the days of Eber’s son, Peleg, the earth was divided has drawn a variety of interpretations. Most likely this refers to the involuntary division of the tower builders that occurred at Babel (Genesis 11:1–9).⁴ The loss of their common languages caused them to disperse and form separate communities where a communal language could be spoken. Joktan had thirteen sons whose identities as a whole cannot be established with certainty. They appear to be linked with the Arabian desert regions as suggested by the names Sheba, Havilah, and Ophir, all of which are linked with gold, spices, and a nomadic or semi-nomadic life (nomadic or semi-nomadic life (Genesis 25:12–18; 1 Samuel 15:7; 1 Kings 10:1–2, 1 Kings 10:10–12; Job 6:19; Psalm 45:8–9; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:22).⁵

The Shemite line is detailed in linear fashion, connecting Noah to Abraham, the recipients of the two great covenants. These ten names as well as the ten between Adam and Shem form an inclusio (where an opening phrase or idea is repeated at the end, framing what lies within). This symmetrical arrangement conveys the idea of closure of the universalism of the nations and the opening of the era of particularism of the Abrahamic line in which the redemptive plan of the Lord will unfold. 1 Chronicles 1:24–27 restates the list up to Peleg in straight linear fashion, but leaves out Joktan and his descendants, and continues on to Abraham, here called by his original name Abram (exalted father), which in the next verse is transformed to his covenant name Abraham (father of many).⁶