EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 11:12

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old, he became the father of Shelah.

EOB Footnote:

The LXX includes Cainan as an additional generation between Arpachshad and Shelah, stating that Arpachshad lived 135 years and fathered Cainan. The MT lacks this generation entirely, instead stating that Arpachshad lived 35 years and fathered Shelah directly. This represents a significant genealogical difference: the LXX tradition adds one generation and gives Arpachshad 100 additional years before fathering his son. The New Testament follows the LXX tradition in Luke 3:36, which includes Cainan in the genealogy of Christ.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

WEB (World English Bible):

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Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And Arphaxad lived a hundred and thirty-five years, and begot Cainan.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Cainan.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

After the birth of Arpachshad, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and had sons and daughters.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Arphaxad and the Line of Promise

Genesis 11:12 continues the genealogy from Shem to Abram, recording that Arphaxad lived thirty-five years and begot Salah (or Cainan and then Salah, according to the Septuagint). While this verse appears to be a simple genealogical notation, it carries significant weight within the Orthodox understanding of sacred history and Christology.

The Septuagint Tradition and the Genealogy of Christ

The Orthodox Church follows the Septuagint text, which includes Cainan between Arphaxad and Salah. This reading is confirmed by the Gospel of Luke (3:36), where the evangelist traces the genealogy of Christ through this same line. The inclusion of Cainan in the Septuagint demonstrates the providential preservation of the text that would later serve as the scriptural foundation for the New Testament writers. Saint Luke, writing under divine inspiration, validated the Septuagint tradition, which the Church has consistently maintained.

Christological Significance

Every name in this genealogy represents a link in the chain connecting Adam to Christ. Arphaxad, whose name some Fathers interpreted as meaning “healing” or “releasing,” stands as an ancestor of the Messiah according to the flesh. The careful recording of ages and generations demonstrates God’s meticulous providence in preserving the line through which salvation would come. The Fathers saw in these genealogies not mere historical record but the unfolding of the divine economy.

Patristic Reflection

Saint Augustine noted that these genealogies trace the City of God through history, showing how the promise given to Adam and renewed to Noah continued through Shem’s line. The specificity of years served to anchor sacred history in real time, countering any tendency toward mythologizing the faith.

Liturgical Connection

During the Nativity season, the Church reads the genealogies with great solemnity, recognizing that each ancestor participated in bearing the promise forward. The names recited in these readings become a litany of faith, each generation trusting in the coming redemption without seeing its fulfillment.

Spiritual Application

For Orthodox believers, this verse reminds us that we too are links in a chain of faith. Just as Arphaxad faithfully lived his years and transmitted life and promise to the next generation, we are called to receive the tradition handed to us and transmit it faithfully to those who follow.

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