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No.22.
"Abraham, The Hebrew."
pp. 125 - 129
When Noah and his family stepped out from the Ark, they stepped out into a world
that was empty and devoid of life, a miniature of the condition `without form and void'
that prevailed after the flood of Gen. 1: 2, and to them the words uttered at the creation
of Adam were repeated:
"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 9: 1).
The dominion given to Adam was passed on to Noah in modified terms, and instead of
the sun, moon and stars being indicated as `signs' (Heb. oth) the rainbow was appointed
for a `token' (Heb. oth). This is another feature that we must remember, namely the
changed `tokens' that accompany the dispensational changes that mark the onward story
of the Seed. If the Seed is to continue, it must of necessity come through Noah and one
of his sons. The blessing pronounced in Gen. 9: 26, 27 indicates that the choice fell
upon Shem.
"Blessed be the Lord God of Shem . . . . . He shall dwell in the tents of Shem."
Japheth was the eldest brother (Gen. 10: 21; I Chron. 1: 5) but grace seldom
recognizes any precedence in the flesh. Consequently we find the generations of Shem
lead on to Terah and so to Abraham (Gen. 11: 10-32).
"Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the
elder, even to him were children born" (Gen. 10: 21).
The additional note "the father of all the children of Eber" calls for attention. No such
clause follows the reference either to Japheth or to Ham. Moreover, we observe that Eber
himself is not mentioned again until verse twenty-four. Shem had five sons, and Eber is
the descendant of Arphaxad, the third of those that are named in Gen. 10: 22. Now Eber
had two sons, Peleg, so named because in his day the earth was divided, and Joktan.
Joktan's descendants are here named, but Peleg's descendants are reserved until the
generations of Shem are given in Gen. 11: 10, where Joktan finds no place. The line of
the Seed therefore from Noah, runs as follows: Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Eber, Peleg and
so on to Terah, the father of Abram.
The record of Gen. 10: is the record of the Nations, and the words "By these were the
nations divided in the earth" show that the settlement of the nations and the lands
inhabited by them is the important theme. It is the descendants of Joktan and their lands
that is recorded in Gen. 10:, whereas, in Gen. 11:, Joktan is omitted and the generations
of Peleg are given in detail. This proves to be of the utmost importance, for this is the
line of the true seed. Our attention therefore is called to the fact that the line of Joktan
does not exhaust the descendants of Shem. The two names Eber and Peleg demand our
attention. The Hebrew name Eber means `beyond', and occurs in such phrases as