The sons of Shem: Having listed the descendants of Noah’s sons Japheth and Ham in verses 5-16, the writer now turns to the descendants of Noah’s son Shem in verses 17-27. Nine of Shem’s sons are named, but only the descendants of Arpachshad are listed since it is through his descendants that the people of Israel come into being.
Elam, the first of Shem’s sons, was the ancestor of the Elamites, the people who inhabited Elam, the fertile region to the east of the Tigris River. The region of Elam was located in part of what is modern Iran.
Asshur was the ancestor of the Assyrians, which is why some modern versions say “Assyria” (An American Translation, Moffatt, Nouvelle Bible Segond). But it will probably be better to retain the name Asshur as a person here and indicate in a footnote that he was the ancestor of the Assyrians.
Arpachshad represents the twelfth generation of humankind. The context suggests that this name refers to a geographical region in Mesopotamia. It may have been near Babylonia, but the exact location is not known. In the Septuagint and the New Testament this name is Arphaxad, so some modern versions use that form of the name in the Old Testament also (so Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Reina-Valera revisada, Peregrino.
A few Old Testament texts associate Lud with Egypt (Jer 46.9; Ezek 30.5). The first-century Jewish historian Josephus equates Lud with the Lydians in west-central Asia Minor (Jewish Antiquities 1.144). Following this identification, Moffatt says “the Lydians.”
Aram was the ancestor of the Arameans (also called Syrians), who composed a powerful nation that struggled with Israel. They are mentioned frequently in the Old Testament (see, for example, Num 23.7; 2 Sam 8.6).
According to Gen 10.23, Aram was the father of Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech. Following one Hebrew manuscript and several Septuagint manuscripts, Revised English Bible corrects this verse to read “The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash” (similarly New International Version, La Bible du Semeur, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Versión Internacional, Osty-Trinquet, Peregrino. The words “the sons of Aram” might possibly have dropped out of the text as the eyes of the copyist jumped from the first occurrence to the second occurrence of the name Aram. Perhaps the author of 1 Chronicles or a later scribe accidentally omitted the words “the sons of Aram.” Or possibly the author was copying from a manuscript of Genesis that already had this mistake, and he thought that Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech were brothers of Aram. Perhaps the best solution is to follow the Masoretic Text, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation do, and include a footnote stating that according to Gen 10.23 Aram was the father of these four men.
Uz is the sixth son of Shem according to this verse in the Masoretic Text, but in Gen 10.23 he is the first son of Aram. Uz refers to a country in northwestern Arabia. The central character in the book of Job lived in the land of Uz (Job 1.1), but it is uncertain whether there is any relationship between Job’s homeland and the person’s name used here.
Hul is the seventh son of Shem according to this verse in the Masoretic Text, but in Gen 10.23 he is the second son of Aram. Nothing is known concerning the location of his descendants.
Gether is the eighth son of Shem according to this verse in the Masoretic Text, but in Gen 10.23 he is the third son of Aram. Almost nothing is known concerning the location of his descendants, although his association with Aram suggests a city in Syria.
Meshech is the ninth son of Shem according to this verse in the Masoretic Text, but in Gen 10.23 he is the fourth son of Aram. Nothing is known concerning the location of his descendants. The Masoretic Text reads Meshech, but the ancient Syriac and a few Hebrew manuscripts read “Mash” (the longer name has one additional consonant in Hebrew). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament states that the original name is probably “Mash,” as in Gen 10.23, and that the name Meshech probably arose here under the influence of the same name in verse 5, where Meshech is listed as a son of Japheth. But since the oldest known text for this name in 1 Chronicles is Meshech, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text. However, for reasons of translation it may be better to keep the same spelling of the name here and in Gen 10.23 (so Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .