Genesis 10:21 - Meaning and Application

Two things stand out in this account of Shem’s descendants.

Shem is described in Genesis 10:21 in a special way. We are told not only his name, which means “name,” but also two titles that help identify him. First, he is called the father of all the children of Eber. Eber was his great-grandson, but this title likely points to Abraham and his descendants, God’s covenant people, who came from Eber and were later called Hebrews (Genesis 14:13). Paul even thought it was a honor to say he was “a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). Eber may have been especially faithful in a time of widespread rebellion against God, and he may have kept the true language in his family after Babel as a sign of God’s favor. So when Scripture gives Shem a title of honor, it calls him the father of the Hebrews. Though they were later a poor and despised people, even slaves in Egypt, it was still a great honor to belong to them, because they were God’s people. In the same way, Ham, though he had many sons, is remembered as the father of Canaan, on whose line the curse rested (Genesis 9:22). Shem, though he also had many sons, is honored as the father of Eber, on whose line the blessing rested. A family of holy people is more truly honorable than a family of nobles. Shem’s holy line was greater than Ham’s royal line, and Jacob’s twelve patriarchs were greater than Ishmael’s twelve princes (Genesis 17:20). Goodness is true greatness.

Second, Shem is called the brother of Japheth the older. This shows that Japheth was Noah’s firstborn, even though Shem is often named first. This detail is also important because it points ahead to the joining of Jews and Gentiles in the church. The writer has already shown Shem’s honor by connecting him with the Hebrews, but he also reminds us that Japheth was his brother, not only by birth but also by blessing, because Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem. Those are the truest brothers who are joined by grace and meet together in God’s covenant and in the fellowship of his people. God does not give his grace based on age order, because the younger sometimes enters the church before the older. The last are first, and the first are last.

The reason for Peleg’s name is also important. In Genesis 10:25, we are told that in his days the earth was divided. This likely means either that Noah divided the land among his descendants in an orderly way, or that God divided them by confusing their language when they refused to keep the arrangement. Whatever the exact event was, faithful Eber wanted to preserve its memory in his son’s name. And we may fittingly use the same name in another sense, because in our own day the church is sadly divided.