An interesting translation discrepancy appears in Genesis 10:21 on the issue of who was the oldest son of Noah, Shem, or Japheth. It’s weird how some of the modern English versions of Gen 10:21 says Shem was the older brother of Japheth, but others including the KJV say Japheth is the elder. The Hebrew text has gadol (גָּדֽוֹל) after Japheth while the NASB lexicon places it before Japheth. Which is it? A similar issue arises with Abraham and his brothers.
Continue readingTag Archives: noah
Ham’s Sin Against Noah
When most people encounter the story of Noah and Ham they usually have one view of what happened. Ham looked at Noah naked and mocked or made fun of him in some way, and Noah got angry and cursed his son, Canaan. However, the Hebrew text used phrases that are consistently used elsewhere in scripture as euphemisms for something more nefarious. This leads to other possible interpretations that reveal why the punishment for Canaan was so harsh.
Continue readingCherub and Noah’s Ark
I once read about an interesting concept concerning the Cherubs that surround God’s throne and Noah’s Ark. I don’t think it’s an important theological point but I thought it was interesting either way. Noah had three categories of animals on his Ark along with his family. Unclean land animals (carnivores, scavengers, certain kinds of herbivores), clean land animals (herbivores, with specific right anatomy), and flying creatures both clean and unclean (Genesis 7:2-3). The four Cherub can be seen in this representation.
Continue reading