Arpachshad | |
|---|---|
 Arpachshad, son of Shem | |
| Born | |
| Died | (aged 438) |
| Children | Selah, and other sons and daughters |
| Parent | Shem |
Arpachshad (Hebrew:אַרְפַּכְשַׁד –ʾArpaḵšaḏ, inpausaאַרְפַּכְשָׁד –ʾArpaḵšāḏ;Greek:Ἀρφαξάδ –Arphaxád), alternatively spelledArphaxad orArphacsad, was one of the five sons ofShem, the son ofNoah (Genesis 10:22, 24; 11:10-13;1 Chron. 1:17-18). His brothers wereElam,Asshur,Lud andAram; he is an ancestor ofAbraham. He is said by Gen. 11:10 to have been born two years after the Flood, when Shem was 100.
His name also appears in later books, including theGospel of Luke in theNew Testament.
According to theBook of Genesis he was one of the five sons ofShem (the son ofNoah).[1] He is the twelfth name of theGenesis genealogy that tracesAbraham's ancestry from Adam toTerah (cf.Luke 3:36–38). Beginning with Adam, nineAntediluvian names are given that predate Noah andthe Flood, and nine postdiluvian, beginning with Noah's eldest son Shem and ending withTerah.[2]
According to the text, Arpachshad's brothers wereElam,Asshur,Lud andAram. Arpachshad's son is calledSelah, except in theSeptuagint, where his son isCainan, Shelah being Arpachshad's grandson. Cainan is also identified as Arpachshad's son inLuke3:36 and in the non-canonical book ofJubilees 8:1. TheBook of Jubilees additionally identifies Arpachshad's wife asRasu'aya, the daughter ofSusan, who was the son (or daughter in some versions) of Shem's older son Elam. (Arpachshad's mother is named in this source asSedeqetelebab; for competing traditions on the name of Shem's wife seewives aboard the Ark.)
Some ancient Jewish sources, particularly Jubilees, point to Arpachshad as the immediate progenitor of Ura and Kesed, who allegedly founded the city ofUr Kasdim (Ur of the Chaldees) on the west bank of theEuphrates (Jubilees 9:4; 11:1–7) – the same bank whereUr, identified byLeonard Woolley in 1927 as Ur of the Chaldees, is located.[3]
Until Woolley's identification of Ur, Arpachshad was understood by many Jewish and Muslim scholars to be an area in northernMesopotamia. This led to the identification of Arpachshad withUrfa-Kasid (due to similarities in the namesארפ־כשד andכשדים) – a land associated with theKhaldis, whomJosephus confused with theChaldeans. Donald B. Redford asserted that Arpachshad is to be identified withBabylon.[4]
Another Arpaxad is referenced in thedeuterocanonicalBook of Judith as a king of theMedes, and if this supposed Median king is contemporary with the conquest of the Assyrians, he could be identified withPhraortes (c. 665 - 633 BC).[5] If he is contemporary withNebuchadnezzar II (named as king of the Assyrians in Judith), he might be identified withCyaxares (r. 625–585 BC).[6]
