What Does Genesis 11:13 Mean in the King James?
And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The repeated “begat” comes from yalad, the root behind “generations”: this verse shows a life continuing through what it brings forth.
THE MEANING
Arphaxad lives for 403 years after Salah is born, and sons and daughters are brought forth during that time. The verse holds lived time and generativity together: a life is counted in years and in what continues through it.
THE ROOT
הוֹלִידוֹ
holido
GROWS FROM
ילד
to bear, bring forth, or beget
The Hebrew root behind “begat” also forms תּוֹלְדוֹת (toledot), “generations” or “family line.” A single act of begetting belongs to a larger movement of life continuing through generations.
ALSO GROWS
yeled: child
יֶלֶד
The same root names both bringing forth and the child brought forth.
toledot: generations, family line
תּוֹלְדוֹת
This branch makes the link between begetting and a life carried onward explicit.
שֶׁלַח
Shelach
GROWS FROM
שלח
to send, send forth, release
Shelach, rendered “Salah” here, carries the same consonants as שָׁלַח (shalach), “send forth” or “release.” The name echoes the verse’s movement of life onward, gathering the image of being brought forth with that of being sent forth.
ALSO GROWS
shalach: send, send forth, release
שָׁלַח
The name’s consonants echo this root’s sense of life moving onward.
shilleach: send away, dismiss
שִׁלֵּחַ
This branch shows the root’s related sense of releasing something to go its way.
THE PATTERN
Life continues beyond one person through what is brought forth and passed onward.
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.THE THREAD
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:Both verses use forms of ילד (yalad), “bear” or “beget,” and repeat the phrase about sons and daughters. The shared root ties the count of years to the life brought forth within them.
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