In Gen. 10:21 it states that Japheth was the elder brother. I always thought that their birth order was a given: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Am I wrong? ~ Marilyn LaStrape
A look at an interlinear Bible illustrates that the order of words in the original biblical languages does not correspond to the ordinary order of words to express the same thing in English. This principle is true respecting Genesis 10:21. The relationship of words to each other in the biblical languages must be considered as the translating process renders verses into another language, in our case, English. Some translations, therefore, better accomplish that task in various passages than other translations. Respecting Genesis 10:21, several translations better translate it and show the correct relationship between the words in the verse. As a case in point, note the following rendition of Genesis 10:21 from the American Standard Version: “And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.” The birth order appears to be Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 7:13; 9:18; 10:1). “The true rendering is, ‘the oldest brother of Japheth'”1
1Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft) 1997.
