Genesis 11:13
וַֽיְחִי אַרְפַּכְשַׁד אַֽחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת־שֶׁלַח שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים וּבָנֽוֹת׃ ס
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וַֽיְחִ֣י אַרְפַּכְשַׁ֗ד אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת־שֶׁ֔לַח שָׁלֹ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֔ים וְאַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד בָּנִ֖ים וּבָנֽוֹת׃ ס
καὶ ἔζησεν Ἀρφαξάδ μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι αὐτὸν τὸν καινὰν ἔτη τετρακόσια τριάκοντα, καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱοὺς καὶ θυγατέρας, καὶ ἀπέθανεν. Καὶ ἔζησεν καινὰν ἕκατον τριόκοντα ἴτη, κοὶ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σόλο. καὶ ἔζησεν καινὰν μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι αὐτὸν τὸν Σάλα ἔτη τριοκόσια τριάκοντα, καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱοὺς κοὶ θυγατέρας, καὶ ἀπέθανεν.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Vixitque Arphaxad, postquam genuit Sale, trecentis tribus annis: et genuit filios et filias.
Después del nacimiento de Selá, Arfaxad vivió cuatrocientos tres años más, y tuvo otros hijos e hijas.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y vivió Arphaxad, después que engendró á Sala, cuatrocientos y tres años, y engendró hijos é hijas.
And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse states that Arphaxad lived 403 years after fathering Shelah, and during that time he fathered other sons and daughters. This follows the standard genealogical formula pattern of Genesis 11.
Key words
- ya.Chi ("he lived", H2421) — qal narrative verb form, opening the formula with the sequential "and-then" structure typical of Hebrew narrative chains.
- 'a.cha.Rei ("after", H0310A) — construct form meaning "after/following," introducing the temporal clause about what happened following the birth of Shelah.
- ho.li.D ("fathered", H3205) — hiphil (causative) infinitive form of the same root used later in the verse; the causative stem indicates "causing to bear" i.e., "begetting."
- sha.Losh ("three", H7969) paired with me.'ot ("hundreds", H3967) and 'ar.Ba' ("four", H0702) — the numerical construction "three... and four hundred" that together yield the total years, following Hebrew number-word order (units before hundreds).
- i.Yo.led ("he fathered", H3205) — hiphil narrative verb form, same root as ho.li.D but now finite and sequential, marking the second begetting event (sons and daughters) as following the first.
What the text says
The Hebrew sentence divides into two parts joined by the narrative vav chain. The first part uses ya.Chi ("he lived", H2421) followed by the temporal clause 'a.cha.Rei ho.li.Do ("after his fathering", H0310A + H3205), which specifies the reference point (the birth of Shelah) from which the subsequent years are counted. The number itself is built as sha.Losh sha.Nim ("three years", H7969+H8141) ve.'ar.Ba' me.'ot sha.Nah ("and four hundred year[s]", H0702+H3967+H8141) — a sequence of units-then-hundreds distinctive to Hebrew numeral syntax, differing from the English convention of stating hundreds first.
The second clause repeats the same root y-l-d ("to bear/beget") but now in the finite narrative form i.Yo.led ("he fathered", H3205), continuing the chain of "and-then" actions characteristic of Hebrew narrative prose. The direct object marker 'et (H0853) before She.lach (H7974) marks Shelah as the definite object of the first fathering event, though this marker itself carries no independent meaning in translation.
Differences between versions
The Hebrew text gives the total as "three years and four hundred years" (403), matching the Vulgate's trecentis tribus annis ("three hundred three years")—note the Vulgate's number differs from the Hebrew total, showing 303 rather than 403. The LXX (Swete) presents a longer, structurally different passage that includes an additional generation (Cainan) not present in the Hebrew or Vulgate text, with its own set of years (130, then 330), reflecting a distinct textual tradition for this genealogical line.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.