He was no doubt familiar with antediluvian events and would have given to his generation a very direct account of the same.
Abraham was one of Shem’s most distinguished descendants. (The line of descent from Shem down to Abraham is listed in Genesis 11:10-26.) This is listed on the Bible Timeline Chart around 2004 BC. His ancestors were ordered as follows.
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| Ancestor | Age Upon Fatherhood | Age Upon Death |
| Shem | 100 | 600 |
| Arphaxad | 35 | 438 |
| Shelah | 30 | 433 |
| Eber | 34 | 464 |
| Peleg | 30 | 239 |
| Reu | 32 | 239 |
| Serug | 30 | 230 |
| Nahor | 29 | 148 |
| Terah | 70 | 205 |
| Abraham | 100 | 175 |
Abraham (then named Abram) was born in Ur of the Chaldeans in Mesopotamia when his father Terah was 70 years old. There were several generations linking Shem with Abraham. However, Shem was still alive when Abraham was born. As mentioned in Genesis 11:11, Shem lived 500 years more after the birth of Arphaxad. This overlapping of years between the two may have allowed Abraham to learn about the antediluvian events directly from one of the people who survived the flood such as Shem. This included the Genesis creation narrative, the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, as well as other notable ancestors who came before Shem. Although the construction of the Tower of Babel was mentioned before the appearance of Abraham in Genesis 11, it is not clear whether Abraham lived before, during, or after this event.
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It is clear Abram/Abraham lived after the Tower of Babel. In fact, the scattering more than likely occured at or right after Peleg. Fot is says, he was called Peleg because the earth was divided. This would put the scattering at about 101 years after the flood.
What is the possibility that shem could have been the ageless one or the king of Salem Abraham paid tribute to and the new testament refers to him as the king with no begining and no end after the order of Melchizedek
I was thingking the same but bible said clearly about Shem parents and the ages of his life.
It was said to justify Jesus being a priest without having Levite ancestry. Just as Melchizedek, the high priest of God did not. It was giving an example of another priest not of the line of Levi.
In reference to Abram knowing Shem, a disputed book ” the book of jasher” records Abram living and serving Shem for almost 40 years before going back to his fathers house and destroying his fathers idols which were also Nimrods idols . Then it goes on to Abram being thrown into a brick kiln and walking around unharmed.
The book of Jasher also records that Shem attended Sarah’s Funeral, along with Eber, Shem’s great-grandson.
If the Bible did not make reference to the Book of Jasher in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18 I would doubt its authenticity
Wait…if the calculation based on on the chart, wouldnt this mean that Seth was 560 years old when Abraham died. Thats mean he still live another 40 years after Abraham died ?
Yes, Shem outlived Abraham by some 35 years even though he was 12 generations older than Abraham. I believe he is the Melquizedec of Genesis and Hebrews.
Yes We are missng something, Abraham and Sarah had a child in their old age?
His great grandad’s were up to 5 times his age, and still having children.
What appears to be couldn’t be
Wait…if the calculation based on on the chart, wouldnt this mean that Shem was 560 years old when Abraham died. Thats mean he still live another 40 years after Abraham died ?
Shem was 600 yrs old when he died.
There is a slight possibility that Shem was living when Abram was born, but that they knew each other of had any source of relationship is improbable. Even thou they are descendants, Abram was in the east and Shem had moved to Shinar where he died. Plus Shem was 550 years older than Abram.
Exactly, àbraham and Sarah would be laughed at, they weren’t old
We are missing something soméwhere
how old was shem when abraham died
Here is my calculation:
When Abraham died, Shem was 565, Shelah 430, Eber 400.
How old was noah
There seems to be some miscalculation regarding the age of Abraham in this article.
Genesis 11:26-27 says Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
But in Genesis 11:32 says that Terah died at the age of 205 and then it says that after Terah died Abram set out for Canaan at 75. Genesis 12:4.
This means Terah must have been 130 years of age when Abram was born.
It probably means Terah became the father of three sons between the age of 70 to 130. If this Calculation is right then Shem must have been 450 years of age when Abram was born. And Abraham must have been 150 years old and Isaac must have been 50 years old, when Shem died.
There are differing viewpoints on the age of Terah when Abram was born. For example https://creationtoday.org/how-old-was-terah-when-abram-was-born%E2%80%9470-or-130/ and https://www.biblesprout.com/articles/bible/old-abrahams-father-terah/. Thank you for your thoughts and input!
Exciting to see you mentioning Gen 12:4.
That verse is key to accurately calculating the age of Terah when Abram was born.
Combine Gen 11:32 and Gen 12:4 reveals Abram was born when Terah was 130.
I suggest you google and check out the background life of Abraham from the Book of Jasher. The Book of Jasher is referred to in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. The Bookof Jasher has got valuable information about Abraham’s birth, persecution, mentorship and training in Shem’s School of Righteousness, and the call to leave for Canaan.
Not likely, you are missing something
The Greek Septuagint gives a very different time line for the ages of Shems descendants.
You can find a lot of resources on exactly what the differences are with a Google search, but we also have a short discussion at https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/bible_timelines/. Thank you.