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the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
Luke 3:36 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
  • BSB the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
  • NKJV the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
  • NASB the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
  • NLT Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The line passes through Shem and Noah, survivors of the flood. Jesus descends from those God preserved through judgment.

Overview

Luke names Shem and Noah, through whom humanity continued after the flood. This places Jesus in the line of God's saving preservation of a remnant. The God who rescued Noah ultimately brings the Savior of the world through that same line.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Gen 10:21–22Children were also born to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth.
  • Gen 5:28–32Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, then became the father of a son.
  • Gen 9:1God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth.
  • Gen 9:26–27He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.
  • 2 Pet 2:5and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;
  • Gen 6:22Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.
  • Luke 17:27They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
  • 1 Pet 3:20who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
  • Gen 6:8–10But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.
  • Gen 8:1God remembered Noah, all the animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ship; and God made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters subsided.
  • Gen 11:10–26This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood.
  • Gen 7:13In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth — the sons of Noah — and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship —
  • Gen 7:23Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.
  • Heb 11:7By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
  • 1 Chr 1:17The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
  • Ezek 14:14though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord Yahweh.
  • Gen 9:18The sons of Noah who went out from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 3:36YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 3:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.