Quick Facts
Biography
Salah (שלח, Shelach, ISO 259-3 Šelḥ Hebrew word #7974 in Strong's Concordance) is an ancestor of the Israelites according to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. He is thus one of the table's “seventy names.” He is called Shelah in 1 Chronicles 1:18 and Sala (Greek word #4527 in Strong's) in the Septuagint and Luke 3:35.
In the ancestral line from Noah to Abraham, he is the son of Arpachshad (in the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch) or Cainan (in the Septuagint ) and the father of ‘Eber. The name ‘Eber for his son is the original eponym of the Hebrew people, from the root ‘abar (עבר, Hebrew word #5674 in Strong's Concordance), “to cross over.”
The Gospel of Luke and Book of Jubilees both agree with the Septuagint in making Salah the son of Cainan, adding the information that his mother was Milcah (the daughter of Madai), while his wife is named as Mu'ak, daughter of Kesed (another son of Arphachsad).
Salah's age at death is given as 433 (Masoretic), 460 (Septuagint), and 460 (Samaritan).
Henry M. Morris states that Arpachshad, Salah, and ‘Eber are listed as the most important sons since they were in the line of the promised Seed of the Woman.