Righteous Old Testament

Righteous Forefather Arphaxad

Also known as Arphaxad son of Shem

A patriarch of the line from Shem to Abraham.

Feast Day

December 14

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Commemorated as

The Righteous Forefather Arphaxad

Life

Arphaxad (also transliterated Arpachshad) is an Old Testament patriarch named in the Book of Genesis as one of the sons of Shem and a grandson of Noah. He is remembered in the Orthodox Church among the Holy Forefathers, the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, and is commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ. His own feast is kept on December 14.

The biblical record of Arphaxad is essentially genealogical. Genesis 10:22 lists him among the sons of Shem together with Elam, Asshur, Lud, and Aram, and Genesis 11:10-13 places him in the line of descent from Shem through his son Salah (Shelah) toward Abraham. Scripture relates that he was born two years after the Flood, and the genealogy of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 3:36) names him among the forebears of Jesus Christ. By tradition he is associated with Mesopotamia and is reckoned a forefather of the Chaldean peoples; no further narrative of his life is preserved in the sources.

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Among the Holy Forefathers

The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, observed on the Sunday that falls between December 11 and 17, commemorates the Old Testament ancestors of Christ — beginning with Adam and continuing through Seth, Enoch, Noah and his sons, and the patriarchs leading to Abraham and beyond. The Church keeps this commemoration to affirm that Christ entered history within a real human lineage. As a son of Shem standing in the line that runs from Noah to Abraham, Arphaxad is numbered among these forefathers.

Notes

Among the Holy Forefathers, commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints