ARPACHSHAD was, according to Genesis 10:22 , the third son of Shem, and, according to Genesis 11:10 , he was the second in the line of descent from Shem to Abraham. Genesis 10:22 is an enumeration of peoples (or countries) descended from Shem, from which Babylonia or Chaidæa is absent in the present text. The latter portion of the word furnishes Chesed (cf. Genesis 22:22 ), which is the singular form of Chasdim (Chaldees). Probably two words in the original of Genesis 10:22 were combined into one, the latter being Chesed and the former Arpach , which is a region south-west of Assyria, possibly the same as the Arrapachitis of Ptolemy. The mistaken reading in Genesis 10:22 was then taken as the basis of Genesis 11:10 ff.
J. F. McCurdy.