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Answer
Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, before God sent a flood to destroy the world. “And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” (Genesis 5:32). Whenever the names of Noah’s three sons are mentioned, Shem is always listed first (e.g., Genesis 9:18; Genesis 10:2,21), even though Shem was the second-born (the Bible often lists people based on prominence rather than age). Japheth was the eldest, “Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.” (Genesis 10:21), and Ham was the youngest, “And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.” (Genesis 9:24).
Japheth was born when Noah was 500 years old, and the flood came 100 years later (Genesis 7:6-7). Since Shem was 100 two years after the flood, “These are the generations of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood.” (Genesis 11:10), he must have been born when Noah was 502 years old. There is no record of when Ham was born other than the fact that he was born sometime after Shem, “And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.” (Genesis 9:24).
“Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.” (Genesis 10:21).
Eber” «Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. », (Genesis 10:21), and this is significant because the word Eber is the origin of the Hebrew term for “Hebrew.” The term Shem means “name,” suggesting that Noah anticipated this son’s name to become renowned. He was correct— the terms Semitic and Semite are derived from Shem’s name. The Bible documents that Shem had five sons: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram «The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. », (Genesis 10:22). Shem lived to be 600 years old (Genesis 11:10-11) and became the forefather of the Semitic peoples (Genesis 10:1,21-31). Abraham, a descendant of Shem, is the first individual in the Bible referred to as a “Hebrew” «And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. », (Genesis 14:13).
Noah blessed Shem above his brothers (Genesis 9:26-27), and it was through Shem that the promised seed destined to crush Satan came «and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. », (Genesis 3:15). That seed is traced back to Adam’s son Seth (Genesis 5:1-32).Genesis 5:1-32), through Shem, and on to Abraham, Judah, and David, leading all the way to Christ «who was the son of Cainan, who was the son of Arphaxad, who was the son of Shem, who was the son of Noah, who was the son of Lamech, », (Luke 3:36).
Shem’s son Elam was the father of the Elamites, who later settled east of Mesopotamia. Shem’s son Ashur, whose name is related to the word Assyria, is most likely the father of those who settled the ancient region of Assyria «And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goes toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. », (Genesis 2:14). Arphaxad is thought by many scholars to be a compound form of the Hebrew word for “Chaldea,” which was a region in southern Mesopotamia (Genesis 11:10-13). It was through Arphaxad that Eber came. Scholars believe that the descendants of Shem’s son Lud became known as the Lydians of Asia Minor. And Aram is identified by Bible scholars with the area northeast of the Promised Land, known today as Syria «At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. », (cf: 2 Kings 16:6). The sons of Aram are listed in Genesis 10:23. Of Aram’s sons, Uz is later referred to in the book of Job «There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. », (Job 1:1).
Noah’s firstborn son, Japheth, is listed as the father of Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras «The sSons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.” (Genesis 10:2). Their descendants became the people who lived to the north and west of Israel and, after Babel, spoke what are now classified as Indo-European languages.
In blessing his son Japheth, Noah said, “May God extend Japheth’s territory; / may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, / and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth” “God shall enlarge Japheth, And he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; And Canaan shall be his servant.” (Genesis 9:27). There are two schools of thought regarding the meaning of this prophecy about Japheth.
Some scholars believe that the enlargement of Japheth’s territory refers to a significant increase in his descendants. The statement “may Japheth live in the tents of Shem” implies that Japheth will partake in the blessings of Shem. According to this interpretation, there would come a time when God primarily worked with Shem (the people of Israel), but later Japheth would be connected with the faith of Israel to share in Israel’s blessings. A similar prophecy is seen in the Abrahamic Covenant, where God promises to bless all nations through Abraham’s seed “and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3). The fulfillment is realized in Christ and in the gospel reaching the Gentiles at the beginning of the church (Acts 15:7;Romans 15:16;Galatians 2:2). Other scholars suggest that the extension of Japheth’s territory refers to territorial expansion, and living “in the tents of Shem” signifies the conquest.
Most of the Semites’ territory was taken over by Japhethites. According to this perspective, the realization of this prophecy was seen in the Greek and Roman conquests of Israel.
Ham, the youngest of Noah’s three sons, had four sons: Cush, Mizraim (Hebrew for “Egypt”), Put, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6;1 Chronicles 1:8). Egypt was later referred to as the “land of Ham” (Psalm 78:51;Psalm 105:23;Psalm 106:22). The descendants of Ham are depicted in Genesis 10:6–20 as evolving into a godless and worldly authority. The land of Israel was allotted to Ham’s son, Canaan, and remained under Egyptian dominion for many years. Ham is the progenitor of the Arabians, Canaanites, and Africans, which includes the Egyptians. As a consequence of Ham’s transgression against his father (Genesis 9:20-25), Noah cursed Canaan, proclaiming that Canaan would serve Shem «And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; And Canaan shall be his servant. », (Genesis 9:26). This curse was fulfilled centuries later when the Israelites entered Canaan and subjugated its inhabitants (1 Kings 9:20-21).
