Genesis 6:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

NIV: Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

NASB: And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

CSB: And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

NLT: Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

KJV: And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

NKJV: And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Noah's three sons are listed again, as they were in Genesis 5:32. Along with Noah and his wife, these men and their wives will be the only humans saved from God's judgment on the sins of humanity. Few other details are given of their lives or character. Strictly speaking, we don't know who was the oldest or youngest, or exactly how old Noah was when they were born. Genesis 5:32 gives a rough idea of Noah's age, but has every appearance of a general statement, not a specific one. Though the Bible does not say so in explicit terms, we might assume that Noah's sons also stood apart from the normal wickedness of humanity (Genesis 6:5, 8). This is mostly because they are welcomed on the ark.

The other patriarchs of Genesis chapter 5 are credited with having "many" sons and daughters. Noah is not described in this way. While the Bible does not say, directly, that these were his only three children, that is certainly likely. Noah's father Lamech died prior to the flood, and the three sons mentioned in this chapter all survive with Noah on the ark. It's possible that this was all part of God's favor on Noah: limiting the loss of his family in judgment.

Another, sadder, possibility is that Noah had other children, who are not mentioned in the Bible. The other patriarchs of Genesis chapter 5 are credited with having children at a much younger age than Noah's 500 years at the birth of these three sons. It's not impossible to think he might have had other children before Shem, Ham, and Japheth. If so, those other offspring would have been destroyed along with the rest of the evil world in the flood.

Genesis 6:9-22 begins another new section in Genesis called the ''generations of Noah.'' Because of humanity's power and wickedness, the earth had become filled with violence and sinfulness. By contrast, Noah was a righteous, blameless man who walked with God. God chooses to declare to Noah His plan to end all land-dwelling life on earth, but also to save Noah and his family and two of every animal. Noah obeys God's command to build the ark that would preserve the human race from total destruction in the flood.

God sees. In the first chapter of Genesis, God saw that all He had made was good. Now, many generations after sin entered the world, God sees that all man has made is wickedness and evil. Human beings have used their power for violence and destruction. God declares His plan to wipe out all land-dwelling life on the face of the earth. He will however, preserve humanity and animal life for a new beginning through the one righteous man, Noah, and a huge life-giving structure called an ark.

The previous chapter traced the generations from Adam through his son Seth and all of the way to Noah. This chapter reveals that Noah will be the man through whom God will preserve humanity for a new beginning after wiping out all life on the face of the earth. God tells Noah to build an enormous structure, an ark, and prepare to welcome representatives of all of the animals on earth. Noah does exactly that, setting the stage for the cataclysmic judgment of God to come in chapter 7.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.