Shem, Ham, and Japheth

Biblical Account

Shem, Ham, and Japheth were the three sons of Noah. Genesis 5:32 records that Noah became their father after he was five hundred years old. In Genesis 6:10 and 7:13, they enter the ark with their father and their wives and survive the Flood. Genesis 9:18–19 records that the whole earth was overspread by these three men.

After the Flood, Noah became drunk with wine and lay uncovered in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw this and told his two brothers outside. Shem and Japheth laid a garment on their shoulders, walked in backward, and covered their father (Genesis 9:20–23). When Noah awoke, he cursed not Ham but Ham's son Canaan, declaring that he would be a servant to his brethren. He then blessed the LORD God of Shem and prayed that God would enlarge Japheth and that Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem (Genesis 9:24–27).

Genesis 10 lists the descendants of the three sons. From Japheth came Gomer, Javan, and others. From Ham came Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). From Shem came Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, and others. Genesis 11:10–26 continues the genealogy from Shem to Terah and Abram, and 1 Chronicles 1 restates it. Interpretations of the brothers' birth order differ, depending on how Genesis 9:24 and 10:21 are read.

Significance Within Scripture

The genealogies of the three sons show how humanity spread across the earth again after the Flood. At the same time, they serve to narrow the focus of the narrative to Shem's descendant Abraham. The curse on Canaan is read in connection with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, which Israel would later enter. The Psalms also call Egypt "the land of Ham" (Psalm 105:23).

In the New Testament, Shem's name appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3:36. Ham and Japheth are not mentioned by name in the New Testament. 1 Peter 3:20 states that eight souls were saved in the ark, namely Noah and his wife and their three sons and their wives.

Interpretation and Debates

• Misuse of the "Curse of Ham": In the text, the one cursed is Canaan, not Ham. Nevertheless, the passage was used in the modern era to justify the enslavement of people of African descent and racial discrimination. Today most interpreters, across denominational lines, regard this use as a distortion of the text.
• The three-race theory: A scheme that makes Shem, Ham, and Japheth the ancestors of the Asian, African, and European races, respectively, became widespread. However, many point out that Genesis 10 divides the peoples after their tongues, in their lands, and in their nations, and that this division does not correspond directly to modern racial categories.
• Ham's offense: Jewish and Christian interpreters hold various views on whether Ham's wrongdoing lay in seeing his father's shame and spreading it abroad, or whether it involved something more. The text says only that he "saw" and "told."
• Japheth dwelling in the tents of Shem: In Christian tradition, Genesis 9:27 has at times been read as a prediction that the Gentiles would share in the salvation that came through the line of Shem.
• Traditions outside the text: Some Jewish traditions identify Shem with Melchizedek. In Korea, some popular books and lectures claim a link between Shem's descendant Joktan and the Korean people. Neither claim is stated directly in the biblical text.