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1 Chronicles 1:4

Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
1 Chronicles 1:4 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
  • KJV Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
  • BSB The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
  • NKJV Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
  • NLT and Noah. The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Noah and his three sons stand at the hinge of history, the family through whom the whole human race was renewed after the flood.

Overview

With Noah, God preserved humanity through the waters of judgment, and from Shem, Ham, and Japheth the post-flood nations descend (Genesis 9-10). The Chronicler highlights this fresh beginning, showing that God's purposes survive even global judgment. Noah's deliverance through water foreshadows the salvation God brings to His people, a pattern the New Testament connects to baptism and Christ (1 Peter 3:20-21).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Gen 5:32Noah was five hundred years old, then Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
  • Gen 9:18The sons of Noah who went out from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.
  • Ezek 14:14though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord Yahweh.
  • Luke 17:26As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.
  • Gen 6:8–10But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.
  • Heb 11:7By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
  • Isa 54:9–10“For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
  • Luke 3:36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
  • 2 Pet 2:5and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;
  • Gen 7:1Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.
  • Matt 24:37–38“As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
  • Gen 9:29All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Chronicles videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Chronicles 1:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 ChroniclesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.

How 1 Chronicles 1:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.