The sons of Noah who went out from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
- BSB The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.
- NKJV Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.
- NASB Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan.
- NLT The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.)
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's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, came out of the ark, and Ham was the father of Canaan. This introduces the family from whom the nations descend.
Overview
The naming of Noah's sons sets up the table of nations and the history that follows. The note that Ham fathered Canaan prepares the reader for the curse on Canaan and Israel's later dealings with the Canaanites. From this family God will sovereignly work out His purposes, eventually bringing forth the line that leads to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 10:1Now this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
- Gen 10:6The sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
- Gen 9:25–27He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”
- Gen 9:23Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness.
- 1 Chr 1:4Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 9:18 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
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