References (17)
And Noah was 500 years old.
And Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
[For the first time, the Hebr. word ben appears before the age. The phrase literally becomes: 'Noah, a son of 500 years', see also ; ; . Noah's name is also repeated here, which is unique; in previous generations, "he" is used. Here, Noah's formula is interrupted. The end is found only at the end of Noah's continued story in .]
Noah became the father of three sons:
Shem,
Cham (Ham), and
Japheth.
On this very day (literally: on the leg/power of the day) [in the middle of the day, completely open for all to see], Noah (Hebr. Noach) and his [three] sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and his three daughters-in-law had entered the ark.
[They had begun boarding seven days earlier, and now on the seventh day, when the waters began to rise, they went on board. Both animals and humans are mentioned in pairs (man/woman and male/female, see ; ; ). Polygamy existed in society, but is described in negative terms, see Lamech in .]
Noah's sons who left the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan [who was born later].
Shem and Japheth took a cloth and put it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered their father's nakedness. Both their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father's nakedness.
[What had Ham done? Seeing someone's nakedness is a Hebrew euphemism for a sexual act, see . Since says that Ham "did" something to Noah, it can be interpreted that he not only saw, but also humiliated his father in some way. Some Jewish commentators note that there is no mention of Noah having any more children, so perhaps Ham castrated him. Others have suggested a homosexual act, but different words are used in . The punishment is also very severe, which may indicate that he did not just see. At the same time, nudity is something shameful in Hebrew culture, see ; . Deliberately exposing one's parents was a serious offense, see . What suggests that he "only" saw is that the same word "see" is used about the brothers Shem and Japheth, who did not see and physically covered their father. Verses 22-23 are structured as a chiasm, where the first phrase is "and saw... his father's nakedness" and it ends with the brothers "and did not see their father's nakedness."]
And he said further, "Blessed be the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.
May God (Elohim) enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in Shem's tents, and let Canaan be their servant."
[Here comes a new "toledot unit" (the fifth of twelve in Gen.). The Hebrew word is used eleven times in Gen., see ; ; ; ; , ; , ; , ; . The chapter provides a genealogy of all the peoples of the earth. The division is not only genealogical but also geographical, linguistic, and historical, see verses 5, 20, and 31.]
This is the continued story of Noah's (Hebr. Noach) sons (their genealogy/family tree – Hebr. ),
Shem,
Ham,
and Japheth.
Sons were born to them [Noah's three sons] after the flood.
[Noah's three sons were:
Japheth – probably the eldest son, see . He was born when Noah was 500 years old, see . Shem (Sem) – probably the middle son. He was 100 years old two years after the flood, see . Since the flood came when Noah was 600 years old, he must have been born when Noah was 502 years old, and is thus two years younger than Japheth. The reason he is mentioned first in all lists, here in and in ; ; ; , is that his family tree leads to Abraham and ultimately to the Messiah, see ! Ham – the youngest son, see . How much younger he is is not stated, but he was born before the flood. In , the order was Shem, Ham, and Japheth. When their genealogy is described below in verses 2-32, the order is reversed with Japheth first (), then Ham (), and finally Shem (). This is a typical chiastic pattern in several parts, which means that the story of the Tower of Babel, see , is framed by Shem's family tree, which continues in .]
[A total of 26 descendants of Shem are mentioned. The sons of Shem ("Semites") include the Hebrews (descendants of Eber, see ), the Arameans, the Assyrians, and others. The areas they move to are mainly to the east and correspond to Mesopotamia and Arabia. The introduction to Shem is different from that of his brothers Japheth and Ham (verses 2 and 6), where it simply says "the sons of Japheth" and "the sons of Ham." Here, this part of the family tree is emphasized by the longer wording "to Shem were born children." It is through Shem, Arppacheshad, Shelach, Eber, and Peleg that Abraham will be born. Already in the introduction, Eber is emphasized as the fourth generation from Noah, the lineage that will lead to Abraham and the Messiah.]
Children were also born to Shem. Shem was the ancestor of all Eber's children [four generations ahead, see verses 24-25, the word means "to cross over" and has given rise to the word "Hebrew"] and Japheth's older brother.
[Literally, the Hebrew sentence ends with "brother Japheth older". It is possible to interpret the Hebrew adjective ha´gadol to mean "Japheth was the older brother". This is how the Greek translation Septuagint and many Jewish rabbis interpret it. Others interpret the phrase as "Japheth's older brother" and that it is Shem who is Japheth's older brother. A similar formulation is found in , where Kenaz is Caleb's younger brother. The Syriac, Latin, and many modern translations choose this interpretation. The Core Bible leans toward and , where it appears that Japheth is the eldest; see also .]
The children of Shem were:
Elam [the Elamites; east of the Tigris] and
Ashor [the Assyrians] and
Arppacheshad [the Babylonians?] and
Lod and
Aram [the Arameans; Syria].
This [verses 22-30] is the account of Shem's sons according to their families, according to their languages in their lands and in their nations. [This verse concludes and frames the passage about Shem's sons.]
[Here comes a new "toledot unit" that forms the sixth literary unit (of twelve) in Genesis.]
This is the continued story of Shem (Sem) (his genealogy/family tree – Hebr. ). [Now follow ten generations from Shem to Abram.]
When Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arppacheshad, two years after the flood [had started].
And Shem lived 500 years after he became the father of Arphaxad.
And he became the father of sons and daughters. [Shem lived to be 600 years old.]
Noah (Hebr. Noach) [his sons were] –
Shem,
Ham, and
Japheth.
The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashor [the Assyrians], Arpakshad, Lud, and Aram, as well as Uz (Hebr. Ots), Hul, Geter, and Meshech.
Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah,
son to Kenan,
son of Arphaxad,
son of Shem,
son of Noah (Noach),
son of Lamech,
