According to Genesis, Noah had three sons before the Flood: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 6:10 names these three sons as members of Noah’s household. They enter the Ark with Noah, Noah’s wife, and their own wives, making the family group central to the survival story in the biblical account.
The sons later receive different roles in Genesis 9 and 10. Shem, Ham, and Japheth are presented as ancestors of post-Flood peoples in the Bible’s Table of Nations. These genealogical passages are theological and literary descriptions, not modern population or genetic classifications.
A common mix-up is to count Noah’s daughters-in-law as his children. Genesis distinguishes them as the wives of his sons. The text also does not name Noah’s wife or the three sons’ wives, although later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions supply additional names that are not given in Genesis itself.