According to Genesis, how old was Noah when he fathered his sons?

According to Genesis, Noah was 500 years old when he fathered his sons.

Genesis 5:32 states that Noah was 500 years old and then lists his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. This is a genealogical detail given before the Flood account. It should not be confused with Noah’s age of 600 when the Flood began, which Genesis gives in chapter 7.

The wording identifies the three sons together, but it does not clearly establish their exact birth order in the way modern readers might expect. Later passages mention Shem, Ham, and Japheth in different contexts, and readers should avoid treating every listed order as a precise chronological ranking.

Genesis later says Noah lived 350 years after the Flood and died at age 950. These large ages are part of the biblical primeval history and are not presented as modern demographic measurements. The key answer here is the specific age attached to the birth of Noah’s sons.