According to Genesis, which three sons of Noah boarded Noah’s Ark?

According to Genesis, Noah’s three sons who boarded the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis names these sons before the flood narrative and later lists them as Noah’s companions inside the ark. Each son is described as entering with his wife, so the family group associated with the ark consists of Noah, his wife, the three sons, and the sons’ wives.

The names are important beyond the flood episode because Genesis 10, often called the Table of Nations, presents descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth as ancestors of peoples and regions known to the biblical writers. This genealogical framework is a theological map of humanity in the text, not a modern scientific classification of populations.

Readers sometimes confuse Noah’s sons with other famous biblical families, such as Abraham’s descendants or Jacob’s twelve sons. Another common issue is the assumption that Noah’s wife has a personal name in Genesis; the biblical text does not provide one. Later traditions supply different names, but Shem, Ham, and Japheth are the canonical Genesis names.