Genesis says Noah had three sons before the Flood.
Genesis names Noah’s sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The three men enter the ark with Noah, Noah’s wife, and their wives, making them part of the family group preserved in the Flood narrative. Genesis introduces the sons before describing the ark’s construction and the coming judgment.
The number three is distinct from the number of people aboard the ark. Genesis describes eight people in total: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and the three wives of his sons. Thus, three is the count of Noah’s sons, not the count of surviving humans.
Later biblical genealogies associate the post-Flood nations with Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The text presents them as the next generation of Noah’s family, although the genealogical lists and later interpretations differ in how they map peoples and regions to each son. The answer to this question remains the straightforward count given in Genesis.