The Book of Genesis names three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis introduces these three sons before the Flood narrative and says that they entered the ark with Noah and Noah’s wife. Their wives are also included in the account, so the immediate family aboard the ark consists of Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives.
After the Flood, Genesis describes a covenant between God and Noah and then tells episodes involving Noah and his sons. The text later presents the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth as the ancestors of different peoples and nations. This genealogy occupies much of Genesis 10, often called the Table of Nations.
Some biblical passages refer to Noah’s children without always repeating all three names, and later religious traditions add interpretations about their descendants. The canonical names, however, are stable in Genesis: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They should not be confused with Noah’s father Lamech or his grandfather Methuselah, who belong to the earlier genealogy.