In Genesis, what were the names of Noah’s three sons who entered the Ark?

The story behind the answer

In Genesis, Noah’s three sons who entered the Ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis names these sons before the Flood narrative and later says that Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the Ark. The three names are central to the family structure of the story and recur in the genealogy that follows the Flood.

Genesis 10 presents descendants associated with Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions developed extensive interpretations of these genealogies, but those later systems should not be treated as a simple modern map of all peoples.

The sons’ names are sometimes confused with the names of Noah’s grandsons or with other patriarchal families in Genesis. They are also distinct from Noah’s wife, whose name Genesis does not provide. The biblical passage identifies the family members who boarded the vessel without supplying a personal name for Noah’s wife.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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