In the biblical Noah's Ark story, Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis names these three sons immediately before describing the Flood and the ark. Each son entered the ark with his wife, preserving Noah's immediate family through the catastrophe. The sons later become important figures in the biblical account of humanity's repopulation after the waters recede.
Readers sometimes confuse Noah's sons with the number of people aboard the ark. Genesis 7:13 identifies Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons' wives, making eight people altogether. The three sons are also associated with genealogical traditions that trace different peoples to their descendants.
The names Shem, Ham, and Japheth appear together in Genesis and in later biblical genealogies. Their presence is central to the story's family structure, rather than being an incidental detail about the passengers.