How do you know that Ham was the youngest son?<\/p>\n\t
“So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him<\/em>” (Genesis 9:24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The word “younger,” or “youngest,” depending on your translation, comes from the Hebrew word qatan<\/em>. It is an adjective which can be translated as “small,” “insignificant,” or “young.” Typically, it is used to compare two people’s ages and identify which one is younger. When used in a comparison of more than two items, it functions as a superlative to identify the youngest (or smallest, or least significant) of all being compared.<\/p>\n
Since there are three sons, the word\u00a0qatan<\/em> means Ham is the youngest of the three. A similar example is found in I Samuel 16:11 and 17:14, where David is identified as the youngest of Jesse’s sons.<\/p>\n
This causes problems because it is typically understood that children are listed in birth order, yet the three sons are always listed as “Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Noah was 500 years old when he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 5:32). It is likely listed this way because Noah had his sons in quick succession. Noah was 600 years old when the Flood began (Genesis 7:6). He was 601 when the Flood ended (Genesis 8:13). Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had his first son (Genesis 11:10). This would mean that Shem was born when Noah was 503. Since Ham is the youngest, this leaves Japheth as the eldest if Noah had his first child at the age of 500.<\/p>\n
What is also interesting is that the Bible states that Japheth was the eldest brother. “And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder<\/em>” (Genesis 10:21). Unfortunately, the phrase is ambiguous in Hebrew and could be translated as “Shem, the eldest brother of Japheth.” You’ll find translations split fairly evenly as to which way it should be translated. But given Shem’s age when his first son was born, it is more likely that “the brother of Japheth the elder<\/em>” is the correct translation.<\/p>\n
In both Genesis 10:1-2 and I Chronicles 1:4-5, after listing the three sons, it is Japheth’s descendants who are first broken down in the following generations; another indication that he is the eldest. But in those lists, Ham’s descendants are listed second and Shem’s third.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we must conclude that while the Bible tends to list children in birth order, it is not a hard-and-fast rule that can always be counted upon.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: How do you know that Ham was the youngest son? Answer: “So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him” (Genesis 9:24). The word “younger,” or “youngest,” depending on your translation, comes from the Hebrew word qatan. It is an adjective which can be translated as “small,”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[556,189,905],"class_list":["post-20128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-genealogy","tag-genesis","tag-noah"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-long-did-noah-build-the-ark-before-his-sons-were-born\/","url_meta":{"origin":20128,"position":0},"title":"How long did Noah build the ark before his sons were born?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How long did Noah build the ark before his sons were born? Answer: In Genesis 5:32, we are told that Noah was 500 when his sons were born. In Genesis 6:3, God said He would destroy mankind in 120 years. Since this was in Noah's records, Genesis 6:9 being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36026,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-noah-curse-hams-child-just-because-ham-saw-noah-naked\/","url_meta":{"origin":20128,"position":1},"title":"Why did Noah curse Ham’s child just because Ham saw Noah naked?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I could not understand why Noah issued a curse on Ham just because Ham saw Noah naked in Genesis 9:22-27. Q1. Was there a law of the land regarding seeing someone naked and Ham did not follow it? Q2. What's wrong with Ham telling his brothers? (If I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17691,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-canaan-punished-for-his-fathers-indiscretion\/","url_meta":{"origin":20128,"position":2},"title":"Why was Canaan punished for his father’s indiscretion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the book of Genesis, why was Canaan punished for his father's indiscretion? It was Ham who was laughing and making shameful comments about Noah, not his son. It seems that God has a way of punishing future generations for mistakes made by the ancestors. Eve's mistake was punished\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25452,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-earth-populated-by-noahs-sons-and-daughters-and-their-children-married-each-other\/","url_meta":{"origin":20128,"position":3},"title":"Was the earth populated by Noah’s sons and daughters and their children married each other?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! My question is: Was the earth populated by Noah's sons and daughters and their children married each other? Answer: Only eight people were saved during the Flood (II Peter 3:20). \"So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26940,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-wasnt-noah-condemned-for-getting-drunk\/","url_meta":{"origin":20128,"position":4},"title":"Why wasn’t Noah condemned for getting drunk?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why was Noah never condemned by God for becoming drunk and committing the sin of incest?\u00a0 And God used him to build the ark. Answer: You're mixing events. Noah was a righteous man (Genesis 7:1). He was saved when he obeyed God and built an ark. But it wasn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-spoiling-my-youngest-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":20128,"position":5},"title":"Am I spoiling my youngest children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am nearly sixty and a widower. My wife gave birth early to a set of twins, but she didn't survive the delivery. I was left with children ranging from 10 years of age to sickly premeies. The twins survived and will be 13 soon. 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