The sons of Noah, or the Table of Nations - an extensive list of the descendants of Noah, described in the book "Genesis" of the Old Testament and representing traditional ethnology.
According to the Bible, God, saddened by the evil deeds that mankind is doing, sent a great flood, known as the Flood, to Earth to destroy life. But there was one man who was distinguished by virtue and righteousness, whom God decided to save along with his family so that they would continue the human race. This was the tenth and last of the antediluvian patriarchs named Noah. The ark, which he built at the direction of God to save himself from the flood, was able to accommodate his family and animals of all kinds that remained on Earth. He had three sons born before the flood.
After the water left, they settled on the lower slopes of Mount Ararat, on the north side. Noah began to cultivate the land, planted a vineyard and invented winemaking. Once the patriarch drank a lot of wine, got drunk and fell asleep. While he was lying drunk and naked in his tent, Noah's son Ham saw this and told the brothers. Shem and Japheth entered the tent, turning awayfaces, and covered the father. When Noah woke up and realized what had happened, he cursed Ham's son Canaan.
For two thousand years, this biblical story has caused many controversies. What is its meaning? Why did the patriarch curse his grandson? Most likely, it reflected the fact that at the time when it was written, the Canaanites (descendants of Canaan) were enslaved by the Israelites. During the Middle Ages, Europeans interpreted this story as saying that Ham was the ancestor of all Africans, indicating racial characteristics, in particular, dark skin. Later, the slave traders of Europe and America used the biblical story to justify their activities, allegedly Noah's son Ham and his offspring were cursed as a degenerate race. Of course, this is wrong, especially since the compilers of the Bible did not consider him or Canaan to be dark-skinned Africans.
In almost all cases, the names of Noah's descendants represent tribes and countries. Shem, Ham and Japheth represent the three largest groups of tribes that were known to the authors of the Bible. Ham is called the ancestor of the southern peoples who lived in that region of Africa that adjoined Asia. The languages they spoke were called Hamitic (Coptic, Berber, some Ethiopian).
According to the Bible, Noah's son Shem is the first-born, and he is especially honored because he is the ancestor of the Semitic peoples, including the Jews. They lived in Syria, Palestine, Chaldea, Assyria, Elam, Arabia. The languages they spoke included the following: Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Assyrian. Two years afterafter the Flood, his third son, Arfaxad, was born, whose name is mentioned in the genealogical tree of Jesus Christ.
Noah's son Japheth is the forefather of the northern peoples (in Europe and northwest Asia).
Until the mid-nineteenth century, the biblical story of the origin of nations was perceived by many as historical fact, and even today it is still believed by Orthodox Jews, some Muslims and Christians. While some believe that the table of peoples refers to the entire population of the Earth, others perceive it as a guide for local ethnic groups.
