Did Noah Have Triplets?
(Were Noah’s Sons Born When He Was 500 As Genesis 5:32 Says Or Not—As Stated In Genesis 7:6 And Genesis 11:10?)
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, May 21, 2025
The Bible indicates that Noah, as an overall statement, had three sons prior to the Flood (Genesis 6:10). Reading further, reveals that Noah’s sons are not all the same age—hence they were not triplets. Let’s first begin with Genesis 5:32[1]:
Genesis 5:32
And Noah was 500 years old; then Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
This indicates that Noah was 500 or just over when he began having children—obviously with his first son was born. A listing wasn’t always an indication of ages but that Noah began having children when He was 500 (Genesis 11:26). The listing of children often started with most significant one (through Shem we receive the blessing of Christ). We know the relative ages of Noah’s sons from Genesis 10:21 and Genesis 9:24.
Genesis 10:21
And Shem, whose brother Japheth is the eldest, fathered sons; and Shem is the
ancestor of all the children of Eber.
Genesis 9: 24
And Noah woke from his wine, and discovered how his youngest son had mistreated
him.
Genesis 10:21 indicates that Japheth was the oldest and was born when Noah was 500 years old. Ham is the youngest as indicated in Genesis 9:24, after Ham’s inappropriate actions directed about his father.
Therefore, Shem had to be born in between Japheth and Ham. Shem wasn’t born as a triplet or twin of Japheth when Noah was 500 because of Genesis 7:6 and Genesis 11:10.
Genesis 7:6
And Noah was 600 years old when the waters of the Flood came on the earth.
Genesis 11:10
The generations of Shem: two years after the Flood, Shem was 100 years
old and fathered Arphaxad.
So, Noah was 600 when the floodwaters came on the earth and two years later Shem was 100. Therefore, Shem had to be born to Noah when he was 502. We are not sure of Ham’s exact age in Scripture but he had to be born after Shem, hence after Noah was 500 years. There is no contradiction here, just more information to allow more precise details regarding Noah’s sons.
Originally here: https://answersingenesis.org/contradictions-in-the-bible/my-three-sons/; Edited; republished by permission.
