I am someone who is fascinated by little facts.
In my reading I always wonder about little things. Like which son was born first? Sometimes it is apparent. Other times it has to be gleaned.
I have been reading in my Bible lately about Noah and his sons. Which one was the oldest? We assume it was Shem since he was listed first. But I found a couple of verses which lead me to believe, that Japheth was the oldest followed by Shem and then Ham.
Genesis 6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Here we find that Ham was the youngest.
Genesis 9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
OK so what about Shem and Japheth. Japheth was older than Shem.
Genesis 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
Just some speculation, but I think it is pretty interesting.
Gary
Gary, I believe you have arrived at the correct conclusion!
Remember this also - the Lord rarely uses the firstborn.
It was Abel - not Cain
It was Jacob - not Esau
It was Moses - not Aaron (Aaron was 3 years older than Moses!)
It was Isaac - not Ishmael
I believe that the birthorder for Noah's children is Japheth, Shem, Ham.
Good observation!
Thank you Pastor. I truly appreciate it.
I had also thought of the not using the first born as well. Nice to know I am not thinking wrong.
I have done more thinking about it and I think the correct birth order might be Japheth, Ham and then Shem. According to how their descendants are recorded in Chapter 10.
My theory about younger and elder still works. "Noah knew what his younger son had done" younger not youngest. And Japheth would still have been Shem's elder brother in either theory.
Wow talk about muddying the waters.
These are fascinating insights. I always figured it was Japheth, Shem, and Ham, but I never caught the thing about God not using the firstborn. That is very interesting, and very revealing.
I'm trying not to play up the racial implications of the three sons, although I do believe (as do most Bible students, as opposed to "Bible scholars") that the races came from the three sons. I'm not trying to be politically correct, but neither do I want to repeat the historical mistakes made by our Christian forefathers (like slavery).
I mention this because of the role of Ham as the youngest brother. If he was the progenitor of the Negroid race, it explains quite a bit. Not just the curse, but also the pattern of history. I am sorry to say it, but as an honest student of history, I must say it: the Negroid race, as a whole, has been a drain and a burden to the other races (primarily the Caucasian) throughout history. Ham's older brothers have to take care of him, because, for some reason, he either can't or won't take care of himself.
The evidence is everywhere, and I won't recount it. But who constitutes the overwhelming majority of welfare recipients in the United States? Who constitutes the greatest proportion of the prison populations? And why is Africa, the most naturally rich continent on earth, a wilderness of poverty and failure - - - except for the countries briefly run by Japheth, such as Rhodesia and South Africa?
Japheth takes care of his little brother. Shem doesn't seem to feel the burden, for various reasons. Right now, China and Japan are pouring money into Africa, but that's a very recent development, and they're doing it for less than altruistic reasons.
This says nothing about blacks as individuals. I have lived with blacks most of my life, and there was a time when most of my closest Christian brothers were black - - - and they supported me, in prayer and fellowship. But regarding races, history speaks for itself.
