Genesis 5:32

32. Noah was five hundred years old It is not meant that Noah had no children born to him for five centuries . Only those sons are mentioned with whom the narrative is specially concerned. Each patriarch had sons and daughters whose descendants multiplied through these centuries, but their names are lost to history. The order of age in Noah’s family is a matter of discussion. Shem is mentioned first, but it may be because he was the heir in the line of promise. Japheth, in Genesis 10:21, seems to be called the elder, but the meaning may be, “Shem, the elder brother of Japheth,” that is, older than Ham, though not older than Japheth . Ham is called the youngest in Genesis 9:24, yet the Hebrew may also be rendered younger . See Gesen . Hebrews Gram . , § 119 . From Genesis 11:10, it seems that Shem was a hundred years old two years after the flood, that is, in Noah’s six hundred and third year. He must, then, have been born in Noah’s five hundred and third year, and, as Ham was younger than he, it follows that Japheth only could have been born in Noah’s five hundredth year. Yet some understand that in Genesis 10:21, Shem is declared to be “elder” than Japheth, but this view cannot be harmonized with Genesis 11:10. Japheth is not called the eldest of the three in Genesis 10:21, but is conclusively shown to be so by the above comparison of passages. The Arabic writers represent Japheth as the eldest. Shem means name, fame; Ham means burnt, and Japheth means enlargement. Shem, the heir of Messianic hopes, the man of name, is placed first because Christ and salvation are ever first in revelation.