Expert: Scott Talbot - 1/3/2009

Question
If everyone died in the flood except those on the Ark, where did all the different nationalities/ethnicities come from?

Answer
Hi Marcelle,

It's nice to hear from you.

You asked where all the various nationalities and ethnicities came from after the Great Noahic Flood. The came from the families of Ham, Shem, and Japheth, Noah's sons.

You might wonder how such a vast diversity of colors, shapes, sizes, and cultures could arise from just one family. Let me use an anology that may help to illustrate.

Did you know that all dogs are related to one common ancestor--the wolf? There are both natural and human process that have resulted in the diverse range of animals belonging to the dog family--from St. Bernard to the Chihuahua, from the greyound to the bulldog. These are all related to the wolf.

So it is with the human race. From one family came descendants. Depending on who married whom, certain characteristics became more predominant in certain lines. Over many years, noticeable differences developed with regards to color of skin, color of hair, color of eyes, height, build, size and shape of certain facial features, hair characteristics (straight, wavy, curly), etc.

When two people with similar physical characteristics have children, those physical characteristics are magnifying in immediate and subsequent generations.

So, just as both the Golden Retriever and the Miniature Dachshund both descended from the wolf, so every person of every race and ethnicity has descended from Noah through one of his three sons--Ham, Shem, or Japheth.

For further reading, you might want to check out the following web sites:

http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGham.htm

http://www.geocities.com/gngerald/Races.html

Scott