Noah and the Ark

Early Life and Education

The biblical Book of Genesis contains Noah’s story. According to it, when God saw that humanity had become corrupt he decided to annihilate all life on Earth through a worldwide flood. Noah was chosen as a righteous individual and instructed by Him to construct an Ark for sheltering his family and animals from destruction during this disasterous deluge. Additionally a rainbow was given as a sign from Him not to flood Earth again in future.

The Bible portrays Noah’s three sons – Shem, Japheth and Ham – as founding European, Asian and African populations respectively. In medieval times this interpretation merged with Noah’s curse to provide religious justification for slavery and racism; some modern scholars argue that its Noah story contains multiple accounts of one event.