Wives aboard Noah's Ark Noah's wife was one of his "own kindred" (). In the Book of Jubilees (160–150 BC) the names of the wives of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth are as follows: It adds that the three sons each built a city named after their wife. (written in the late 1st century AD) states that there were eight people on the Ark. According to the Sibylline Oracles, the wives of Shem, Ham and Japheth enjoyed fantastically long lifespans, living for centuries, while speaking prophecy to each generation they saw come and go. According to the preface of the "Oracles", the Sibyl author
Curse of Ham servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. The objective of the story may have been to justify the subject status of the Canaanites, the descendants of Ham, to the Israelites, the descendants of Shem. The narrative of the curse is replete with difficulties: It is uncertain what the precise nature of Ham's offense is. Verse 22 has been a subject of