Noach (parsha) and seventh readings (, "aliyot"). In the first reading (, "aliyah"), the Torah writes that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his age, who walked with God (in one many of His original translated names). Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God saw that all flesh on earth had become corrupt and lawless. The first closed portion (, "setumah") ends here. In the continuation of the reading, God told Noah that God had decided to bring a flood to destroy all flesh. God directed Noah to make an ark of gopher wood and cover it with pitch
Shem 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity to have yielded different English translations. The verse is translated in the King James Version as: "Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born." However, the New American Standard Bible gives: "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born". According to Genesis 10:22-31 ("Jewish Publication Society Translation" of 1917): Genesis 11:10 records that Shem was 100 years old