Chapitre V - Of Sem, Ham and Japhet
Concerning the three sons of Noah, Sem, Ham and Japhet, that the order of their nativity was according to that of numeration, and Japhet the youngest son, as most believe, as Austin and others account, the sons of Japhet and Europeans need not grant, nor will it so well concord unto the letter of the Text, and its rendiest Interpretations. For, so is it said in our Translation, Sem the father of all the sons of Heber, the brother of Japhet the cider, so by the Septuagint, and so by that of Tremellius, and therefore when the Vulgar reads it, Frtre Japhet majore, the mistake, as Junius observed, might he commaitted by negled of the Hebrew accent, which occasioned Jerom so to render it and many after to believe it. Not is that argument contemptible which is deduced from their Chronology, for probable it is, that Noah had none of them before, and begat them from that yeare when it is said he was five hundred years old and begat. Sem, Ham, and Japhet, Againe it is said he was fixe hundred years old at the flood, and that two years after Sem was but an hundred, therefore Sem must be born when Noah was five hundred and two, and some other before in the year of five hundred and one.
Now whereas the Scripture afforded the priority of order unto Sem, we cannot from thence insere his primogeniture, for un Sem the holy line was continued, and therefore however borne, his genealogy was most remarkable. So is it not unusual in holy Scirpture to nominate the younger before the leder, so is it said, That Tarah begat Abraham, Nachor, and Haram, whereas Haram was the eldest. So Rebecca is termed the mother of Jacob and Esaü. Nor is it strange the younger should be fuft in nomination, who have commonly had the priority In the bleffings of God, and been first in his benediction. So Abel was accepted before ain, Abraham the younger, preferred before Ismaël the elder, Jacob before Esaü, Joseph was the youngest of twelve, and David the eleventh son, and but the cadet of Jeffe.
Lastly, though Japhet were not elder then Sem, yet must we not affirme that he was younger then Cham, for it is plainly delivered, that after Sem and Japhet had covered Noah, he awaked, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him. Is the expression of Septuagint, Fillius minor of Jerom, and minimus of Tremellius. And upon these grounds perhaps Josephus doth vary from the Scripture enumeration, and nameth them Sem, Japhet ad cham, which is also observed by the Annian Berosus, Nech cum tribus filsis Sem, Japeto, Chem. And therefore although in the priority of Sem and Japhet there may be some difficulty, though Cyrill, Epiphanius, and Austin have accounted Sem the elder, and Salian the Annalist, and Patavius the Chronologist contend for the same, yet Chamis is more plainly confessedly named the youngest in the Text.
And this is more conformable unto the Pagm History and Gentile account hereof, unto whom Noah was Saturn, whose symbol was a Ship, as relating unto the Ark, and who is said to have divided the world between his three sons. Ham is conceived to be Jupiter, who was the youngest son, worshipped by name of Hamon, which was the Egyptain and African name for Jupiter, who is said to have cut off the genitals of his father, derived from the history of Ham, who beheld the nakedness of his, and by no hard mistake might be confirmed from the Text, as Bochartus hath well observed.
