These are the generations: These points forward to the list of names in verses 2-29. Generations is the same word used in 2.4b, but it has the sense as used in 5.1, that is, “list of descendants,” “line of offspring.”

Sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth is here as in 6.10; 7.13.

Sons were born to them after the flood: only sons are named because the reckoning of the genealogy or line of descent is through the male line.

Translators need to pay particular attention to the translation of sons throughout this chapter. Sons in the expression “sons of Noah” refers to Noah’s immediate male offspring who were with him in the boat. Sons in sons were born to them may refer either to their immediate male offspring or, more generally, to descendants. However, after the flood tends to support the sense of immediate offspring. In sons of Japheth (verse 2) the names of the sons refer on the one hand to the literal meaning, and on the other to ethnic groups or nations that are referred to by these names throughout the Old Testament. In verse 5 sons of Japheth refers to peoples, tribes, or nations speaking different languages (see comments on Gen 10.5 for this expression.)

Translators handle this problem in various ways. Some translate sons in each of the above passages with a term meaning immediate male offspring. (In some languages “sons” may also carry the extended sense of “descendants.”) Others translate with a term meaning immediate male offspring in verses 1a and 1b, but in verse 2a translate sons of Japheth as “descendants of Japheth.”

Good News Translation attempts to deal with the double meaning of sons in verses 2, 6, 15, and 22 by translating “sons of…,” and after the last-named person adding “were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names.” In this way these “sons” are identified as the first in the line of descent that eventually gave rise to a tribe, ethnic group, or nation known by the name of their ancestor. Translators may need to consider doing something similar.

As an example of the Good News Translation approach, which tries to translate according to the meaning in each context, one translation proceeds as follows:
In verse 2 the text begins “The children of Japhet are as follows:….”
After the names of the children comes this statement: “And the people who have these names [today] are their descendants.”
In verses 3 and 4 the text begins “Those who were descended from Gomer [or Javan] are as follows:….”
The text then continues to give the list, “The people of Ashkenaz, the people of….”

After the flood is the starting point for repopulating the earth. In some languages it will be desirable to place this information first. For example, Bible en français courant translates “After the great flood, the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, had sons. Here is the list of their descendants:….” In some languages it may be preferable to say “After the flood the sons of Noah, who were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, had their own sons. This is a list of their descendants:….” Bible en français courant has a footnote, “This list of Noah’s descendants classifies the people known at that time by ethnic and geographical groupings.” A note in New Jerusalem Bible says in part “The principle behind the classification is not so much racial affinity as historical and geographical relationships.”

In some languages the opening in verse 1 may require some restructuring to take the form that normally introduces a list. For example, it may be necessary to begin “Noah had three sons whose names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood they all had sons. Here is a list of the names of their descendants:…” or “… a list of the peoples who bore their names:….”

For the writing of Hebrew names, see “Names in Genesis” in “Translating Genesis,” page 8.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .