Bible Question:

How did the different races came about?

Bible Answer:

The question of the origin of the various people groups is intriguing. God only created one race of people. After the Genesis flood, Noah and his sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) left the ark and started populating the world (Genesis 9:18-19). They were of the same race and skin color since they had the same parents. At the Tower of Babel, God performed a miracle. This is where different people groups, cultures and languages were started (Genesis 11:1-9). We are not sure why the people were attempting to build a tower that would “reach into heaven” (Gen. 11:4). God allowed them to start building. At a certain point He stopped them, scattered them to different parts of the world and confused their language. From the text, it is apparent that God reacted to their pride.

Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. (NASB) Genesis 11:9

People could no longer talk to one another. They were segregated by language and scattered to different parts of the world (Gen. 11:9). At this point the different people groups became a reality.  Just how the differences occurred, perhaps over time, is not detailed in scripture. God may have used sun exposure to over time bring about changes in skin tones as those who live closer to the equator tend to have darker skins.Conclusion:

It is interesting to note that scripture does not talk about people groups in term of skin color. That seems to not be important. In fact, scripture never anywhere mentions skin color. Scripture is color blind, and we should be too. One of the great sins of our time is that some of us have eyes that see skin color everywhere they look. Praise the Lord! Scripture is color blind.

Suggested Links:

Why are skin colors diferent?
Why does God allow our tall buildings but destroyed the Tower of Babel?
Will heaven be multicultural? Will it have different races?
Searching For God