Bible Question:
Was Noah a Jew? If not, who was his father?
Bible Answer:
Noah was the son of Lamech according to Genesis 5:28-32. Noah was not a Jew, but He was an ancestor of the Jews.
Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. (NASB) Gen. 5:30
The table below is a chronological list of the ancient ancestors starting with Adam. The table lists the first born son and the age of the father when the son was born. The last column is the father’s age when he died. From this table we discover that Noah could have known some of the great Old Testament men who were born before him such as Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Methuselah and, of course, his father.
The chart below shows the life spans of the patriarchs listed in Genesis 5:1-32 and 11:10-32 relative to one another. The time of the universal flood that God brought upon the world (Gen. 6-8) is also shown. Since Noah was born 1,056 years after the creation and the universal flood occurred when Noah was 600 years (Genesis 7:11-12), we determine that the flood occured 1,656 years after the creation. Therefore, it is apparent that Methuselah died just before the flood started or at the beginning of the flood since he died in the 1,656 year after the creation. The flood lasted 371 days and ended in the 601st year, second month, and twenty-seventh day of Noah’s life (Gen. 8:13-14).
Abraham was one of Noah’s descendants. Abraham gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 25:19-26; 1 Chronicles 1:28) who was the father of Jacob (1 Chronicles 1:34; Matthew 1:2) who was the father of the Jews. God called Jacob Israel in Gen. 32:28. However, the Jews include Abraham as a great patriarch. From the table one can see that Noah was an ancient patriarch but not the immediate father of Jacob.
Conclusion:
When we come to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, we find that Jesus was not ashamed to consider Jacob, Abraham, Noah, or even Adam in his lineage (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). He loved us and still does, even though He is God and we are but mere dust (Ps . 103:14).
Suggested Links:
Joseph's GenealogyMary's Genealogy
Genealogical chart: Adam to Jesus