Origination of the Races

Q: Where did the different races come from and do we know if Adam and Eve were white?

A: First of all, it may surprise you, but we do not know that Adam and Eve were white. We probably think so because the pictures of them have mostly been drawn by white people and they thought of them in their own image. Many who study the Bible and believe it actually think Adam was red. For one thing, he was made from the dust of the ground and it is often red. For another thing, the word Adam in the Hebrew language (where his name comes from) means red. Adam very likely looked more like an native American Indian than a white man. Now, as to where the races came from, the Bible gives much help. All the families of the earth go back to Noah and his family at the time when they were preserved on the ark and everyone else was destroyed by the flood. Noah had three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Their family genealogy is given in Genesis 10. If we study the nations that came from them and the directions they went, we can learn about the races. The children of Ham went to Africa or to the regions of the Middle East close to Africa. From him came most of the black races. The children of Shem went to the Middle East and into Asia. They became the Asian races. The children of Japheth went mostly toward Europe. They became the white races. Of course, people have intermarried many times over the centuries and there is probably nothing close to a pure line for anyone. Finally, you may wonder how the different races came from one family. Of that we are not told. Perhaps the mixed genes were found in Noah and Mrs. Noah and their three sons were clearly of different races. Or perhaps this came later. We just do not know. But thank you for this excellent question. I hope this helps.

Pastor David Reagan

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