Question:
Is it true that one of Noah’s sons was the first to be of a different race?

Answer:
The scientific definition of a race of mankind, as I understand it, is the following: A race is a population of individuals who at one time inhabited a certain geographical area, relatively isolated from other populations, and differing from other groups of people in the world with regard to certain inherited biological characteristics (such as body structure, facial features, hair form, skin color, blood type, susceptibility to certain diseases, etc.) It is quite likely that the different races of mankind developed as a result of the Lord scattering the people “upon the face of all the earth” following their self-exalting attempt to build a tower that would reach unto heaven (Genesis 11:1-9).

Scholars who have studied the names of the descendants of the three sons of Noah in Genesis 10 believe they can identify the names of Noah’s grandsons with different nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa. (For example, Mizraim, Genesis 10:6, the son of Ham, is also the Hebrew word for “Egypt.”) So when the people were scattered following the building of the tower, it is likely that they were scattered according to the families of the grandsons of Noah. Then, through being isolated from the other families and marrying only within the family for a period of time, the different families eventually became racially distinct from one another.
Perhaps the one who asked the question, or maybe other readers, may be wondering how the black race originated. In this connection I am reminded of a conversation that took place when my wife and I and two acquaintances were having lunch at a restaurant. One of the acquaintances, noticing a number of blacks in the restaurant, asked, “Where did the black people come from? The Bible says that God made man in His image, and God isn’t black.”
I replied, “You are absolutely right. God isn’t black. But God isn’t white either. `God is a Spirit’ according to John 4:24.”
Skin color in man is an inherited trait, governed by several different genes that control the production of melanin, a pigment that makes the hair and skin dark. A person who has mostly melanin-producing genes will be black, while one who has few or no such genes (or only genes that inhibit the production of melanin) will be white.
As I see it, there are three possibilities: Either (1) Adam and Eve had all white genes, and later on in human history God caused some of those genes to mutate into black (or melanin-producing) genes, or (2) Adam and Eve had all black genes and later on God caused some of those genes to mutate into white genes, or (3) Adam and Eve both were created with some black and some white genes. If a man and woman, both having some black and some white genes marry and have children, the children’s skin color may range from all white to all black, depending upon the numbers of black and white genes inherited from the two parents. (To learn more about how this can happen, find a book on genetics at your local library.)
To my knowledge, the only Biblical mention of skin color is found in Jeremiah 13:23–“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” The Hebrew word for Ethiopia is “Cush,” which is the name of one of the sons of Ham, the son of Noah. Ham may have inherited more black genes than did his brothers, Shem and Japheth. And Cush, in turn, may have inherited more black genes than his three brothers, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. Of the four sons of Ham, only Cush is identified with a race of black people. The descendants of Mizraim (the Egyptians), Phut (the Libyans) and Canaan (the Canaanites) were not black-skinned but had somewhat brownish, swarthy skin, just as is often seen even today in the people of these nations.
Those who desire further information on this topic should read an article entitled, “Blacks, Whites, and the Bible,” which appeared in the September-October 1990 issue of the periodical, Words of Truth. If you do not have access to this periodical, you may obtain a copy of the article from the publishers of IN TOUCH or from me—Paul L. Canner.