The Patriarchs are the men from whom the Hebrews and related nations descend. By some definitions this includes Isaac, Jacob, and all their sons. The stricter definition includes Abraham and his two brothers Nahor and Haran, their ancestors in the House of Shem, the three sons of Noah (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and the ancestral line from Noah to Adam. The lives of these men form an unbroken chronological line that begins at creation and extends to the entry of Abraham into Canaan.