Starting from Genesis 9:18, Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth emerge from the ark marking the beginning of a new era in human history.
Nevertheless, in short order we will soon see that man remains just as susceptible to falling into trouble and committing evil as he was before the flood.
We’re told that Noah planted a vineyard, made some wine and then drunk himself into a serious stupor.
He then made his way back to his tent where he fell asleep sprawled out completely naked.
Next, the Scriptures tell us that “Ham the father of Canaan saw Noah’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside“.
In response, the two brothers took a cloak, walked backwards into the tent so that they wouldn’t see their father’s nakedness and then covered him up.
When Noah awoke, he realized what Ham had done to him and pronounced the following curse:
“Cursed be Canaan, the lowliest slave shall he be to his brothers!”
The first question that arises is what in the world did Ham do to his father Noah?
Well, I can do know better than to quote the great Jewish Bible scholar Robert Alter.
Here is his take on the matter:
“No one has ever figured out what exactly what it is that Ham does to Noah.”
There you go.
Nobody knows.
Nevertheless, theories abound.
Some suggest that Ham possibly castrated Noah.
Others suggest that he “penetrated” him sexually and so on.
I think it’s important to remind ourselves that the Bible is a record of God’s interactions with a certain portion and culture of the human race at a particular point of time in history.
When we superimpose our modern day thoughts onto the Scriptures which took place in a culture completely foreign to our own, it’s inevitable that misinterpretations are going to arise.
In this case, we’re dealing with an ancient middle eastern culture.
In such a culture, it’s entirely possible that the mere viewing of a father’s nakedness was a horrific taboo.
Ham’s failure to turn his eyes away from his father’s nakedness in and of itself could have earned him the curse that was pronounced upon him.
First, why didn’t Ham cover up his father’s nakedness himself?
Why did he go “tattle on him”?
I wonder what exactly he said to his brothers?
Maybe something like this: “Hey guys! You won’t believe what I saw! Pop is drunk out of his mind, sprawled out butt naked in his tent.”
Talking about your father’s nakedness to others is just downright disrespectful.
Ham seems to have been guilty of two sins.
One, he did not honor his father.
Two, he committed what in Hebrew is know as LASHON HARA which means to speak evil or gossip about someone.
The second question that confronts us is why was Ham’s son Canaan cursed and not Ham himself?
Again, I think we are dealing with an ancient middle eastern mindset whereby not just that person but also his ancestors are viewed as a collective whole.
Biblically speaking, having a curse placed on just one individual would not be particularly efficacious as it would end at the death of that person.
The Bible says that a curse was placed on all of Ham’s descendants.
However, the reason that Canaan was targeted is because more than any other descendant of Ham, it will be Canaan who will be most directly involved with Israel.
So Noah’s two other sons did the right and proper thing in averting their eyes from their father’s nakedness.
They treated Noah with the proper respect and as a result earned his blessings, the contents of which we will examine carefully in a future post.
so the curse will exist till thy kingdom come ?
Hi there and thanks for reading. Good question. My answer would be that the blessings and curses Noah placed on his sons remain until the end of history. But, and this is a big but, even if one is born into the cursed line of Ham, through faith in Messiah Yeshua, one can be grafted into the blessed line of Shem. And of course, the opposite is also possible. Many Arabs today who are born from the line of Shem have decided to cast their lot with the cursed line of Ham by choosing to identify with the ancient Philistines. For more on this, check out my other post here: https://messianic-revolution.com/9-5-depressed-ethnicity-comes-line-ham/
you are not being truthful and that is why racism is so prevalent and black people are treated so badly. Canaan was cursed because he was the fourth child of Ham. Uncover nakedness means that he walked in on his mother and father having sex. This act of Ham actually prevented Noah from having a fourth son. so who would be cursed in Hams lineage, his fourth son.
Here is the answer. In chapters before we find illicit sex when Sons of God wanted to have sex with human females. Although Ham was mentioned in the middle of Noah’s sons does not mean he is the middle Genesis 9:24 is so explicite to say that Ham is actually the youngest. Just because the text says saw and not uncover nakedness like Leviticus 18 does not mean a sex act did not take place. If I uncover or see a woman’s nakedness in both I am able to see her naked body. It certainly is a sex act on both. Here the one you’ve been waiting for here is the answer: Ham saw or had sex with Noah wife. Noah cursed the pregnancy of Ham which is Cannan his 4th child. Ham had sex with Noah wife (illicit sex) and that why the grave curse is in order. Merely looking at it is too drastic. Only the act of sex and the child out of the act would merit that kind of curse
Where did the bible say what you just said? You cannot interpret something not written in the Bible by blind guessing and assumption without considering the period of time and culture back in the ancient days God has not explained everything. But we can know many things, not everything, from the ways of humans. The Mid-east by and large is part of the greater Asia. Asians by and large till this day are very conservative and traditional as very similar to what the author of this article talked about. I’m from the East, and I can quickly comprehend what this author writes about. There are many clues for us to see the world today by common knowledge and common sense. You look around, which country where people often display their nakedness like a piece of cake? Africa! Africans are the people by and large that until now the 21st century still vividly display their nakedness with great joy! That is not of God’s design, God clothed Adam and Eve ever since they understood sins. A cultural practice contrary to God’s culture is not something to be proud of. Should they be excused for their Primitive Ignorant behavior and absent of human conscience of morality? The woke people and Hollywood say yes, but I bet God would say NO. On the other hand, some of these primitive tribes today still rape babies thinking that could cure their Aids STD. I don’t believe they/re innocent at all, if they are, they wouldn’t need to use the baby to believe that they got an incurable disease! By common sense and critical thinking, apparently, a culture of displaying sexual organs openly by just hanging around, would that not encourage people to just commit sexual crimes 24/7? The Black community has the highest and largest % of Aids STD in this world apart from America. Apparently, the collective evidence has shown that the Primitive behavior of the people in Africa seems to be something to do with their DNA that they take great joy of being naked and seeing others naked plus polygamy promiscuity practices.
Hi Richoka,
for years I have been uncomfortable with the idea that Noah could have cursed his own son and all the future descendants of that son for the mere fact that Ham would have seen his father naked. The punition was so disproportionate with the fault that I couldn’t reconcile it with the man that the Bible said was:
Gen 6:8-9 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. …Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. NKJV
Fortunately Robert Alter was wrong when he wrote “No one has ever figured out what exactly what it is that Ham does to Noah.”
I suggest you read ‘NOAH’S NAKEDNESS AND CURSE ON CANAAN (GENESIS 9:20–27)’
written by JOHN SIETZE BERGSMA and SCOTT WALKER HAHN
Their explanation for the cursing of Ham and Canaan is flawless Their article is very well written and it give the reader a perfect understanding of what happened.
The article is available at http://www.godawa.com/chronicles_of_the_nephilim/Articles_By_Others/Bergsma-Noahs_Nakedness_And_Curse_On_Canaan.pdf
Yves P.
Thanks for sharing. Will definitely check it out.
Genesis 6 Tells of the Nephilim Giant race bloodline. We see this blood line in the Canaanite people post flood. In the Old Testament most Blessings and Cursing give out by the Father was given at the time of Death or near the time. Ham had a sinful rebellious spirit, yet Noah and his sons bloodline was pure from this Hybrid demonic DNA God had to cleanse the earth of. So Hams wife had to have been from the lineage of that demonic line. I believe Noah saw the characteristics of that in Canaan. Therefore the reason for Gods charge to the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites post flood.
Nakedness is a figurative word for a state of vulnerable and defenseless. Other research added on that it meant of immorality and sexual openness.
Thanks for sharing Dany.
The curse was given to Canaan, Ham’s son, not to Ham. Elohim had already blessed Noah and his three sons telling them to re-populate earth, Gen 9:1. At this point we are not clear how many years had transpired. To get the wine Noah would have needed to have planted the vines, then wait at least 3 years before being able to harvest, and then ferment them to get the wine. We are told the same 8 people that went into the ark came out of it, so Canaan at best would have been a little boy at the time. Why curse him? Unless of course he was not even born at the time but was the result of Ham “uncovering Noah’s nakedness”, an idiom for lying in bed with a man’s wife (apparently Noah’s wife was not Ham’s mother but the mother of Shem and Japhet, Book Jasher, Ch 5:16-18).
At any rate, this could have been an ancient way of Ham trying to take over the clan (remember David’s son, Absalom, in the palace roof). Clearly neither Shem nor Japhet wanted any part of it, literally covering their father’s back.
Then again Ham may have raped his father Noah, also a way to assert power, but we are left with why curse Canaan, Ham’s son? On the other hand, more than a few years had transpired and Canaan might have been a teenager and did the deed with Noah, thus was cursed. Back then a grandson was also referred as a son…
exegeticaly Dont ever go beyound what s written in a very specific text. Ham SAW and then GOSSIPED.
Noah uncovered himself. Not one mention of the whereabouts of Noahs wife.
Nothing in the context states or implies sexual sin. Speculativ conjecture has all the apperance of the sin of adding something to Gods breathed word.
I smell a perverse motive behind this.
No one mentions how slanders Ham mothers moral character. Its safe to say that 99.9% of mothers would scream their heads off if any son acted so wickedly towards them. They also would have fought him with every ounce of strength she had. Screaming would have alerted Hams brothers. Labeling Noahs wife as a slut is pure slander. This is an indirect assault on Noah being as Holy as Job and Daniel. Lessor men attacking a Holy man to magnify themselves, in my humble opinion.