Genesis 9:25 talks about Noah cursing Canaan, and this particular verse has been used to suggest that Africans, including African-Americans, are under a curse, and therefore should not be afforded the same rights as other human beings. Some churches have even taught that they cannot be saved. Let’s examine that for a few moments.
First of all, Noah had three sons, and their wives, in the ark. These sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, are generally considered to be the forerunners of modern race. For the most part, Japheth’s descendents settled in Europe, Shem’s in Asia, and Ham’s in Africa. There are some exceptions, of course. The name Ham actually comes from the Hebrew word for burnt, so it stands to reason that Ham was the darkest of the three, and, apparently, his wife was dark-skinned, also (we don’t know, the Bible doesn’t say anything about the wives).
It seems a little odd, though, that Canaan, Ham’s son, was cursed, even though he didn’t have anything to do with the incident that upset Noah. It seems that, after the ark landed, Noah planted a vineyard. After the grapes grew, he made wine. In the meantime, Noah’s sons were busy repopulating the earth. Anyway, when Noah got some wine made, he and his wife celebrated. Hard. Sometime later, Ham wandered by the tent door and got an eyeful. The King James Version says that he “saw the nakedness of his father.” He went and told his brothers, and they got a covering, and went backwards into their father’s tent, and covered up their parents. When Noah woke up, and realized what had happened, he cursed Ham’s son, Canaan.
Having said that, let me point out that in Leviticus we are told that one should not uncover one’s father’s wife, because it is your “father’s nakedness.” So, it would appear that the actual incident involved Ham’s mother being exposed, more than Ham’s father. Even with that understanding, we should consider that what Ham did was accidental, and probably could have been easily forgiven had he handled it differently. After all, he didn’t have to go and tell his brothers, “Hey! Guess what I just saw!” He could have done the respectful thing and covered up his parents himself, and not involve anyone else.
It also seems odd that Noah cursed Canaan, and not Ham; Ham was the one he was upset at. I’m not sure if Ham had any other children yet (Canaan is the only one mentioned so far), it’s possible that Canaan was an only child, so by cursing Canaan, Noah was cursing Ham’s lineage. In any case, Ham eventually had four sons, Canaan, Cush, Mizraim, and Put. Leviticus tells us that, when the Children of Israel came up out of Africa, they found the Canaanites living in the Promised Land. As a matter of fact, to everyone else, that land was known as Land of Canaan. The Canaanites had built up great cities, and planted fields full of crops. The Bible describes it as a land flowing with milk and honey.
Perhaps Noah cursed Canaan because he had already realized that Ham’s other three sons were good kids, but that Canaan had the worst traits of his father. I don’t know for sure. I do know that using Canaan’s curse to justify racial prejudice is just plain ignorant. Even if there are any descendents of Canaan living today, they would not have to worry about the curse, because Jesus became a curse for us. Let’s face it, without the sacrifice of Christ, we were all under a curse, and those of us who were not descendants of Canaan were not any less cursed. We have been redeemed from the curse, there is no more curse.
First of all, Noah had three sons, and their wives, in the ark. These sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, are generally considered to be the forerunners of modern race. For the most part, Japheth’s descendents settled in Europe, Shem’s in Asia, and Ham’s in Africa. There are some exceptions, of course. The name Ham actually comes from the Hebrew word for burnt, so it stands to reason that Ham was the darkest of the three, and, apparently, his wife was dark-skinned, also (we don’t know, the Bible doesn’t say anything about the wives).
It seems a little odd, though, that Canaan, Ham’s son, was cursed, even though he didn’t have anything to do with the incident that upset Noah. It seems that, after the ark landed, Noah planted a vineyard. After the grapes grew, he made wine. In the meantime, Noah’s sons were busy repopulating the earth. Anyway, when Noah got some wine made, he and his wife celebrated. Hard. Sometime later, Ham wandered by the tent door and got an eyeful. The King James Version says that he “saw the nakedness of his father.” He went and told his brothers, and they got a covering, and went backwards into their father’s tent, and covered up their parents. When Noah woke up, and realized what had happened, he cursed Ham’s son, Canaan.
Having said that, let me point out that in Leviticus we are told that one should not uncover one’s father’s wife, because it is your “father’s nakedness.” So, it would appear that the actual incident involved Ham’s mother being exposed, more than Ham’s father. Even with that understanding, we should consider that what Ham did was accidental, and probably could have been easily forgiven had he handled it differently. After all, he didn’t have to go and tell his brothers, “Hey! Guess what I just saw!” He could have done the respectful thing and covered up his parents himself, and not involve anyone else.
It also seems odd that Noah cursed Canaan, and not Ham; Ham was the one he was upset at. I’m not sure if Ham had any other children yet (Canaan is the only one mentioned so far), it’s possible that Canaan was an only child, so by cursing Canaan, Noah was cursing Ham’s lineage. In any case, Ham eventually had four sons, Canaan, Cush, Mizraim, and Put. Leviticus tells us that, when the Children of Israel came up out of Africa, they found the Canaanites living in the Promised Land. As a matter of fact, to everyone else, that land was known as Land of Canaan. The Canaanites had built up great cities, and planted fields full of crops. The Bible describes it as a land flowing with milk and honey.
Perhaps Noah cursed Canaan because he had already realized that Ham’s other three sons were good kids, but that Canaan had the worst traits of his father. I don’t know for sure. I do know that using Canaan’s curse to justify racial prejudice is just plain ignorant. Even if there are any descendents of Canaan living today, they would not have to worry about the curse, because Jesus became a curse for us. Let’s face it, without the sacrifice of Christ, we were all under a curse, and those of us who were not descendants of Canaan were not any less cursed. We have been redeemed from the curse, there is no more curse.
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