Have you ever wondered why Noah would say that his grandson Canaan is cursed?

This the a quote of Noah saying such…

Genesis 9:25a (NKJV)
Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan…”

A straight reading of the previous verses which lead up to this quote does not seem to make it anymore clear on face value. Here is the preceding section…

Genesis 9:18-25a (NKJV)
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said:

“Cursed be Canaan…”

Modern Minds

Our modern minds have trouble making sense of these verses. Whatever Ham did to his father Noah, Noah then ends up surprisingly cursing his grandson Canaan.

But, what exactly did Ham do? Wouldn’t it make more sense for Noah to curse Ham? I mean, Canaan wasn’t even part of the scene, Ham was. So then, what does Canaan have to do with it? (Especially, in light of what we see in other places of the Old Testament regarding sons and fathers not bearing each other’s guilt)…

Ezekiel 18:20 (NKJV)
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Deuteronomy 24:16 (NKJV)
Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.

When we incorporate the rest of what scripture says (how the sins of fathers and sons do not bring guilt upon anyone else but themselves), it doesn’t make sense as to why Canaan would be cursed for what his father Ham did (whatever that was). It is not consistent with the ethic that we learn from the rest of the Bible.

Also, the way that this section reads (Genesis 9:18-25a), it almost seems as though Ham had sex with his father Noah, who was too drunk to even realize what was happening.

And again, even if this was the case… What does Canaan (Noah’s grandson) have to do with it?

NKJV

If you haven’t noticed it yet, I’m referencing a Bible version which I normally do not use in my blogs. I have used the New King James Version (NKJV) before, but I more frequently like to use either the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) or the English Standard Version. It’s just a personal preference. For this blog, however, the NKJV helps to bring some clarity to better understand Genesis 9:18-25a which these other versions do not.

Father’s Nakedness

Let’s go back and look at the section in view again. I am going to underline what comes across as being a little cryptic to our modern ears, and then I will reference some other verses in the Old Testament from the NKJV in order to possibly better understand what was actually going on in the scene…

Genesis 9:18-25a (NKJV)
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said:

“Cursed be Canaan…”

Leviticus

Before we start to imagine what the underlined words might mean, it might help to read them with the following references in mind…

Leviticus 18:7-8 (NKJV)
The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness.

Leviticus 20:11 (NKJV)
The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

According to these two references in Leviticus (which sheds some light on what the phrase “father’s nakedness” refers to), Genesis 9:18-25a most likely does not describe that Ham had sex with his father Noah, while Noah was in a drunken stupor. Instead, it might be that Ham had sex with his father’s wife, while Noah lay drunk. As a result, Canaan is then cursed by Noah (who is probably the result of this unethical union).

Now, the Bible does not give us any explicit references with regards to who exactly Canaan’s mother might be, either Ham’s mother or a later wife of Noah. However, when we read this section in light of the rest of the Bible, Ham having sex with his father’s wife, producing Canaan, resulting in Noah saying “Cursed be Canaan,” seems to make the best sense of what might have happened.

What do you think?

Godspeed, to the brethren!

Check out my NEW book! (click here)