Genesis 9:25-29

A.    Genesis 9:25 – And he said, Cursed [be] Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

1.     So why is Noah cursing Canaan for the actions of Ham? 

2.     Seems like an awful harsh penalty for simply looking upon his father’s nakedness, what pleasure could Ham have possibly derived from looking at the naked body of a 600 year old man?

3.     So not lets look into the meaning of the “nakedness of his father”

·       Leviticus 18:7-8 – The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness

·       Leviticus 20:11 – And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

·       Deuteronomy 27:20 – ‘Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say ‘Amen.’

·       It seems realistic that Ham by seeing his fathers nakedness is a way of saying had an incestuous relationship with Noah’s wife (and likely his mother)

·       The reason that Noah cursed Canaan instead of Ham himself could possibly be that Canaan’s birth was the result of this sinful act and also provides a reason why Ham is referred to as “the father of Canaan” in this passage ignoring Ham’s other children or the children of Shem and Japheth entirely.

4.     Could be how Noah “knew what his younger son had done unto him” by seeing that his wife was pregnant

·       The curse was most likely pronounced at Canaan’s birth rather than at the time of the act.

·       Could also be the reason Noah had no more children

5.     Was this an attempt by Ham to usurp the authority of Noah?  Historically, this is one method employed by a rival to take the throne of a sitting king, he goes into the concubines.  i.e. Absalom unto David’s, Adonijah’s attempts at Abishag

6.     Many similarities between this passage and the passage of Lot and his daughters in Genesis 19

B.    Genesis 9:26 – And he said, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

1.     Lord God - - יהוה Yĕhovah

2.     Shem is the ancestor of the promised seed

3.     The Israelites (who are Semetic peoples are descendents of Shem) invaded and captured the land of the Canaanites under Joshua.

C.    Genesis 9:27 – God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

1.     God - אלהים 'elohiym

2.     Canaan is a servant to both Shem and Japheth

3.     Noah doesn’t specifically address Ham who had 4 other sons besides Canaan.

4.     Noah curses Canaan, one of Ham’s sons without mentioning a blessing or a cursing upon Ham himself. 

·       Could we possibly take from this that after his sin against Noah, Ham left the camp in shame with his wife.

·       Noah’s wife is left behind pregnant with Canaan.

·       Possibly Noah raised him as an “adopted” son making Shem and Japheth his brethren instead of his uncles.

·       Thus Ham is not present to receive a blessing or a cursing and is therefore omitted by Noah, basically disowned and forgotten.

D.    Genesis 9:28 – And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

E.     Genesis 9:29 – And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.