Mar
10
What to Make of This Weird Bible Passage?: Gen. 9:18-29 (part 1)
If you read my posts from 2/4/2024 & 2/11/2024, you can guess what I’m going to do this week and next. I have chosen a particularly baffling passage from the Old Testament which many commentators gloss over, and I will cite what four of the top study Bibles have to say about it. This time, we’ll be looking at the incident when, sometime following the Flood, Ham finds his father, Noah, passed out drunk and naked in his tent. There’s more, which you will see when I quote the text.
Originally, I was going to focus specifically on that part, i.e., verses 20 thru 24 (or 25). But, the bit about the curses is also quite important to the story and helps emphasize the severity of Ham’s offense. So, after much thought, I’ve decided to include the entire pericope for consideration, which covers verses 18 thru 29. I think we can handle it. (Fair warning, though — a few of the possible explanations may be disturbing to contemplate.)
Like last time, we’ll look at the ESV Study Bible first…
ESV Study Bible
“18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”26 He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.27
May God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant.”28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.” (Gen. 9:18-29 (ESV))
9:18-19 These verses, which bring the flood story to an end, anticipate the next two episodes. The reference to Ham’s son Canaan (v. 18) prepares for the events of vv. 20-29. The mention of people’s being dispersed over the whole earth (v. 19) is developed in ch. 10.
9:20-29 The Cursing of Canaan This unusual episode provides an unexpected sequel to the flood story. After the flood and the “new creation” comes another fall, by Noah — a sort of second Adam, in that he (like Adam) is father of the whole human race. It also anticipates similar activity by Lot’s daughters after the destruction of Sodom (19:30-38). Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s indiscretion result in contrasting announcements regarding the futures of Shem, Japheth, and Ham’s son Canaan.
9:20 The reference to Noah as a man of the soil and his success in growing vines point to a fresh start after the flood (see note on 5:28-31).
9:21-23 became drunk. The brevity of the description of Noah’s drunkenness is an indication of disapproval. Ham’s actions, however, are the object of serious criticism because Ham unashamedly looks on the nakedness of his father in the tent and then reports this to his brothers (v. 22). There is no indication, however, that perverse sexual behavior was involved in addition to Ham seeing his father drunk and naked. Though the text does not explicitly state what happened, it is clear that Ham humiliated and dishonored his father and that he apparently sought to make his brothers a party to that humiliation. Instead, Ham’s brothers make every effort to avoid seeing Noah’s naked body, as readers are told twice that they approached him backward (v. 23). The response of Shem and Japheth is in sharp contrast to Ham’s actions, as the brothers honor their father despite his foolish behavior (Ex. 20:12).
9:24-27 The designation of Ham as the youngest son (v. 24) is peculiar, given that he is always listed after Shem and before Japheth. Possibly, for some unexplained reason, the traditional order of names does not reflect the birth sequence of the boys. Cursed by Canaan. Noah’s reaction to Ham’s action is to curse Canaan, Ham’s son. This outcome has clearly been anticipated in the narration, for twice previously it has been mentioned, in each context unnecessarily, that Ham is the father of Canaan (vv. 18,22). a servant of servants shall he be. This passage was wrongly appealed to in past centuries to justify the enslavement of African people, resulting in grievous abuse, injustice, and inhumanity to people created in the image of God. Noah’s curse of Canaan, which focuses on his being a servant, anticipates the judgment that will later befall the Canaanites (cf. Deut. 7:1-3 with Gen. 10:15-19). This, coupled with the fact that the curse falls on Canaan alone and not on Ham’s other children (who settled in northern Africa), shows how illegitimate it was to use this text to justify enslaving African people. (For more on the overall biblical position on slavery, see notes on 1 Cor. 7:21; Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22-25; 1 Tim. 1:10.) Shem, however, is given pride of place, as is implied by Noah’s remark that Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem (Gen. 9:27).
9:28 The report of Noah’s death continues the pattern used throughout Genesis 5 to describe the total age and death of Adam and his descendants.
As before, we’ll see what the he Baker Illustrated Study Bible has to say next…
Baker Illustrated Study Bible
“18 Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.
20 Noah, as a man of the soil, began by planting a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.
24 When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said:
Canaan is cursed.
He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.26 He also said:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
Let Canaan be Shem’s slave.
27
Let God extend Japheth;
let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem;
let Canaan be Shem’s slave.28 Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29 So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.” (Gen. 9:18-29 (CSB))
9:18-23 The story of Noah in 9:18-27 focuses on Noah’s nakedness and not on his drunkenness. Why Noah is nude we do not know (9:21). Is he in a drunken stupor, or is he preparing to have intercourse with his wife? One of his sons — Ham — sees his father’s nakedness (9:22). To be sure, this phrase (see Lv 18) may mean to have sexual relations with a relative (incest). More than likely, here it simply means that Ham sees Noah’s genitalia. Shem and Japheth, on the other hand, cover their father’s nakedness (9:23), much as God did with Adam and Eve’s in 3:21. (Note again the emphasis here on “seeing” and “not seeing”.)
9:24-29 As a result of Ham’s involvement, Noah curses not Ham but Canaan, Noah’s grandson (9:25). This may illustrate the “eye for an eye” principle of justice. The youngest son of Noah sins, and as a result, a curse is placed on Ham’s youngest son. Other interpretations are possible. This is the only instance of a humanly imposed curse in the five books of Moses; furthermore, they are the first recorded words in Scripture from Noah’s mouth. Throughout the flood he was active, but the Bible does not record him speaking, not even once.
Noah also blesses the Lord of Shem, and Canaan is to be slave to both Shem (9:26) and Japheth (9:27). God has talked about the future (9:8-17). Now Noah talks about the future (9:25-27).
As I mentioned before, I think that general study Bibles like these should present the major views/theories for disputed topics like this. So, I was disappointed that the ESV Study Bible focused only on the theory that Ham’s sin was simply for mocking/disrespecting his father, while obliquely dismissing the other theories because there was “no indication… that perverse sexual behavior was involved.” On the other hand, the ESVSB provided more notes overall on this pericope than the BISB and included an explanation for why some people in the past used the Curse of Canaan as justification for enslavement of African peoples, as well as reasons for why this was an illegitimate use of the text.
While comparatively brief, the notes from the Baker Illustrated Study Bible still bring out a few more things necessary to assess the “debate” on the meaning of this passage. For example, the focus on Noah’s nakedness rather than on his drunkenness, possible other meanings for “nakedness” (based on other OT passages), the possible “eye for an eye” connection, and a couple unique aspects of the curse. The BISB leans toward the same explanation as the ESVSB, but at least it makes quick reference to other theories.
As a preview, I will tell you right now that the NIV Faithlife Illustrated Study Bible and the NET Full Notes Edition both have much more comprehensive notes discussing/explaining this incident. But, unless you already have access to them, you will have to wait until next week to see….
