18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
Modern biochemical analysis supports verse 19, in that through these three sons of Noah was the whole earth populated.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) indicates that all women have descended from a single woman, called mitochondrial Eve. This does not prove that she was the only woman alive at the time, but is consistent with it. High mutation rates indicate that this ancestor lived at about the time of the Biblical Eve as well.
[Carl Wieland, "Mitochondrial Eve and Biblical Eve are looking good: criticism of young age is premature" TJ 19(1) 2005, p. 57
This video is of Professor of mathematics, John Heffner, on the statistical evidence for the current world population.
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
- This is the first alcohol that was ever made. Before the flood – fermentation was impossible.
- John Chrysostom, a church father, writes that Noah’s behavior is defensible: as the first human to taste wine, he would not know its aftereffects: “Through ignorance and inexperience of the proper amount to drink, fell into a drunken stupor”. Wikipedia
Which brings us to verse 22. Ham seeing “the nakedness of his father.” A great deal has been written on just what that means. My preferred method is to take the Scripture literally, and not put things in that aren’t there. Also – the best way is to use Scripture, to interpret Scripture.
We will take a short excursion into Leviticus, and see the Law.
7 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. 8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness. Leviticus 18:7-8
Leviticus 18:8, specifically states that uncovering the father’s wife’s nakedness – is equivalent to uncovering the father’s nakedness. Back to Genesis:
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said,
Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Why was the curse on Ham’s youngest son?
- The prevailing theory is that Ham simply saw his father’s nakedness. But that does not explain why the curse was on the youngest son, Canaan.
- Some like to postulate that Ham committed great immorality, by the act of sodomy on his father. Scripture does not support this.
Here goes my take on this – supported by Leviticus 18.
Ham committed incest with his mother – and produced the cursed son – Canaan. I’m sure many will object to that idea, but Holy Scripture completely supports it. Please fire your best shots!!
8 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
Genesis 9: 18-29
Many evil people have misappropriated Genesis 9: 26-27, to justify the enslavement of black people throughout the centuries. It is still going on today in Africa, the Middle East, and in some cases – even here.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: Acts 17: 24-27
sage
I believe simply that Ham looked at his father with lust, committing a egregious sin against his father. Remember, the sin of lust, is just as bad as the sin to engage in it, or to act upon it. Homosexuality in the eyes of God is an abomination, The bible doesn’t speak of an act being committed in the flesh, but clearly, when his Father had awaken, he knew his son had committed a grievous act upon him? Woman who are date raped, in every case, awaken with the knowledge that their body was abused… Is it possible, that his father awakening from a drunken stupor, also knowing something had been done to his body? And if not that, could it had been that his son looked upon him with a lustful heart. The mere act of seeing one naked isn’t a sin, it’s the act of committing to the sin, whether in thought, or of the flesh. The two other sons approached their father with their backs turned to him, Was this so they would not see his nakedness, thus keeping from the temptation of seeing his nakedness? By the way, love the site and thank you for having me
Thank you Jericho777,
Your position is in line with theory #1 and #2 – but what about the curse on Ham’s youngest son – Canaan? As you are a Southern Baptist, I expect chapter, book, and verse!
Welcome to the fellowship!!
sage
Well done Sage! I am one to believe, as you, that scripture should and does interpret scripture. This is an appropriate conclusion, considering the law in Leviticus.
As you also stated, there are sure to be different takes on it… but we are all to read and being led by the Holy Spirit, understand and further ourselves in His Word for any and all conclusions. That is why I pray before I read His Word, so that the Holy Spirit will open my eyes to see it’s meaning and/or it’s application to my life, and to bind away any confusion, so that I will not be mislead.
His blessings be with you and all you do to aid the fellow believer, and those who are searching for an answer to some of life’s difficult questions and need a Savior in Jesus!
If the son looked upon the father in a prurient manner, this was impure. The scripture says that if you look upon a woman with lust, it is equal to having committed adultery with her. So, if the son looked upon the father’s nakedness in a prurient manner, there was a root of homosexual sin regardless whether the act was committed. The sin was present even as if a man look upon a woman with lust in the sight of God he has committed adultery in his heart. This scripture is clear enough with the testimony of other scripture to declare lust as part of the sin in looking upon the nakedness. So, whether or not an indecent act was committed physically — the scripture tells us that this is obscene and involved lust in prurient interest. To look in such a manner, is incredibly impure and sin lies at the door of the heart. It’s a heart issue and “type of sin” the Bible declares abhorrent.
Laura,
You are doctrinally correct, but have gone around the issue of the gigantic curse placed on Canaan. What is your take on that?
I really enjoyed your comment. If I haven’t welcomed you to the fellowship – I am doing so now. So glad to have you here!!
sage
I had to go back and reread Genesis to refresh my memory and my understanding the underlying curse, and what had possibly happened, and why such a curse was passed down because of what Ham had committed against his Father Noah
(Genesis 9:20-24),
20} And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21} And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22} And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23} And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
24} And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
Noah did not curse his son Ham, God had blessed Noah, Shem, Japeth and Ham, and Noah could not curse what our Father had blessed (Gen 9:1) “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Noah did however, place that cursed down upon the head of Canaan (Genesis 9:25) “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
An example of this can be found in (Numbers 22:12) “And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed…
My understanding is that, had not our Father blessed Noah and his sons, then Noah would have most definitely cursed Ham, but instead, Canaan had to bear the curse for the sin his father committed.
Jericho – that is very good reasoning – but still does not cover why the curse was placed on the youngest, Canaan. Why not the eldest – Cush? Or the other two – Mizraim or Phut? I’m still standing by Leviticus 18, but you have given me a very respectable argument. Thank you, and good work!
sage
A good logical conclusion Sage, I like it…
Thank you, Kheta. I’m glad you aren’t mad at me! LOL
Why in the world would I be mad at you? I totally respect and admire your Biblical scholarship…
That was in jest. If you were in my world – you would see that the facts truly disturb people. Especially church people.
Great post, sage.
I learned about the pre-flood vapor barrier in school, but I was not aware it prevented the fermentation process from taking place.
As for Noah, I sure hope that was white wine and not red, as a red wine hangover is about the worst kind there is, and not even downing three BC Powders in a row will help.
LOL – I learned that the hard way.
I love a nice glass of red wine when I’m having a good Italian meal or anything with beef, but I have to keep it at “a” glass.
-Dave
Thanks, Dave. I can always count on you to liven things up! LOL
Red wine has nothing on Champagne, I was sick for a solid week after consuming too much… ;-(
We need to straighten that curse out once and for all.
For the purpose of this article, betrayal of intimacy is classified into two types: 1)
forcible betrayal and 2) non-forcible betrayal. Forcible betrayal includes rape and incest.
The basic principle is that the victim does not or is not able to consent to the invasion or
crossing of personal boundaries as it occurs, e.g., as in the case of an infant, child or
adolescent. In effect, the victim was in a vulnerable position and was taken advantage
of by the perpetrator. The victim’s boundaries were crossed without consent and
intimacy was forced.
The second type, non-forcible betrayal, includes situations in which one has
entered into a relationship of their own free will and has chosen, either consciously or
unconsciously, to be open and vulnerable to another person.9 Here, the betrayal occurs
when intimacy is withdrawn, e.g., separation, divorce and death, as opposed to the first
scenario, in which it is forced or imposed.10
There are three possible effects that betrayal of intimacy may have on the
There’s just a bit more: sorry it’s so long. It’s the best I could do to see what we’re up against here:appropriate function of human boundaries: 1) To erode the foundation upon which
boundaries are predicated before they are established, 2) to shatter established
boundaries invasively (from “outside to inside”) as occurs with forcible betrayal, and 3)
to shatter boundaries by severing bonds of intimacy (from “inside to outside”) as in
divorce or loss of a loved one.
In case you were interested;[PDF]
Chinese Medicine and the Betrayal of Intimacy: The Theory and …www.spiritpathpress.com/chinese-medicine-books/…/pdf_test.pdf
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Abstract: The impact of the betrayal of intimacy, e.g., abuse, incest, rape and divorce, is examined ….. The healing process must focus on reconnecting these torn “vessels” of spirit back to the core of the …. govern human evolution