Why did God curse Ham's Son?

[JohnD]

Genesis 9:18–29 (AV)
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.
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.
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.
28 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.

 

[Takoda]

In the literary tradition of that time and place the term "nakedness of the father" suggests that Ham took advantage of Noah's drunken state to have sex with his father's wife. To simply accidentally see his father drunk and naked seems insufficient for the punishment inflicted on Ham.

[JohnD]

5 minutes ago, Takoda said:

In the literary tradition of that time and place the term "nakedness of the father" suggests that Ham took advantage of Noah's drunken state to have sex with his father's wife. To simply accidentally see his father drunk and naked seems insufficient for the punishment inflicted on Ham.

Agreed.

But why did Noah curse Canaan only of all Ham's children?

Edited August 9, 2019 by JohnD

[other one]

49 minutes ago, JohnD said:

Agreed.

But why did Noah curse Canaan only of all Ham's children?

I have pondered this for years....   actually decades....    and I have no idea that makes sense.

 

[ayin jade]

Some take it to mean sinful acts against his father, but I think it is just a simple case of ham mocking his father when he approached his brothers. Especially since later on, the 10 commandments include honor your mother and father. Mocking dad isnt honorable. Perhaps it is appropriate that since the son mocked the father, that the son of the son is cursed. 

[missmuffet]

4 hours ago, JohnD said:

Genesis 9:18–29 (AV)
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.
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.
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.
28 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.

 

Question: "Why did Noah curse Ham / Canaan?"

Answer: Genesis 9:20-25 tells us, "Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.’"

Why did Noah curse Canaan when it was Ham who saw him naked? Why was Noah so angry that Ham saw him naked? Some propose that Ham and/or Canaan actually did something to Noah in addition to seeing him naked. The passage mentions that Noah was angry when he found out “what his youngest son had done to him.” Homosexuality, rape, and humiliation are frequently mentioned as possibilities. One rabbinic teaching is that Ham or Canaan castrated his father. However, the text nowhere states what Ham did to Noah. Any theory of what occurred is speculation.

Another view arises out of comparison with Leviticus 20:11, "The man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness..." With Leviticus 20:11 in mind, some propose that Ham had sex with Noah's wife, and that was what brought the curse from Noah. However, this figurative understanding of "uncovering nakedness" fails to account for the fact that Shem and Japheth walked into the room backward and covered Noah with a garment. This does not make any sense if "uncovering nakedness" means "having sex with Noah's wife." It definitely seems that Noah was lying naked—his nakedness uncovered.

Whatever took place between Ham and Noah, why did Noah curse Ham’s son Canaan, when Canaan is nowhere mentioned as having done anything? The Bible does not specifically answer this question. Ham was Noah’s youngest son, and Canaan was probably Ham’s youngest son (Genesis 10:6). The “youngest son” who mistreated Noah (Genesis 9:24) seems to be a reference to Ham, but another option is that it refers to Canaan, Noah’s youngest grandson. Calling a grandson a “son” is not uncommon in Scripture (cp. Ezra 5:1 and Zechariah 1:1). This would mean that Canaan was somehow involved in the sordid incident, and that is why Noah specifically mentions him in the curse (verse 25). Ham saw his father’s condition and did nothing about it except to tell his brothers. Reading between the lines, we assume that Ham’s son did more than see but participated somehow in his grandfather’s degradation.

https://www.gotquestions.org/curse-Ham-Canaan.html

Edited August 9, 2019 by missmuffet

[Worship Warriors]

From Canaan came all the Amorites, the Jebusites,the hivites , the hivites. Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan. Ham committed the offense but the judgment was to come on only one of his decedent: Canaan.

Curses only last from 2 or 3 generation. Canaan was the second generation. Effectively, the curse was also on Ham but then it stopped up to the second generation down to Canaan.

 

https://www.worthychristianforums.com/topic/237877-unlocking-every-66-books-of-the-bible/

 

 

[Worship Warriors]

why on only ONE of his descendants ? I don't know.

 

 

[Worship Warriors]

14 minutes ago, Sonshine☀️ said:

It seems, though, that Noah proclaimed the curse out of extreme anger.  …but the fact remains that it was not God that cursed Canaan; it was Noah.  

the head of the family had authority to pronounce blessings or cursing from God which was irrevocable.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Worship Warriors

[JohnD]

Leviticus 20:11 (AV)
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.

Just so folks are clear the idiom is about having sex.

The only logical conclusion is that the account in Genesis 9 is a generalization that left out specific details and at least a 9 month gap of time... in that Canaan

is the byproduct of Ham and his mother doing just what Leviticus 20:11 says.

Apparently, Lot and his daughters are not the first time something like this has happened.

No telling what all took place prior to the flood with all the other people who perished.

The Bible spares us many vile details, but we cannot lapse into a Pollyanna mentality over just

how wicked human beings are / can be.

To do so is one of the problems Jesus faced with the Sanhedrin over their own self righteousness. 

Jesus did not even bother with them. "I came to heal the sick." he told them.

They needed salvation. But they needed to face that need and not deny it.

Our denial lowers our guard, causes us to be unprepared, adds to the severity of our

dilemmas, and leads us to utter bewilderment when we wake up one day and ask "How did

I end up here?"

Human nature is satanic. That's the gist of Matthew 16:13-23 (note the comparisons between the ways of God and the ways of man ← which Jesus attributes to the devil

(this is why he called Peter Satan). John 8:44 calling those who oppose him sons of the devil. 1 John 2:22.

We believe in Jesus. Hallelujah!

But that does not mean our fallen sin nature is anything less than it was before.

We are fronted  the righteousness of Christ.

Why?

To focus on this phase of God's plan God's mission:

Evangelism. Taking part in getting others saved.

And part of what hinders this focus is the denial about ourselves and each other.

Couple that with ignorance about this focus, blend in the seduction of worldliness,

and we have a world going to hell with an organized tradition of man church posing as

the true body of Christ (and believers supporting it rather than being the True Body of Christ

Church ← which would require us to serve God rather than ourselves).