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Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness. Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”
Genesis 9:22-25 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness. Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness.
Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
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.
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
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.
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him.
And he said: Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv22–25 22. And Ham, the father of Canaan. This circumstance…
22. And Ham, the father of Canaan. This circumstance is added to augment the sorrow of Noah, that he is mocked by his own son. For we must ever keep in memory, that this punishment was divinely inflicted upon him; partly, because his fault was not a light one; partly that God in his person might present a lesson of temperance to all ages. Drunkenness in itself deserves as its reward, that they who deface the image of their heavenly Father in themselves, should become a laughingstock to their own children. For certainly, as far as possible, drunkards subvert their own understanding, and so far deprive themselves of reason as to degenerate into beasts. And let us remember, that if the Lord so grievously avenged the single transgression of the holy man, he will prove an avenger no less severe against those who are daily intoxicated; and of this we have examples sufficiently numerous before our eyes. In the meanwhile, Ham, by reproachfully laughing at his feather, betrays his own depraved and malignant disposition. We know that parents, next to God, are most deeply to be reverenced; and if there were neither books nor sermons, nature itself constantly inculcates this lesson upon us. It is received by common consent, that piety towards parents is the mother of all virtues. This Ham, therefore, must have been of a wicked, perverse, and crooked disposition; since he not only took pleasure in his father’s shame, but wished to expose him to his brethren. And this is no slight occasion of offense; first, that Noah, the minister of salvation to men, and the chief restorer of the world, should in extreme old age, lie intoxicated in his house; and then, that the ungodly and wicked Ham should have proceeded from the sanctuary of God. God had selected eight souls as a sacred seed, thoroughly purged from all corruption, for the renovation of the Church: but the son of Noah shows, how necessary it is for men to be held as with the bridle of God, however they may be exalted by privilege. The impiety of Ham proves to us how deep is the root of wickedness in men; and that it continually puts forth its shoots, except where the power of the Spirit prevails over it. But if, in the hallowed sanctuary of God, among so small a number, one fiend was preserved; let us not wonder if, at this day, in the Church, containing a much greater multitude of men, the wicked are mingled with the good. Nor is there any doubt that the minds of Shem and Japheth were grievously wounded, when they perceived in their own brother such a prodigy of scorn; and, on the other hand, their father shamefully lying prostrate on the ground. Such a debasing alienation of mind in the prince of the new world, and the holy patriarch of the Church, could not less astonish them, than if they had seen the ark itself broken, dashed in pieces, cleft asunder, and destroyed. Yet this cause of offense they alike overcome by their magnanimity, and conceal by their modesty. Ham alone eagerly seizes the occasion of ridiculing and inveighing against his father; just as perverse men are wont to catch at occasions of offense in others, which may serve as a pretext for indulgence in sin. And his age renders him the less excusable; for he was not a lascivious youth, who, by his thoughtless laughter, betrayed his own folly, seeing that he was already more than one hundred years old. Therefore, it is probable, that he thus perversely insulted his father, for the purpose of acquiring for himself the license of sinning with impunity. We see many such at this day, who most studiously pry into the faults of holy and pious men, in order that without shame they may precipitate themselves into all iniquity; they even make the faults of other men an occasion of hardening themselves into a contempt for God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22, 25 Of whom came the Canaanites that wicked nation, who…
Of whom came the Canaanites that wicked nation, who were also cursed of God.
In derision and contempt of his father.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv22–25 Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw…
Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
Ver. 22. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw.] The Hebrews say, that Canaan first saw it, and then showed it to Ham his father, who looks upon it with delight, Ut vultures ad male olentia feruntur , saith Basil; as carrion-kites are carried after stinking carcasses.
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And told his two brethren without.] Sic et impii hodie ex Ecclesiae tragaediis comaedias componunt . How glad are the wicked, if they can but get any hint to lay hold on, whereby to blaspheme, and blaze abroad the saints’ infirmities! "Report say they, and we will report". {Jer 20:10} Yea, rather than want matter against God’s people, they will suck it out of their own fingers’ ends. But if such a thing as this fall out, that Noah be drunk, though but once in an age, the banks of blasphemy will soon be broken down, and the whole race of religious persons must rue for it; among these Canaanites some also will be found to excuse them in it, as Scaliger doth Ham.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv22, 24, 25 The grown age of Ham was a great aggravation…
The grown age of Ham was a great aggravation of this sin.
The father of Canaan: this is here added as a reason of Canaan’s curse, Gen 9:25.
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The nakedness, i.e. the secret parts, oft so called, as Lev 18:1-30, and elsewhere,
and told his two brethren without, who were then without the house or room where their father lay in that posture, whom he invited to that prospect.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v24 Here, I. Noah comes to himself: He awoke from…
Here, I. Noah comes to himself: He awoke from his wine. Sleep cured him, and, we may suppose, so cured him that he never relapsed into that sin afterwards. Those that sleep as Noah did should awake as he did, and not as that drunkard (Pro 23:35) who says when he awakes, I will seek it yet again.
II. The spirit of prophecy comes upon him, and, like dying Jacob, he tells his sons what shall befal them, Gen 49:1.
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1. He pronounces a curse on Canaan the son of Ham (Gen 9:25), in whom Ham is himself cursed, either because this son of his was now more guilty than the rest, or because the posterity of this son was afterwards to be rooted out of their land, to make room for Israel. And Moses here records it for the animating of Israel in the wars of Canaan; though the Canaanites were a formidable people, yet they were of old an accursed people, and doomed to ruin. The particular curse is, A servant of servants (that is, the meanest and most despicable servant) shall he be, even to his brethren. Those who by birth were his equals shall by conquest be his lords. This certainly points at the victories obtained by Israel over the Canaanites, by which they were all either put to the sword or put under tribute (Jos 9:23; Jdg 1:28, Jdg 1:30, Jdg 1:33, Jdg 1:35), which happened not till about 800 years after this. Note, (1.) God often visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, especially when the children inherit the fathers' wicked dispositions, and imitate the fathers' wicked practices, and do nothing to cut off the entail of the curse. (2.) Disgrace is justly put upon those that put disgrace upon others, especially that dishonour and grieve their own parents. An undutiful child that mocks at his parents is no more worthy to be called a son, but deserves to be made as a hired servant, nay, as a servant of servants, among his brethren. (3.) Though divine curses operate slowly, yet, first or last, they will take effect. The Canaanites were under a curse of slavery, and yet, for a great while, had the dominion; for a family, a people, a person, may lie under the curse of God, and yet may long prosper in the world, till the measure of their iniquity, like that of the Canaanites, be full. Many are marked for ruin that are not yet ripe for ruin. Therefore, Let not thy heart envy sinners.
2. He entails a blessing upon Shem and Japheth.
(1.) He blesses Shem, or rather blesses God for him, yet so that it entitles him to the greatest honour and happiness imaginable, Gen 9:26. Observe, [1.] He calls the Lord the god of Shem; and happy, thrice happy, is that people whose God is the Lord, Psa 144:15. All blessings are included in this. This was the blessing conferred on Abraham and his seed; the God of heaven was not ashamed to be called their God, Heb 11:16. Shem is sufficiently recompensed for his respect to his father by this, that the Lord himself puts this honour upon him, to be his God, which is a sufficient recompence for all our services and all our sufferings for his name. [2.] He gives to God the glory of that good work which Shem had done, and, instead of blessing and praising him that was the instrument, he blesses and praises God that was the author. Note, The glory of all that is at any time well done, by ourselves or others, must be humbly and thankfully transmitted to God, who works all our good works in us and for us. When we see men's good works we should glorify, not them, but our Father, Mat 5:16. Thus David, in effect, blessed Abigail, when he blessed God that sent her (Sa1 25:32, Sa1 25:33), for it is an honour and a favour to be employed for God and used by him in doing good. [3.] He foresees and foretels that God's gracious dealings with Shem and his family would be such as would evidence to all the world that he was the God of Shem, on which behalf thanksgivings would by many be rendered to him: Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. [4.] It is intimated that the church should be built up and continued in the posterity of Shem; for of him came the Jews, who were, for a great while, the only professing people God had in the world. [5.] Some think reference is here had to Christ, who was the Lord God that, in his human nature, should descend from the loins of Shem; for of him, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. [6.] Canaan is particularly enslaved to him: He shall be his servant. Note, Those that have the Lord for their God shall have as much of the honour and power of this world as he sees good for them.
(2.) He blesses Japheth, and, in him, the isles of the Gentiles, which were peopled by his seed: God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, Gen 9:27. Now, [1.] Some make this to belong wholly to Japheth, and to denote either, First, His outward prosperity, that his seed should be so numerous and so victorious that they should be masters of the tents of Shem, which was fulfilled when the people of the Jews, the most eminent of Shem's race, were tributaries to the Grecians first and afterwards to the Romans, both of Japheth's seed. Note, Outward prosperity is no infallible mark of the true church: the tents of Shem are not always the tents of the conqueror. Or, Secondly, It denotes the conversion of the Gentiles, and the bringing of them into the church; and then we should read it, God shall persuade Japheth (for so the word signifies), and then, being so persuaded, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, that is, Jews and Gentiles shall be united together in the gospel fold. After many of the Gentiles shall have been proselyted to the Jewish religion, both shall be one in Christ (Eph 2:14, Eph 2:15), and the Christian church, mostly made up of the Gentiles, shall succeed the Jews in the privileges of church-membership; the latter having first cast themselves out by their unbelief, the Gentiles shall dwell in their tents, Rom 11:11, etc. Note, It is God only that can bring those again into the church who have separated themselves from it. It is the power of God that makes the gospel of Christ effectual to salvation, Rom 1:16. And again, Souls are brought into the church, not by force, but by persuasion, Psa 110:3. They are drawn by the cords of a man, and persuaded by reason to be religious. [2.] Others divide this between Japheth and Shem, Shem having not been directly blessed, Gen 9:26. First, Japheth has the blessing of the earth beneath: God shall enlarge Japheth, enlarge his seed, enlarge his border. Japheth's prosperity peopled all Europe, a great part of Asia, and perhaps America. Note, God is to be acknowledged in all our enlargements. It is he that enlarges the coast and enlarges the heart. And again, many dwell in large tents that do not dwell in God's tents, as Japheth did. Secondly, Shem has the blessing of heaven above: He shall (that is, God shall) dwell in the tents of Shem, that is "From his loins Christ shall come, and in his seed the church shall be continued." The birth-right was now to be divided between Shem and Japheth, Ham being utterly discarded. In the principality which they equally share Canaan shall be servant to both. The double portion is given to Japheth, whom God shall enlarge; but the priesthood is given to Shem, for God shall dwell in the tents of Shem: and certainly we are more happy if we have God dwelling in our tents than if we had there all the silver and gold in the world. It is better to dwell in tents with God than in palaces without him. In Salem, where is God's tabernacle, there is more satisfaction than in all the isles of the Gentiles. Thirdly, They both have dominion over Canaan: Canaan shall be servant to them; so some read it. When Japheth joins with Shem, Canaan falls before them both. When strangers become friends, enemies become servants.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv22–25 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness…
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father,.... Which, had it been through surprise, and at an unawares, would not have been thought criminal; but be went into his father's tent, where he ought not to have entered; he looked with pleasure and delight on his father's nakedness: Ham is represented by many writers as a very wicked, immodest, and profligate creature: Berosus (i) makes him a magician, and to be the same with Zoroast or Zoroastres, and speaks of him as the public corrupter of mankind; and says that he taught men to live as before the flood, to lie with mothers, sisters, daughters, males and brutes, and creatures of all sorts; and that he actually did so himself, and therefore was cast out by his father Janus, or Noah, and got the name of "Chem", the infamous and immodest:
and told his two brethren without; he went out of the tent after he had pleased himself with the sight; see Hab 2:15 and in a wanton, ludicrous, and scoffing manner, related what he had seen: some of the Jewish Rabbins (k), as Jarchi relates, say that Canaan first saw it, and told his father of it; and some say (l), that he or Ham committed an unnatural crime with him; and others (m), that he castrated him; and hence, it is supposed, came the stories of Jupiter castrating his father Saturn, and Chronus his father Uranus: and Berosus (n) says, that Ham taking hold of his father's genitals, and muttering some words, by a magic charm rendered him impotent: and some (o) will have it that he committed incest with his father's wife; but these things are said without foundation: what Noah's younger son did unto him, besides looking on him, we are not told, yet it was such as brought a curse on Canaan; and one would think it would be more than bare sight, nay, it is expressly said there was something done, but what is not said, Gen 9:24.
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(i) Antiqu. l. 3. fol. 25. 1. (k) In Bereshit Rabba, sect. 36. fol. 32. 1. (l) Some in Jarchi. (m) Pirke Eliezer, c. 23. Some Rabbins in Ben Gersom & Jarchi in loc. (n) Antiqu. l. 3. fol. 25. 1. (o) Vander Hart, apud Bayle Dict. vol. 10. Art. "Ham", p. 588.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 25 And Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and…
And Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren -- to have seen it accidentally and involuntarily would not have been a crime. But he pleased himself with the sight. And he told his two brethren without - In the street, as the word is, in a scornful deriding manner.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv22–25 Verse 22. - 24. And Ham, the father of…
Verse 22. - 24. And Ham, the father of Canaan, c.] There is no occasion to enter into any detail here the sacred text is circumstantial enough. Ham, and very probably his son Canaan, had treated their father on this occasion with contempt or reprehensible levity. Had Noah not been innocent, as my exposition supposes him, God would not have endued him with the spirit of prophecy on this occasion, and testified such marked disapprobation of their conduct. The conduct of Shem and Japheth was such as became pious and affectionate children, who appear to have been in the habit of treating their father with decency, reverence, and obedient respect. On the one the spirit of prophecy (not the incensed father) pronounces a curse: on the others the same spirit (not parental tenderness) pronounces a blessing. These things had been just as they afterwards occurred had Noah never spoken. God had wise and powerful reasons to induce him to sentence the one to perpetual servitude, and to allot to the others prosperity and dominion. Besides, the curse pronounced on Canaan neither fell immediately upon himself nor on his worthless father, but upon the Canaanites; and from the history we have of this people, in Le 18:6-7, Le 18:24, Le 18:29-30, Le 20:9, Le 20:22-24, Le 20:26; and De 9:4; De 12:31, we may ask, Could the curse of God fall more deservedly on any people than on these? Their profligacy was great, but it was not the effect of the curse; but, being foreseen by the Lord, the curse was the effect of their conduct. But even this curse does not exclude them from the possibility of obtaining salvation; it extends not to the soul and to eternity, but merely to their bodies and to time; though, if they continued to abuse their liberty, resist the Holy Ghost, and refuse to be saved on God's terms, then the wrath of Divine justice must come upon them to the uttermost. How many, even of these, repented, we cannot tell.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv22–25 Gen 9:22. And Ham saw the nakedness of his…
Gen 9:22. And Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren — To have seen it accidentally and involuntarily would not have been a crime. But he pleased himself with the sight. And he told his brethren without — In the street, as the word is, in a scornful, deriding manner.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 Neither ought we to be so quick-sighted in discovering…
Neither ought we to be so quick-sighted in discovering the faults of any: which we often represent as real, when they are only apparent. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–25 This incident could scarcely have happened till twenty years…
This incident could scarcely have happened till twenty years after the flood; for Canaan, whose conduct was more offensive than that even of his father, was not born till after that event. It is probable that there is a long interval included between these verses and that this prophecy, like that of Jacob on his sons, was not uttered till near the close of Noah's life when the prophetic spirit came upon him; this presumption is strengthened by the mention of his death immediately after.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv22–25 22. Saw the nakedness of his father, and told…
22. Saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without — Ham displays immodesty and sensuality, as well as an unfilial glorying in his father’s shame.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv22–25 22. Ham, the father of] Words probably inserted by…
22. Ham, the father of] Words probably inserted by the compiler (R). If so, in the original narrative there stood in this verse simply the name of “Canaan,” “and Canaan saw the nakedness.” Otherwise the curse pronounced upon Canaan, instead of upon Ham, in Gen_9:25, is unintelligible (see note).
According to this view, the old tradition, from which these verses are derived, regarded “Canaan,” and not “Ham,” as the brother of Shem and Japheth.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv22, 24, 25 (22, 23) Ham . . . saw . .…
(22, 23) Ham . . . saw . . . and told.—The sin lay not in seeing, which might be unintentional, but in telling, especially if his purpose was to ridicule his father. His brothers, with filial piety, “take a garment,” the loose outer robe or cloak enveloping the whole body, and with reverent delicacy walk backwards, and lay it upon their father’s person.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv22–25 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness.…
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness. Pudenda, from a root (hr) signifying to make naked, from a kindred root to which ( comes the term expressive of the nakedness of Adam and Eve after eating the forbidden fruit. (Gen_3:7) The sin of Ham not a trifling and unintentional transgression" (Von Bohlen) obviously lay not in seeing what perhaps he may have come upon unexpectedly, but
(1) in wickedly rejoicing in what he saw, which, considering who he was that was overcome with wine, minister of salvation to men, and the chief restorer of the world, the relation in which he stood to Ham, that of father, the advanced age to which he had now come, and the comparatively mature years of Ham himself, who was "already more than a hundred years old," should have filled him with sincere sorrow; "sed nunquam vino victum pattern filius risisset, nisi prius ejecisset animo illam reverentiam et opinionem, quae in liberis de parentibus ex mandato Dei existere debet" (Luther); and
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(2) in reporting it, doubtless with a malicious purpose, to his brethren. And told his two brethren without. Possibly inviting them to come and look upon their father"s shame.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v25 Cursed be Canaan
Gen_9:25-27
Cursed be Canaan
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The sons of Noah
I.
The curse of Canaan was SERVITUDE. Noah saw in Ham and his son some traits of character that showed a moral inferiority, which he foresaw would have an effect upon their descendants, and would be visited by God with chastisement and disapproval.
II. The blessing of Shem was RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGE. Israel was alone among the nations in respect of their superior knowledge of God. From this Shemitic people was in future days to go forth the Law and the Word of God (Isa_2:3), which were to bring all other nations to God.
III. The blessing of Japheth was ENLARGEMENT. His name means widely-extending; and his descendants were great colonizers, spreading over Europe in one direction, over Persia and India in another. LESSONS:--
1. That the Lord is King ruling over all, and that He judges among the nations.
2. That the Lord is Saviour, and provides for the way in which His truth shall be preserved amid the wickedness of men, and shall finally subdue and renovate the world.
3. That all nations, whether subjected to others, or widely extending their power, should learn to serve and praise Jehovah, God of Shem. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Lessons
1. Gracious souls may sleep awhile in sin, but they awake again.
2. Awaking saints sadly resent their fails, and depart from evil.
3. God brings to light the wicked practices of ungracious ones against His saints, and sheweth it to His prophets (Gen_9:28).
4. Cognisance taken by God and His prophets of wicked practices foreruns a curse.
5. A father may be a minister of a curse from God upon his own children, and he must not spare, as here in Noah, and in Jacob.
6. The curse of God on body and soul finds men in their impieties against Him and their parents.
7. Gods curse pursueth the children that go on in their fathers steps (Canaan).
8. Such as abuse sonship in the Church, may justly look to be made slaves unto it. The vilest of slavery is their portion. Such is the curse of Ham. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Scripture predictions
The manner of Scripture here is worthy of particular remark.
1. The prediction takes its rise from a characteristic incident. The conduct of the brothers was of comparatively slight importance in itself, but in the disposition which it betrayed it was highly significant.
2. The prediction refers in terms to the near future and to the outward condition of the parties concerned.
3. It foreshadows under these familiar phrases the distant future, and the inward, as well as the outward, state of the family of man.
4. It lays out the destiny of the whole race from its very starting point. These simple laws will be found to characterize the main body of the predictions of Scripture. (Prof. J. G. Murphy.)
The curse of Canaan, and its fulfilment
Canaan is under a curse of servitude to both Shem and Japheth: the former was fulfilled in the conquest of the seven nations of Israel; and the latter in the subjugation of the Tyrians and Carthaginians, who were the remainder of the old Canaanites, by the Greeks and Romans. So far as the curse had reference to the other descendants of Ham, it was a long time, as I have said, ere it came upon them. In the early ages of the world they flourished. They were the first who set up for empire; and so far from being subject to the descendants of Shem or Japheth, the latter were often invaded and driven into corners by them. It was Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, who founded the imperial city of Babylon; and Mizraim, another of his descendants, who first established the kingdom of Egypt. These, it is well known, were for many ages two of the greatest empires in the world. About the time of the Captivity, however, God began to cut short their power. Both Egypt and Babylon within a century sank into a state of subjection, first to the Persians, who descended from Shem, and afterwards to the Greeks and Romans, who were the children of Japheth. Nor have they ever been able to recover themselves: for to the dominion of the Romans succeeded that of the Saraeens, and to theirs that of the Turks, under watch they with a great part of Africa, which is peopled by the children of Ham, have lived and still live in the most degraded state of subjection. To all this may be added that the inhabitants of Africa seem to be marked out as objects of slavery by the European nations. Though these things are far from excusing the conduct of their oppressors, yet they establish the fact, and prove the fulfilment of prophecy. (A. Fuller.)
The question of a curse upon children to remote periods
Let us proceed to offer a remark or two on the justice of the Divine proceeding in denouncing a curse upon children, even to remote periods, for the iniquity of their parents. It is worthy of notice that the God of Israel thought it no dishonour to His character to declare that He would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children in those that hated Him, any more than that He would show mercy to those that loved Him, which He did in an eminent degree to the posterity of Abram. And should any object to this, and to the Bible on this account, we might appeal to universal fact. None can deny that children are the better or the worse for the conduct of their parents. If any man insist that neither good nor evil shall befal him but what is the immediate consequence of his own conduct, he must go out of the world; for no such state of existence is known in it.
1. There is, however, an important difference between the sin of a parent being the occasion of the prediction of a curse upon his posterity, who were considered by Him who knew the end from the beginning as walking in His steps, and its being the formal cause of their punishment. The sin of Ham was the occasion of the prediction against the Canaanites, and the antecedent to the evil predicted; but it was not the cause of it. Its formal procuring cause may be seen in the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus. To Ham, and perhaps to Canaan, the prediction of the servitude of their descendants was a punishment: but the fulfilment of that prediction on the parties was no farther such than as it was connected with their own sin.
2. There is also an important difference between the providential dispensations of God towards families and nations in the present world, and the administration of distributive justice towards individuals with respect to the world to come. In the last judgment, everyone shall give an account of himself to God, and be judged according to the deeds done in the body: but while we are in this world we stand in various relations, in which it is impossible that we should be dealt with merely as individuals. God deals with families and nations as such; and in the course of His providence visits them with good and evil, not according to the conduct of individuals, but as far as conduct is concerned, that of the general body. To insist that we should in all cases be treated as individuals, is to renounce the social character. (A. Fuller.)
Predictions respecting the sons of Noah
I. WE RETRACE SACRED HISTORY TO FIND WHEN GOD SPOKE, AND TO KNOW WHAT GOD HAS SPOKEN OF A PREDICTIVE CHARACTER. Noah began to be an husbandman. Upon partaking of the wine produced from the first full ripe grape, unaccustomed to such a beverage, and indulging too incautiously in its use, he was drunken! Yes, in the most lawful duties and pleasures we are liable to temptation. Neither age nor character afford perfect security from spiritual harm. Connected with this evil of excessive drinking, was the loss of self-government. Shamelessness and drunkenness are common associates. He lies uncovered within his tent. And as the sins of Israel rarely escape the eyes of the Canaanites, so Ham observed his father, and, fool-like, made a mock of his sin. It is a terrible mark of a vitiated mind when men not only do evil, but take pleasure in them that do the same! Shem and Japheth, displeased at the conduct of their brother, and concerned for their fathers reputation, took a garment and laid it upon their shoulders, and went backward, and cavered the nakedness of their father.
II. We shall now proceed to make some remarks relating to THE MEANING OF THESE PREDICTIONS, and thus prepare the way for marking their agreements with history.
1. The order of names is not the order of the age of the sons of Noah, but rather of the development of the truth of the predictions relating to them.
2. These predictions relate to the nations originating in these sons of Noah, and not to the sons of Noah themselves.
3. These predictions wear a general aspect. Here in some six or seven sentences we have an epitome of the worlds history. There is no room for detail. Here are portrayed certain commanding features.
4. In tracing the fulfilment of these predictions we must have assistance from the geography of the world, over which these descendants of Noah were scattered. We must see these nations separate; or if together, we must see some strong physical or philological affinities between the families issuing from these several parent sources.
5. In tracing the settlement of these descendants of Noah, we must remember that their first division only embraced a small portion of the earths surface. Now, here is wisdom; as these separate tribes enlarged, they went on to occupy regions more and more remote from each other.
III. Let us now consider THE AGREEMENT SUBSISTING BETWEEN THESE PREDICTIONS AND THE GREAT OUTLINES OF HISTORY.
1. Adopting the order before us, we shall first notice the descendants of Ham and their servitude. Cursed be Canaan: a servant of servants--a slave--shall he be unto his brethren. Looking at the early history of his descendants, we see that Nimrod, one of that number, founded the Babylonian, and some think the Assyrian states. Reading the eleventh verse of the eighteenth chapter thus: Out of that land he went forth to Assyria and built Nineveh: a reading the more probable, because the historian is there relating the exploits of the mighty hunter. Mizraim established the kingdom of Egypt. Indeed, Egypt is called, in Scripture, the land of Mizraim; and the Easterns designate it in the same way. My brethren, you are familiar with the names of Egypt and Babylon. You know that the Hebrews, the seed of Shorn, were subdued and oppressed for a season by both of these powers. And yet the method of their deliverance from this servitude afforded a brilliant discovery of Gods mindfulness of His covenant. What terrible judgments were inflicted upon Egypt, in order to effect the exodus of the Israelites! How many curses fell upon the children of Ham, because they oppressed the seed of Shem! The people that once tyrannized over the Israelites are now under despotic power, taxed in their produce almost beyond endurance, inflicting injuries upon their own persons to unfit them for the service of their proud governor: they tell us that the sceptre of Mizraim has passed away, that Egypt is the basest of kingdoms. They serve as slaves, and are wasted by the hands of strangers. May He who smote Egypt, heal it. May they return to the Lord, and He shall be entreated of them and shall heal them (Isa_19:1-25). Look at Africa I See how its better portions have been subjected by the Romans, the Saraceus, the Turks. It was on her coast that a colony of emigrants from Tyre--Phoenicians, descendants of Ham, and a people distinguished for navigation and commerce--sought to make to themselves a name and a kingdom, by founding the famed city of Carthage. But the proud city was destroyed by the Romans, and a consul was directed to preside over the province as the deputy of a Japhetic power. Numbers survived the terrible massacre and ruin. And numbers still survive these and kindred calamities, and people the interior of that mighty continent. Still the children of Ham dwell upon Africs burning sands; but what curses follow them.
2. We pass on to notice the descendants of Shem and their privileged connection with Jehovah. Blessed be the Lord God of Shorn, and Canaan shall be his servant. As there is a special line of descent referred to in the tenth chapter of Genesis, we shall confine our remarks to the prediction before us as agreeing with certain facts in the history of the Jewish people. Now, the prediction refers us not so much to their temporal importance, or to the extent of their territory, as to certain moral and religious advantages. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. Some critics render it, Blessed of Jehovah my God be Shorn. Following our oxen version, it amounts to the same; for blessed is that people whose God is the Lord. But there is a difference in the form of cursing and blessing. The prophetic patriarch says, Cursed be Canaan, for all evil is from men themselves; and you will remember that the children of Ham were first wicked and then wretched. But when he speaks of blessing, he ascribes all the praise to that Being from whom cometh every perfect gift. The holiness of Shem must be traced to the free grace of God. And had the holiest Hebrew been dealt with according to his desert, he would have lost the blessing. Not unto them, O Lord, but unto Thy name be all the praise, for Thy mercy and Thy truth salve. The facts of Jewish history, which we think at agreement with the prediction before us, are these. The knowledge of the true religion, the knowledge of God, and covenant relationship to Jehovah as a visible Church, were confined, from Noah to Christ, two thousand years, almost entirely to the descendants of Shem, and especially to the Hebrews. It appears that Eber was living, and bad two sons at the time the earth was divided (Gen_10:25); and upon the supposition that his name gave rise to that of the Hebrew language and people, it is likely that by him and by his posterity the original Adamic and Noahic language (supposing that the Hebrew) was preserved uncorrupt; that he was the follower of Shem, his pious ancestor, and that from him proceeded that visible Church which has remained in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation a witness for Jehovah. The sacred historian having told us of the children of Eber, informs us that then was the earth divided, and henceforward the genealogy of Noahs descendants is confined to the line of Shem. Reading on in the eleventh chapter of Genesis, we arrive at the Abrahamic era; whence Matthew, the New Testament historian, traces the ancestry of Messias. As a pledge to Abram that his seed should possess the land of promise, and to intimate their religious distinction, we find the patriarch leaving Ur, entering Canaan, and there building an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him. It would be easy to show you how God entered into covenant with Abraham, and renewed the same with the other ancestors of the Jewish people. How He at length conducted their posterity out of Egypt, established a system of religion amongst them, caused them to rear a tabernacle and then a temple for His worship, sanctuaries consecrated by a visible and luminous cloud, the symbol and token of His peculiar presence. How He raised up prophets for their instruction, and how the lively oracles of His word were preserved amongst them notwithstanding all their difficulties and dispersions. Brethren, compared with this favoured nation, all the other nations were without God. Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Think of their religious peculiarities; think of the unusual and miraculous interpositions of the Most High so often made for their rescue and supply; think how subservient all the vicissitudes of surrounding nations were made to their well-being; and say, Did not Jehovah dwell in Zion, and was not her King in her? And then, when you remember, how oft they provoked the Most High, and lightly esteemed the rock of their salvation, will you not unite with Noah in the language of adoration, the ascription of praise, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem! Nor is this all. After the lapse of two thousand years, and in the fulness of time, God sent forth His Son as the spiritual Deliverer of a fallen world. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. God was manifest in the flesh. But to them is He sent first. And do you ask His genealogy? He is the Son of David, the Seed of Abraham, the Descendant of Shem. Yes; of him, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is God over all, and blessed forever. Blessed be the God of Shorn, who remembered us in our low estate, for His mercy endureth forever. Let the seed of Abraham, on whose nature He took hold, say so; for His mercy endureth for over.
3. It remains for us to notice the descendants of Japheth, and their enlargement. The prediction concerning Japheth is, as his name imports, enlargement or persuasion. Some expositors prefer the latter rendering. Then it may be said to have been accomplished in the accession of the Gentiles to the Church of God. It is an important fact, that Christianity has prevailed chiefly in the countries of Japheth. Japheth dwells in the tents of Shem. Shem laboured, and Japheth enters into his labours. But few of the descendants of Ham or Shem have as yet professed the Christian faith in its purity, whilst multitudes of Japheths posterity, in Asia, America, and Europe, bless the God of Shem, and enjoy His former distinction. But as the word, when meaning to persuade, usually has a bad sense; we incline to our version: God shall enlarge Japheth. And we ask you if history is not at agreement with this ancient prediction? Understand it as referring to multitude, territory, or dominion, Japheth is enlarged. It appears that Ham had four sons, Shem had five, and Japheth had seven. We cannot think of the Germanic and northern nations, without associating the idea of multitude: the invasion of the barbarian hordes! The northern hive has always been remarkable for its fecundity, sending forth swarms to colonize the more southern parts both of Europe and Asia. Consider the nations of Japhetic origin--Median, Grecian, Roman, Turkish, and many others, and ask whether multitude, if that be the meaning of the prediction, is not traceable in the history of Japheths posterity. We attach importance to the ideas of territory and influence--dominion. Possibly, in the early ages of the world, this prediction appeared obscure and its truth doubtful. Ham and Shem put on strength, and the former was subjected to the latter, when Canaan was gained for a possession. But where is Japheth? Where is his enlarged territory or extended sway? I said it might have appeared obscure, but, possibly, we have not well considered its meaning. God shall enlarge. Then the early, as well as later, history may yet accord with the prediction. It may, by subsequent enlargement, imply original straitness. God is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working, but we must sometimes wait to see! Well, since upon us the ends of the world are come, let us now look abroad. Where does Japheth dwell? Take the map in your hand, divide the hemisphere you tenant pretty nearly equally north and south: the northern half is Japheths home; yes, his alone. Then turn to the new world, the western hemisphere. The Aborigines seem to be of Shemitic origin; but the civilized parts, the United States, these acknowledge Japheth. I know not how to avoid anticipating the closing part of my subject. These tents of Shem are the dwellings of Japheth, and so are Australia and Canada and Newfoundland. Finally, the sacred text intimates one direction of Japheths enlargement. He shall dwell in the tents of Shorn.
Conclusion:--
1. From this subject we should learn to dread sin and to repose implicit confidence in the Word of God. It is a bitter thing to sin! See it in the history of nations, and let Britons not be high-minded, but fear.
2. And learn to trust in Gods Word. Look at these predictions. Think when they were uttered and how they have been fulfilled; and dare you think Moses an impostor, or can you suppose that Noah spake these words except as moved by the Holy Ghost?
3. Let us seek the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. He alone is fit to be King over all the earth. (B. S. Hollis.)
Blessed be the Lord God of Shem
Lessons
1. God by His prophets speaks good unto the pious, as well as evil to the wicked seed.
2. Noah and the prophets spake of some good to the Church, which themselves saw not. As here to Shems seed.
3. Prophecies of good unto the Church are best given and received with blessing unto God.
4. The promise of Jehovahs being the God of His Church is the great blessing (Psa_144:15).
5. Jehovah is more peculiarly the God of some men than of others, as here in Shem.
6. Where God is truly Lord of His people, all adversaries are made servants to them.
7. The Church shall in its appointed seasons triumph in God, and all enemies be laid under her foot. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
God shall enlarge Japheth.--
Lessons
1. God hath made known that some in the Church to the last times shall divide from it.
2. All divisions from the Church are not irreconcileable.
3. God Almighty alone is the cause of making up the breaches of such as divide from His Church.
4. Prophecy of good to any, as it is by promise, so it is brought about by prayer.
5. Blessing of posterity in abundance may be to such as divide from the Church.
6. Heart enlargement toward the ways of God in His promise and work.
7. Souls divided are only persuadable by God to have communion with His Church.
8. Gods persuasion upon souls is effectual to bring them to the Churchs tents.
9. The Gentiles succession of, and communion with the Jewish Church, is foretold of God.
10. A tent habitation hath God allotted to His Church below.
11. The worlds palaces will be changed for the Churchs tents when God works.
12. Subjection of all enemies is surely prophesied to them who join with the Church of God. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
God shall enlarge Japheth
There is in the original a play upon the word Japheth, which itself signifies enlargement. This enlargement is the most striking point in the history of Japheth, who is the progenitor of the inhabitants of Europe, Asia, and America, except the region between the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, the Euxine, the Caspian, and the mountains beyond the Tigris, which was the main seat of the Shemites. This expansive power refers not only to the territory and the multitude of the Japhethites, but also to their intellectual and active faculties. The metaphysics of the Hindoos, the philosophy of the Greeks, the military prowess of the Romans, and the modern science and civilization of the world, are due to the race of Japheth. And though the moral and the spiritual were first developed among the Shemites, yet the Japhethites have proved themselves capable of rising to the heights of these lofty themes, and have elaborated that noble form of human speech which was adopted, in the providence of God, as best fitted to convey to mankind that farther development of Old Testament truth which is furnished in the New. (Prof. J. G. Murphy.)
And he shall dwell, in the tents of Shem
We regard Japheth as the subject of this sentence; because, if God were its subject, the meaning would be substantially the same as that of the blessing of Shem, already given, and because this would intermingle the blessing of Shem with that of Japheth, without any important addition to our information. Whereas, when Japheth is the subject of the sentence, we learn that he shall dwell in the tents of Ahem, an altogether new proposition. This form of expression does not indicate a direct invasion and conquest of the land of Shem, which would not be in keeping with the blessing pronounced on him in the previous sentence. It rather implies that this dwelling together would be a benefit to Japheth, and no injury to Shorn. Accordingly we find that, when the Persians conquered the Babylonian empire, they restored the Jews to their native land. When Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, he gave protection to the Jews. And when the Romans subdued the Greek monarchy, they befriended the chosen nation, and allowed them a large measure of self-government. In their time came the Messiah, and instituted that new form of the Church of the Old Testament, which not only retained the best part of the ancient people of God, but extended itself over the whole of Europe, the chief seat of Japheth; went with him wherever he went, and is at this day, through Gods blessing, penetrating into the moral darkness of Ham as well as the remainder of Shem and Japheth himself. (Prof. J. G. Murphy.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v25 See note subdiv. 5-7, (See Scofield "Gen 9:1").
Cursed
See note subdiv. 5-7, (See Scofield "Gen 9:1").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v24 The curse upon Canaan
The curse upon Canaan
v. 24. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. As the intoxication wore off, Noah awoke to soberness and found out what Ham had done, probably by reason of the dress which covered him. It was doubtless with deep humiliation that he became fully aware of the role which he had played. But to this was added just anger at the disrespect of Ham.
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v. 25. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. The curse strikes Canaan, because he followed his father in his sinful, wicked disposition. Therefore his offspring, his whole generation, should be cursed by being servants of servants to the brothers of Ham and their descendants. The sons of Canaan in Palestine were either annihilated or became servants of the children of Israel; and his later descendants in Africa were, for many centuries, the slaves of the Japhetic peoples. It has been only through the power of the Gospel that their lot has been changed, and that they have become partakers of the glories of salvation and of the blessings which attend Christianity.
v. 26. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. The Lord Jehovah, the true, living God, was to be the God of Shem. From the descendants of Shem the Lord chose the people to whom He entrusted His oracles, the Messianic prophecies. From the descendants of Shem, from the children of Israel, the promised Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ the Savior, was born.
v. 27. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. The blessing of God came upon Japheth and his descendants, chiefly the European nations. They have been spread out far and wide; they have had the destinies of the world in their hands, under God. But the highest distinction of these peoples was that they partook of the blessings of Shem, that they became partakers of the one salvation, in Christ. Like a refrain the fact of Canaan’s servitude is predicted three times, showing that his curse indeed would be heavy and long enduring.
v. 28. And Noah lived after the Flood three hundred and fifty years.
v. 29. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died. Holy man though he was, and distinguished above all men of his time, he yet, as a sinner, was subject to death: he went the way of all flesh.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 24 his father
his father
This refers to Noah.
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translationWords
Ham
Canaan
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 25 9:22 the father of Canaan: See study note on…
9:22 the father of Canaan: See study note on 9:18. • Ham’s behavior was shameful. He gazed upon his naked father and, rather than covering him and keeping the matter secret, robbed him of his dignity by announcing it to his brothers (see Exod 21:15, 17; Lam 4:21; Hab 2:15). An ancient Near Eastern tale says that a son is expected to come to his father’s aid when he is drunk (Tale of Aqhat; cp. Isa 51:17-18). Ham’s neglect of familial duty explains why Noah praised Shem and Japheth but cursed Ham (Gen 9:24-27).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.