To whom Noah cursed and why? (Part 1)
To figure out this passage, we need to analyze carefully the details.
One of the errors that people make is to assert that it was Ham who left his father incensed. Nevertheless, see what the Holy Scripture says:
• Gen 9:24 -> “When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what *his youngest son* had done to him,”.
It was the youngest son of Noah that commit a crime against him. It comes the question: who is the youngest son of Noah?
Take a look at these verses:
• Gen 5:32 -> “After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”.
• Gen 6:10 -> “And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”.
• Gen 7:13 -> “On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,”.
• Gen 9:18 -> “The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)”.
• Gen 10:1 -> “These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.”.
Note that, every time that the Holy Scripture quotes the sons of Noah, it is said “Shem, Ham and Japheth”. Therefore, Shem is the firstborn, Ham is the son of the middle and Japheth, the younger.
Therefore, what bothered Noah wasn’t the attitude of Ham. Let alone the attitude of Japheth, his youngest son (as we can see in the end of Genesis 9). Who, then?
It’s good to remember that the word “son” can refer to the offspring of the person. See how Jesus was called:
• Mat 20:30,31 -> “And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, *Son of David*!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, *Son of David*!”.
• Mat 21:9 -> “And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the *Son of David*! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!””.
• Mat 15:22 -> “And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, *Son of David*; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.””.
• Mar 10:47 -> “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, *Son of David*, have mercy on me!””.
So, “son” here is referring to Canaan, the youngest grandson of Noah when this occurred. Note how Canaan is the youngest son of Ham:
• Gen 10:6 -> “The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.”.
In other words, what Genesis 9:24 is saying is that Canaan was the newest relative of Noah.
So, have a good day.
Tomorrow we will carry on.
To figure out this passage, we need to analyze carefully the details.
One of the errors that people make is to assert that it was Ham who left his father incensed. Nevertheless, see what the Holy Scripture says:
• Gen 9:24 -> “When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what *his youngest son* had done to him,”.
It was the youngest son of Noah that commit a crime against him. It comes the question: who is the youngest son of Noah?
Take a look at these verses:
• Gen 5:32 -> “After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”.
• Gen 6:10 -> “And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”.
• Gen 7:13 -> “On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,”.
• Gen 9:18 -> “The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)”.
• Gen 10:1 -> “These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.”.
Note that, every time that the Holy Scripture quotes the sons of Noah, it is said “Shem, Ham and Japheth”. Therefore, Shem is the firstborn, Ham is the son of the middle and Japheth, the younger.
Therefore, what bothered Noah wasn’t the attitude of Ham. Let alone the attitude of Japheth, his youngest son (as we can see in the end of Genesis 9). Who, then?
It’s good to remember that the word “son” can refer to the offspring of the person. See how Jesus was called:
• Mat 20:30,31 -> “And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, *Son of David*!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, *Son of David*!”.
• Mat 21:9 -> “And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the *Son of David*! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!””.
• Mat 15:22 -> “And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, *Son of David*; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.””.
• Mar 10:47 -> “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, *Son of David*, have mercy on me!””.
So, “son” here is referring to Canaan, the youngest grandson of Noah when this occurred. Note how Canaan is the youngest son of Ham:
• Gen 10:6 -> “The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.”.
In other words, what Genesis 9:24 is saying is that Canaan was the newest relative of Noah.
So, have a good day.
Tomorrow we will carry on.
