Read
Genesis 9:18-27. What is the message of this strange story?
Noah´s act in his vineyard echoes Adam in the Garden of Eden. The two stories contain common motifs: eating of the fruit and resulting in nakedness; then a covering, a curse, and a blessing. Noah reconnects to his Adamic roots and, unfortunately, continues that failed history.
The fermentation of fruit was not a part of God´s original creation. Noah indulged, then lost self-control and uncovered himself. The fact that Ham
“saw” his nakedness hints at Eve, who also
“saw” the forbidden tree (
Gen. 3:6). This parallel suggests that Ham did not just
“see” furtively, by accident, his father´s nakedness. He went around and talked about it, without even trying to take care of his father´s problem. In contrast, his brothers´ immediate reaction to cover their father, while Ham left him naked, implicitly denounced Ham´s actions.
The issue at stake here is more about the respect of one´s parents. Failure to honor your parents, who represent your past, will affect your future (
Exod. 20:12; compare with
Eph. 6:2). Hence the curse, which will influence Ham´s future and that of his son Canaan.
Of course, it is a gross theological mistake and an ethical crime to use this text to justify racist theories against anyone. The prophecy is strictly restricted to Canaan, Ham´s son. The biblical author has in mind some of the corrupt practices of the Canaanites (
Gen. 19:5-7, 31-35).
In addition, the curse contains a promise of blessing, playing on the name
“Canaan,” which is derived from the verb kana´, meaning
“subdue.” It is through subduing of Canaan that God´s people, the descendants of Shem, will enter the Promised Land and prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, who will enlarge Japheth
“in the tents of Shem” (
Gen. 9:27). This is a prophetic allusion to the expansion of God´s covenant to all nations, which will embrace Israel´s message of salvation to the world (
Dan. 9:27,
Isa. 66:18-20,
Rom. 11:25). The curse of Ham will, in fact, be a blessing for all nations, including whichever descendants of Ham and Canaan accept the salvation offered them by the Lord.