One of the puzzling Scripture passages is that about Noah cursing Canaan, son of his younger son Ham (Genesis 9:18; 10:6). Earlier, in Genesis 9:21-27, we see a situation where Noah got drunk from wine which he, apparently, had made from his own vineyard. As a result, Noah was found naked (however it happened is not clear). Ham saw him in that condition and told his two brothers, Shem and Japheth, about it (Verse 10). Ham’s brothers then took a garment, robe or tunic and, walking backward to where their father lay so they would not see his nakedness, they covered him.
In Verse 24 we see Noah sobering up from his drunken stupor, and recalling what “his younger son had done to him.” Then suddenly, in Verse 25, we see Noah cursing his grandson Canaan, instead of Ham!
Why did Noah do this, if it was Ham, not Canaan (as far as the text appears to say) who saw him naked?
God’s perfect judgment
Ezekiel 14:14 confirms that Noah was judged by God to be a righteous man, as were Job and Daniel. That is to say that, overall, Noah obeyed God’s law (Psalm 119:172; Genesis 6:8-9), although in a moment of weakness he obviously sinned by becoming drunk (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). We can assume that he repented of that and is assured of his eternal reward (Hebrews 11:7).
Ezekiel 18:20 judges that “…the son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son.” This echoes Deuteronomy 24:16, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”
If Ham merely – even unintentionally – saw his father’s nakedness, why did Noah react as strongly as he did? And why the curse on Canaan instead?
Noah was reacting to a more serious offense done (actively, not just passively, as in merely looking) to him by his “younger son.” The Hebrew of this phrase, however, can be taken to also mean “grandson.”
Therefore, it appears more likely the case that it was Canaan who did something so grave to his grandfather that it caused him to pronounce a dire curse on Canaan!
A key to understanding this is the principle in God’s second commandment (Exodus 20:4). Here God warns that He will visit the iniquity or sin of the fathers upon the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him. In addition, Jesus’ words “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20) could apply here too.
The sin or iniquity of the fathers visited on the children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren may, in some cases, be a matter of heredity – through the genes. But in more cases, it is the influence – the environment in the family, especially the examples parents set for their children, and other factors – through which the descendants’ traits of personality and behavior are shaped. As a saying puts it, children often learn more from what is “caught” than what is “taught – especially in terms of attitudes and perspectives! In our times today the “Media” has also played a big part in the development of our youth, not to forget the influence of the church and school and friends, too.
If we examine the iniquity or sin of Canaan’s early descendants (his “fruits”), we may have a clue to Canaan’s sin, for which Noah cursed him. Genesis 10:19 says, the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.”
The infamous people of Sodom and Gomorrah, therefore, apparently descended from Canaan (the “tree” on which the “fruits” grew)! And they are historically notorious for their homosexual excesses, as Abraham’s nephew Lot knew up close (Genesis 19:1-25; 2 Peter 2:6-8). In fact, homosexual acts are often called “sodomy,” and the action word is “sodomize!”
It appears that Canaan must have stood by, watching his grandfather Noah getting drunk. Wine (or any alcoholic drink in general) often goes hand in hand with illicit sex. A Filipino adage says, “Kapag may alak, may balak!” This can be translated into English roughly as: “Where there is whiskey, there’s a wishy!” or “Where there is beer, there may be a queer!”
Habakkuk 2:15 pronounces: “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness.”
It is, therefore, quite possible that Canaan did not merely see the nakedness of his drunk grandfather Noah, but he actually committed a form of sodomy on him! But Noah became sober enough to see and remember what Canaan had done to him, and thus the curse.
Leviticus 18 and 20 has God instructing His servant Moses to teach the people of Israel about His moral laws, laws regarding sexuality, warning them not to do according to the wicked ways of Egypt and Canaan. Then follows a series of cases of incestuous acts (against close relatives). And these evil sexual acts are declared euphemistically as “to uncover his (or her) nakedness.”
And, of course, there is God’s clear prohibition against homosexual or same-sex relations, in Leviticus 16:22; 20:13, which cannot happen without also uncovering the partner’s nakedness, or the partner becoming naked by himself. It may possibly have happened that, when Canaan saw his grandfather drunk, he uncovered him and sodomized him! And that may be why Ham saw his father lying naked.
Noah thus justly cursed Canaan for his own abominable offense against his grandfather, not Ham’s merely seeing Noah naked. If Ham had not seen him thus, he could not have told his brothers (who were outside the tent) about it, and they could not have covered him. Why didn’t Ham himself cover his father’s nakedness? The Bible does not tell us. He may have been taken aback, and left it to his brothers to cover the embarrassing situation. And Noah was sober enough not to curse Ham for such a less serious act of disrespect than that of Canaan. Nevertheless, could Ham’s neglect have been a reason why Ham was excluded from Noah’s blessing, which was pronounced only on Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:26-27)?
Canaan’s curse
Noah’s curse on Canaan was that his descendants would become servants (even slaves) of the children of Shem and Japheth, whom he thus blessed for covering his nakedness (Genesis 9:25-27). Indeed, those Canaanites whom the children of Israel refused to destroy but allowed to remain alive became Israel’s proverbial “hewers of wood and drawers of water” (Joshua 9:21-27).
Now, there’s nothing evil or bad about being a servant to others. In fact, Jesus said, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). Being a “slave,” on the other hand, implies coercion, and burdensome servitude, as the children of Israel suffered while strangers in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-14, etc.). Spiritually, we can also become slaves to sin (Romans 6:20, “servants” here being from the Greek doulos, meaning slave), and that brings us to bondage and suffering. Jesus came to save us from such slavery, as Moses did the children of Israel from Egypt.
This leaves Ham himself in some kind of “limbo,” although he may have contributed something to the way Canaan turned out to be. Ham was also father to Mizraim (Genesis 10:6), who in turn was the ancestor of the mighty Egyptians (Genesis 50:11), whose archeological footprints betray their own share of homosexuality! Could this perhaps have contributed to why Ham was not included in Noah’s blessing, as mentioned earlier? Only God knows for sure, and He will judge Ham accordingly, and justly! We could fault Noah, too, for Ham’s moral failings; we could, in fact, trace human sin up the genealogical ladder, to Adam!
Who knows where else the surviving descendants of Canaan may have gone today? If we know where the descendants of Shem and Japheth are today, we might likely find, among their servants and slaves, remnants of the Canaanites! [See, for example: https://www.herbert-armstrong.org, click ENTER HERE, select “Books & Booklets,” and scroll down to the booklet or book titled “The United States and Britain in Prophecy.”]
May this be a stern warning to homosexuals (whatever your race may be) that, if you persist in your attitude and behavior, and do not repent or change to righteous living, you are cursed to become slaves to others, or to your sexual partners and your lusts, and to suffer the eternal consequence of sin.
But the good news: there is sure hope in Jesus Christ for redemption and freedom from our sin and bondage and from the dire consequence: the “lake of fire” or the “second death” and thus being excluded from God’s kingdom (Romans 1:21-27; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Revelation 21:8; 22:15, “dogs” here meaning abominable “sodomites,” not merely being non-Israelites or uncircumcised (Matthew 15: 21, 26; Galatians 5:15)! See: “The Rainbow Connection,” “The Conversion Therapy Controversy,” “Should Everyone Be Allowed to Be Who They Are?” and “The Carnal Mind.”
Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
21062025/29062025