Introduction
The story of Noah is both fascinating and yet, controversial, at the same time. Most of us are familiar with the story of Noah’s ark and the Great Flood, but what about Noah’s family? What happened to Noah’s family after the flood? Our text today tells us of a less familiar story, a story about Noah and his three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Immediately after the account of the Great Flood, the story zooms in to a localized episode of a small family disturbance. Throughout the entire account of the flood, from the building of the ark to the promise of the rainbow, we only hear God giving instructions to Noah, and Noah was simply obeying everything the Lord had told him. Noah did not speak a word in the entire event of the flood. But in our narrative today, all of a sudden, God appears to be silent. God does not speak here in our text. God was also not mentioned at all. But yet surprisingly, Noah spoke for the very first time, and his first words as recorded in the Bible, was actually a curse on his grandson! How inauspicious (Hamilton, p. 324)! Why did Noah curse his grandson? Why was God silent? What is the state of the world after the flood?
Noah’s Folly
In earlier passages, we were told that Noah has found favor in the eyes of God (Gen. 6:8). We are also told that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Gen. 6:9). Such a description of a person is of the highest accolade that Scripture ever gives to a man. You might be wondering, “Would God still have considered him righteous after seeing him getting drunk on his own wine?” One scholar (Wenham) believes that “undoubtedly… Genesis views it as a fall from grace for [Noah] to have become drunk and exposed himself” [1].
Drinking wine is allowed, but excessive drinking and drunkenness is prohibited in the Bible[2] . But strictly speaking, the narrative does not praise or condemn Noah’s drunkenness [3]. In fact, the Jews exonerated Noah from any misdoings because they believe that he was the first to have invented wine. And so as the first to taste wine, he was unaware of the intoxicating effects of his discovery [4]. But whatever Noah’s folly may be, it was merely a shadow of Ham’s folly.
Ham’s Folly
What was Ham’s folly? “Interpreters have offered several explanations of the offense involved, particularly voyeurism, castration, paternal incest, or maternal incest” [5]. Some have even suggested a homosexual act was committed[6] . However, all of which are only speculations. Rabbinic sources believe that much of the sordid details of the discovery of Noah’s nakedness were removed from the Torah when it was put down into printed form, for reasons untold[7] .
From the text alone, we can identify two things he might have done wrong. Firstly, he saw his father’s nakedness. And second, he went to tell his brothers about it. Voyeurism and gossip. Were these enough for Noah to have reacted so strongly? The text remains unclear about Ham’s actual offense. Regardless of what his actual crimes may be, somehow, Ham’s actions brought dishonor to his father. In a patriarchal society, honoring one’s parents is of the highest importance in one’s family. We are reminded of the Mosaic commandment to “honor your father and your mother,” as the first commandment right after the four Godward commandments in the Decalogue. Whatever Ham did, it brought forth an extreme reaction from Noah. Noah was so upset that it led to him cursing Ham’s son, Canaan. Hey, wait a minute? Why did Noah curse Canaan when it was his father, Ham, who committed the offence? This is the first major question which we will try to figure out today.
The second question is who is Noah’s youngest son? Japheth or Ham? Interestingly, the name-sequence of “Ham, Shem and Japheth” appears five times in Genesis in this specific order (Gen. 5:32, 6:10, 7:13, 9:18, 10:1), hinting that Japheth is the youngest, but yet, Ham was identified as the youngest son in v. 24? Why is this so? You will also notice that the phrase, “Ham, father of Canaan”, appears twice in our text, and also the name “Canaan” appears 5 times in this text alone, one less than the 6 mentions of “Noah”. That is quite a lot if you consider Canaan might not even have been born yet at this point in time. It is without a doubt, that Canaan is a very important character in our story. I believe that the rest of the characters only serve as background to a deeper understanding of the relationship issues between later Canaan and Israel.
Noah’s Help
In our story, we are told that Noah was “a man of the soil,” an agriculturist or a tiller just like Adam and Abel before him. The relationship between Man and the ground has always been very intricate from the very beginning[8] . Agriculture was their thing. Planting seeds, cultivating land, harvesting fruits of labor, were necessary work for a world wiped out by flood. Noah, known also as the second Adam, needed to provide food for his surviving family. And so, he worked the soil and proceeded (NIV) to plant a vineyard (a viticulturist) to make wine. You might be wondering why of all the seeds he could have planted, he would plant grapes? Maybe this has to do with Noah’s name-sake comment at birth. When Noah was born, his father, Lamech, said this of him, “Out of the ground (adama) that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Gen. 5:28).
Noah’s name sounds like the Hebrew word for “rest”. It is believed that his planting of the vineyard was to bring rest and relief from working the ground that was cursed in Gen. 3:17. That was Noah’s contribution. Wine brings relief from the hard work of the ground. Wine was never the problem, as wine is seen as one of God’s gifts that “gladden the heart of man” (Ps. 104:15)[9] . After a great harvest, it was time for Noah to enjoy the fruit of his labor. He rested in his tent alone, had a sip of his prized wine and fell asleep. Maybe the alcohol content was too strong for him. Maybe he just has a very low tolerance for alcohol. Whatever the case, Noah’s nakedness and drunkenness only provide the background for the main story, soon to be revealed.
Shem and Japheth’s Help
Soon after, Noah’s son, Ham came into his father’s tent and saw his father’s nakedness. He did not try to cover him up but instead, went out and gossip about it to his two brothers outside. Upon hearing the news of their father’s folly, Shem and Japheth took a large cloth, possibly a blanket, and laid it on both their shoulders. They walked backward into their father’s tent, and covered up their still naked and still sleeping father. The two sons had their faces turned backward, and made extreme caution to not see their father’s nakedness.
Funny how, the author of Genesis went to great extent to provide details of how awkward the two brothers might have been in trying to restore their father’s dignity. We can only imagine the difficulty involved in walking backwards and not looking at where their naked father was sleeping. They were not walking at their own individual pace. They were walking together, and while balancing the large coat on their shoulders, made sure that their pace was together. Why did the author go to all this trouble to describe their actions in such great details? For one, it was written as a direct comparison to Ham’s inaction, or lack of action in this matter. The author wants to tell us that the two brothers valued their father’s dignity much more than Ham.
The Curse of Canaan
But this was not the end of the matter. When Noah awoke from his slumber, and realized the misdeed of his youngest son, he uttered his first words since the flood, a curse on Canaan, Ham’s youngest son (Gen. 10:6). But why was Canaan cursed instead of Ham? This curse on Canaan has puzzled many scholars for centuries and even until today, no obvious answers could be given. Out of the many explanations provided, these three explanations have the most merit. But they each also have their limitations.
1) Rabbinic: Whom God has blessed, Man cannot curse.
2) Mirroring punishment (talionic): Noah’s youngest son dishonored him, and so Ham’s youngest son will also dishonor him
3) Origin theory / Symbolism (aetiological): the utterance of the curse on Canaan happened many years later, possibly after Ham’s death
First, the Rabbinic (Ber. Rab. 36:7) explanation points out that since God had recently pronounced his blessing on Noah and his sons in Gen. 9:1, so Noah could not really unsay that promise. [10] Second, it was mirroring punishment. It was Noah’s youngest son who dishonored him, and so Ham’s youngest son will also dishonor him by being the recipient of the curse[11] . Some scholars believe that Ham may be the middle son (according to the name-sequence), but he was called the youngest because his moral standing among the brothers was the lowest. Third, the sons of Noah should be seen as symbolic figures rather than individuals [12]. In this theory, there is a huge gap in time between Ham’s misdeed and Noah’s pronouncement of the curse. It is possible that Ham was already dead when Noah cursed Canaan. This explains why Ham’s name was missing from v. 24 onwards. This theory assumes our story was only recorded in its written form when the Canaanites existed in history, possibly during Moses’ era. The Canaanites were known for their sexual depravity and cultic idolatry. The biblical writers were trying to figure out why were the Canaanites so depraved and so they traced their depravity back to when they remembered about story of Ham’s discovery of Noah’s nakedness told to them in oral tradition. This is known as the aetiological[13] explanation, or simply, the origin theory. They saw the present depravity of Canaan and sought to explain the origin of their depravity. Many modern scholars also see this curse on Canaan (known also as the curse of Ham) as Israel’s justification for conquering Canaan later[14] .
Reflection: What is a Curse?
Blessings and curses are always to be seen as opposites of each other in the biblical context. If blessing from God expresses the presence of God with us, then a curse is like the absence of God’s blessings in our lives. It does not mean that once a curse is uttered, there is no reconciliation or hope. When someone is cursed, it simple means, God’s blessing is not with this person. A scholar pointed out something rather interesting from this curse on Canaan. Even though Canaan was to be the lowest of slaves to his brothers, Shem and Japheth, he remains very much under the blessing of God through Israel. Canaan was not an outcast like Cain. Even a servant remains under the umbrella of blessing of their master, like in the case of Abraham’s servants.
“Hebrew concepts of blessing and cursing should not be confused with the modern English usage, where the terms may refer merely to wishing someone good or ill.” Biblical blessings and curses have powerful effects on the recipient. They are often uttered in a context of relationships, between God and his people, between the patriarchal fathers and his children, etc. Just as blessing is a symbol of an established and intimate relationship with the Other, likewise, a curse reflects a broken relationship with the Other. A curse reflects a breakdown in relationships.
I believe that the main point of our story today is to tell us that, even after God’s punishment, the state of humankind did not change. I quote from Pastor Siow Hwee’s sermon last week, “the flood has effected no change in humankind. But it has effected an irreversible change in God, who will approach his creation with an unlimited patience and forbearance.” (Brueggemann, p. 81) The world continues to be disobedient to God. Whether we call it Man’s Fall, or Man’s Disobedience, the curse of Canaan reflects Man’s broken relationship with God, with the world, and with everyone and everything in it. Today’s text tells us that Man’s relationship with his parents, his siblings and his children and grandchildren, is also broken[15] . In fact, this should be our understanding of what a curse is. In simple words, a curse is a reflection of broken relationships.
A World of Broken Relationships
We live in this world of broken relationships. But it does not mean that God has given up on us. In fact, Pastor Siow Hwee is right, God “never gives up!” From the experience of the flood, God understands that punishment alone is not going to rebuild His relationship with the world. This brokenness needs a different mending. There is hope even if we live in this land that is cursed. Being cursed does not mean that everything is hopeless for us. Being cursed does not mean that we are going to hell. Noah’s curse on Canaan should not be seen as a prophetic pronouncement. Rather it is a declaration of what Canaan is, a broken and sinful child of God. It is a reflection how rebellious Canaan is. It is also a reflection of who we are, living in sin, part from God’s blessings.
As I reflect on the story of Noah and his three sons, I am reminded of my own broken relationships in my life. We lived in a world of chaos, a world of brokenness. Families are dysfunctional. Relationships are painful. We hurt those whom we love. Like Ham, we may have dishonored our parents in ways we do not realize. Maybe our relationships with our siblings have not been good for far too long. God may be silent in our lives, but He is not silent in action. He is constantly working behind the scene to set things right. From creation (pre-flood), to de-creation (the flood), to re-creation (post-flood), God continues his work of re-creating a new creation in us through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Last and Final Adam.
“13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Gal. 3:13)
Let us pray.
Footnotes:
