We know that every person and every story in the Bible has been placed there for a purpose. The story of Ham, the youngest son of Noah, is one of the earliest and shortest in the Bible. And it’s a strange one.
It’s difficult to understand why Ham does what he does, as there is no explanation. Yet we know that it had repercussions for Noah’s lineage for generations.
What Is the Story of Noah, His Family and the Ark?
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5)
It was a situation that grieved God greatly. He had created a perfect world without sin, but it became corrupted by the people He created in His image. But God knew that even in this cesspool of wickedness, there was a righteous man: Noah, son of Lamech. Noah “walked with God,” and it was through Noah’s faith and obedience that God would start all over. He would destroy all humanity yet save Noah, his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and their wives, along with many animals.
God chose to send a flood to wipe out all of humanity, and He could have done just that, perhaps safeguarding Noah and his family and animals on a high mountain. But just like many other examples in the Bible, God chose to work through a faithful person who would reflect God’s power and glory through their weakness. God told Noah that He wanted an ark to be built by Noah, a huge vessel that would protect Noah’s family and animals of His own choosing. They would be kept safe from the huge flood He sent to cleanse the earth from evil. The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us how long it took to build the ark. Still, many have tried to guess from the fact that it was built between the time Noah was 500 and 600 years old– which is when they entered the ark (Genesis 7:6). That doesn’t mean it took 100 years or close to it, but what God wanted us to know was that His instructions were specific and Noah willingly, in faith, did exactly as he was instructed.
When the floodwaters came, Noah entered the ark with his wife, his three sons and their wives, and the animals God told Noah to take with them. Gospel Coalition contributor Joe Carter estimates Noah and his family were on the ark for 370 days: 40 days of rain, 150 days of riding the waters, 150 days of water abating and of Noah sending out birds to find dry ground.
What Happened When They Left the Ark?
When Noah, his wife, Ham, Shem, and Japheth came out of the ark with their wives, Noah built an altar for the Lord. He sacrificed burnt offerings in thanksgiving to God (Genesis 8:20-21). God then established a covenant with all of them, calling them to be fruitful and multiply and promising that every creature would be subject to them and could be used for food. Then the Great God Jehovah made a covenant with all of them, and with all of us for all time, that He would never destroy the earth again by flood. The sign to remind them and God of this covenant was God’s promise of a rainbow after the rain.
Then things took a turn for the worse. Noah, knowledgeable about growing plants, started a vineyard after the flood. When the grapes grew on the vines, Noah made wine. There is no mention of wine in Genesis before this time, so we can’t be certain that Noah knew that if he drank enough of it, he would become inebriated, but the Bible says, “He became drunk.”
According to Matthew Henry’s Commentary, “We have reason to think he was never drunk before nor after; observe how he came now to be overtaken in this fault. It was his sin, and a great sin, so much the worse for its being so soon after a great deliverance; but God left him to himself…” So much so that he passed out and lay uncovered (partially or fully naked) inside his tent.
What happens next changes the course of history for Noah’s family. Genesis 9:22 says “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.” Was Ham embarrassed, disgusted, or making fun of his father? We don’t know. All we know is that his brothers had greater respect for Noah, walked into the tent backward with a garment, and covered his nakedness.
What Was the Reaction to Ham’s Action?
When Noah woke from his stupor and found out what Ham had done, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers” (Genesis 9:25). The mention of Canaan (not just Ham) is necessary because here the writer of Genesis introduces the notion that Canaan’s people would always be slaves to Ham’s brothers and descendents.
Sadly, there have been racist interpretations that use this verse and argue that non-white people are descendants of Ham, which became a justification for slavery. Crosswalk.com contributor Aaron D’Anthony Brown discusses how “the curse of Ham” was used as an excuse for slavery. Clearly, a Satanic manipulation of scripture to justify evil behavior.
Garrett Kell unpacks why the theory is false in his Gospel Coalition article “Damn the Curse of Ham: How Genesis 9 Got Twisted into Racist Propaganda.” He explains:
“Noah’s curse of Canaan was due to his sinful conduct, not his skin color. Though most of Ham’s sons and the cities they built (Babel, Nineveh, Sodom, Gomorrah) were marked by idolatry and immorality, Canaan was uniquely evil and defiled the land (cf. Lev. 18). The Canaanites were cursed because they were evil-hearted, not because they were dark-skinned.” Kell recommends that readers who want to go further into this discussion check out The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by David M. Goldenberg.
Unbiblical theories aside, we do know a few things about the Canaanites. As we see in later Old Testament books, they occupy the land that God promised to the Israelites through Moses many years later. When God orders the Israelites to go into the Promised Land, he also orders them to kill all of the Canaanites and claim the land as their own.
Why Did Ham Shame His Father?
All of these men had experienced an incredible miracle of the Lord. He had sent a flood to clear the world of wickedness–and chose to save only Noah and his family. One can only conjecture why Ham would have shamed his father by advertising his drunkenness to his brothers (and maybe Noah’s wife and daughters-in-law, who may have been in earshot). Since we cannot know on this side of heaven, I offer some reasons why Ham may have acted in this way:
- Did he resent Noah for some past event—or was he angry at being one of the only people left alive?
- Did Ham have a difficult time on the ark, which caused him to harbor anger at his father?
- Since everyone else was wicked, was he acting out resentment from being ridiculed by unrighteous people when he had been building the ark?
- Was there some post-traumatic stress involved from watching people drown in the flood, stress he dealt with on odd days?
- Was he ashamed of his father for getting drunk after God had praised him for being the only wise person on the planet?
In any case, Ham sinned against God and his father. His sons and their sons and so on would pay the price. This teaches us that God doesn’t take any sin lightly, even if we don’t immediately experience its consequences.
God’s treatment may seem harsh, but it is worth noting that God also gives mercy. Later, Noah’s descendant Abraham will settle the land that the Canaanites live in but which the Israelites will conquer. When God tells Abraham why the Israelites will leave his land for a while (their time in Egypt), he explains, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” The Amorites were one of various Canaanite tribes. God gives even the Canaanites, cursed by Noah, time to live in their sins’ consequences and potentially turn back to him. He is ready and willing to take in anyone who seeks him.
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Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).
This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.
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