Genesis 9:18 “Now the sons of Noah who went out from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth: Ham was father of Canaan.”
Noah had three sons come out of the ark. Why mention at this point that Ham fathered Canaan? Chapter 10 gives a list of Noah’s descendants. That list shows that Ham had four sons. Why is it necessary to mention one of Ham’s sons in verse 18 when talking about Noah’s sons?
Let’s investigate and let Scripture interpret this Scripture for us.
Reading further, we see that Noah had grown a vineyard and made some wine from the grapes. Noah got drunk on that wine. It takes some time for grapes to ferment to make wine, so this whole process of planting, harvesting, and fermentation means that more than a few years passed since the flood. Noah even had a house by this time. The four families that came out of the ark were establishing their livelihoods. Let’s continue.
When Noah was drunk, it says that he was stripped naked in his house. Verse 22 again mentions that Ham is the father of Canaan. It reads, “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness. And when he went out, he told his two brothers outside.”
That seems harmless enough. But when Noah found out about it, he cursed Ham’s son Canaan. That seems harsh. Ham was the one to see his father naked. Why curse Canaan for that? There’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye. The answer lies in the Torah.
Leviticus 18:7 (ESV) “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.”
According to this text, seeing your father’s nakedness means seeing your mother naked. Ham not only saw his father naked, but he looked upon his naked mother. More than likely, Noah and his wife had an intimate moment, and Ham either witnessed this or saw them naked after the fact. Noah’s wife could have been drunk as well, and neither one of them knew that Ham was in the room with them. But that still does explain why Canaan gets cursed for what Ham saw. Let’s continue in Leviticus.
Chapter 18 further says not to uncover the nakedness of a list of several relatives because they are your relatives. Wouldn’t it just be easier to say that we are not to look on someone’s nakedness unless they are your spouse? Or is the list suggesting that looking on the nakedness of anyone who is not our relative is alright? Leviticus 20 clarifies all this confusion.
Leviticus 20:11 (ESV) “If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness.”
Leviticus 18 says that uncovering your father’s nakedness means uncovering your mother’s nakedness. Leviticus 20 defines uncovering your father’s nakedness as the same as having sex with your father’s wife. In this case, she was also Ham’s mother. That’s why Noah cursed Ham. And Ham went and bragged about it to his brother’s. Canaan was probably the result of the union of Ham and his mother, which is why the text repeatedly says that Ham fathered Canaan.
Canaan was born of Noah’s wife but was not Noah’s son. So Noah cursed Canaan, but he didn’t curse Ham. Some believe that Noah didn’t curse Ham because God had already blessed those who came off the ark.
But here’s a curious thing. When did Noah curse Canaan? If Noah pronounced the curse right after sobering up, then how would Noah know his wife was pregnant, or even that it was a boy? And how did Noah know the boy’s name would be Canaan? Did he prophesy about Canaan and what his descendants would become?
To be transparent, this understanding of Genesis 9:22 does have its flaws. I’d rate it an 8 out of 10. Verse 22 says that Ham “saw” his father’s nakedness, while Leviticus talks about “uncovering” your father’s nakedness. There are different Hebrew words in the respective verses. They may not be talking about the same thing. Also, verse 23 says that Shem and Japheth went in to cover their father and did not see their father’s nakedness. That could mean that they didn’t take advantage of their mother as Ham did, or it could mean that they didn’t look on Noah’s naked body. I rate this theory so high because I think the curse on Canaan is pretty harsh if all Ham did was stare at his father’s nakedness. And why curse Canaan when Ham had three other children? Why not curse them all? I also think that this theory explains why Noah keeps telling us that Ham fathered Canaan. If Noah’s wife gave birth to Canaan, Noah would want everyone to know that the child was not his. It might also explain why Noah didn’t have any other children after the flood.