SUBJECT:  Genesis 9:18-22—Noah and Ham incident

QUESTION:  What took place in the incident between Ham and his father Noah?

ANSWER:

What is taking place in Genesis 9 is not about Ham seeing the nakedness of his father.  It is referring to a sex act.  Knowing this makes the whole story and the curse on Ham clear.

Notice the verses:

Genesis 9:20-25

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Note:  Verse 24 says that Noah awoke from his wine (being drunk) and KNEW WHAT HIS YOUNGER SON HAD DONE UNTO HIM. 

If this were just his son seeing him naked, how would he (Noah) know anything?  Is this more than just finding out from his other sons that something had taken place? 

This question is not infrequent and here is our answer to this question about this account:

QUESTION: Why was Canaan cursed for an act apparently committed by Ham (Genesis 9:24)?

ANSWER: The difficulty in understanding this account is purely grammatical. Notice a similar grammatical problem in Exodus 34:28. "And he [Moses] was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights: he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." It appears the "he wrote" could refer to Moses, but from Deuteronomy 10:4 it is absolutely proved that God wrote the Ten Commandments mentioned in Exodus 34:28. With this example in mind, the problem in Genesis 9 is easily solved. Beginning in verse 22: "And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren ... And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his [Ham's] younger son [some Bible versions have "youngest son"] had done unto him [an illicit sexual act is indicated]. And he [Noah] said, Cursed be Canaan ... Notice how Canaan is mentioned twice in the account.

The pronoun "his" properly refers back to Ham, not Noah. Was Canaan really the "youngest son" of Ham? The answer is found in Genesis 10:6, "And the sons of Ham, Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan." Canaan is put last in time order of birth. That is, Canaan was the youngest son of Ham. Thus, Canaan was not punished for something Ham did. He was punished for his own sin!  ---end---

Here is a commentary regarding what Ham did:

Genesis 9:18-23

III. Ham's impudence and impiety: He saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren, v. 22. To see it accidentally and involuntarily would not have been a crime; but,

1. He pleased himself with the sight, as the Edomites looked upon the day of their brother (Obadiah 12), pleased, and insulting. Perhaps Ham had sometimes been himself drunk, and reproved for it by his good father, whom he was therefore pleased to see thus overcome. Note, It is common for those who walk in false ways themselves to rejoice at the false steps which they sometimes see others make. But charity rejoices not in iniquity, nor can true penitents [firstfruits or those with the Holy Spirit] that are sorry for their own sins rejoice in the sins of others.2. He told his two brethren without (in the street, as the word is), in a scornful deriding manner, that his father might seem vile unto them. It is very wrong,

(1.) To make a jest of sin (Proverbs 14:9), and to be puffed up with that for which we should rather mourn, 1 Corinthians 5:2. And,

(2.) To publish the faults of any, especially of parents, whom it is our duty to honour. Noah was not only a good man, but had been a good father to him; and this was a most base disingenuous requital to him for his tenderness. Ham is here called the father of Canaan, which intimates that he who was himself a father should have been more respectful to him that was his father. ~from Matthew Henry's Commentary

Notice this from the Geneva Study Bible on verse 22 [of Genesis 9]:

9:22 And Ham, the father of (p) Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and (q) told his two brethren without.

(p) Of whom came the Canaanites that wicked nation, who were also cursed by God.

(q) In derision and contempt of his father.

Note:  Ham had derision (had scorn and distain) and contempt for his father.  This is what got him in trouble whether you believe there

was a sex act or not.  A sexual act would have shown the same thing.

Remember that Noah was the only righteous one to enter the ark.  God flooded the earth and killed a billion or so people [possibly three or four billion from recent estimates] because of the degeneration of the whole society which was much like Sodom and Gormorrah where all kinds of sexual depravity took place (to included unrighteous sex acts such as incest, adultery and more).  The wife, three sons and their wives were in no way converted, righteous nor did they have the Holy Spirit.  They too, were sinners in that world that God destroyed in the flood.  It is not a stretch to see that a sexual act took place.  However, there is no need to argue this point.  Ham is cursed because of his distain and contempt for his father.  As you know, any son's relationship with his physical father is a type of his relationship with his Godly Father.  This is why God puts such a heavy penalty on any son or daughter who would show distain, contempt, disrespect and/or hate for his father.

What does the 4th commandment say...

Exodus 20:12

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Note:  What does the curse entail?  Something about their life on the land.   Ham was left out of the birthright (which usually included land).  Cannan, son of Ham was wiped out by the Hebrews.

Notice these scriptures about having absolute respect for our fathers including God, the Father:

Ephesians 6:1-3

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Matthew 15:4

For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

Malachi 1:6

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

Proverbs 30:17

The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Proverbs 28:24

Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

Proverbs 20:20

Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Note:  We can now begin to understand what is happening between Ham and his father.  He uncovered his father's nakedness by telling his brothers thus mocking and showing total distain for his father and by extension toward God, the Father.  Notice the connection when God, in His Word shows us how we should treat those in authority:

Question:  How should we treat anyone in authority?

Ephesians 6:5-7

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Here now is the commentary on just the phrase "as to the Christ"

As unto Christ - Feeling that by rendering proper service to your masters, you are in fact serving the Lord, and that you are doing that which will be well-pleasing to him. Fidelity, in whatever situation we may be in life, is acceptable service to the Lord. A Christian may as acceptably serve the Lord Jesus in the condition of a servant, as if he were a minister of the gospel, or a king on a throne. Besides, it will greatly lighten the burdens of such a situation, and make the toils of an humble condition easy, to remember that we are then "serving the Lord." ~Barnes Notes

Note:  We are to treat those in authority AS UNTO CHRIST.  Same with our Fathers.  Same with God, the Father.  Hence, the curse on Ham.  If one is showing lack of respect, distain, and/or hate for his physical father, God is stating that he is showing the same lack of respect, distain, and/or hate for his spiritual Father.

SOURCES SHOWING POSSIBLE SEXUAL SIN OF HAM

The following was found in one commentary posted on the Internet:

The sin of Ham, Noah’s son.

                    a. This is the first mention of drunkenness in the Bible. Some have thought it was only after the flood that man made (or was able to make) intoxicating drink.

                              i. Noah’s own sinful and shameful actions show the foolishness of drunkenness.

                              Well the Proverbs say, Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and

                              whoever is led astray by it is not wise . . .. Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

                              Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without

                              cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those

                              who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red,

                              when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it

                              bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things,

                              and your heart will utter perverse things. (Proverbs 20:1, 23:29-33)

                              ii. It also shows the foolishness of those who claim God’s desire is to make

                              people "drunk in the spirit" through the work of some "Holy [Spirit] bartender."

                              When Ephesians 5:18 says, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is

                              dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, it is contrasting the work of the Spirit

                              with the effects of drunkenness.

                              iii. Alcohol is a depressant. It "loosens" people because it depresses their

                              self-control, their wisdom, their balance and judgment. The filling of the Holy

                              Spirit has an exactly opposite effect. It is a stimulant, and it influences every

                              aspect of our being to better and more perfect performance.

                    b. It may be Noah was abused sexually by one of his sons or relatives. The phrase became uncovered, and the idea of nakedness, are sometimes associated with sexual relations

                    (Leviticus 18:6-20).

                              i. This would be repulsive, but not terribly surprising. Many people who get drunk

                              find themselves to be victims of abuse, sexual and otherwise, 75% of the men and

                              55% of the women involved in date-rape situations had been drinking or taking

                              drugs just before the attack. The FBI says 50% of all rapes involve alcohol.

                              iii. All this while 100,000 die each year in alcohol-related deaths, while alcohol

                              abuse costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and while the

                              average television viewer will see 90,000 incidents of drinking on TV by age 21

                              and 100,000 beer commercials by age 18.

                    c. Others think Ham’s only sin here was in seeing Noah’s drunken, uncovered state, and making fun of him, mocking him as a father  and as a man of God.

                              i. Literally, the Hebrew says Ham "told with delight" what he had seen in his

                              father’s tent. His heart was intent on mocking his father and undermining his

                              authority as a man of God.

(source:  http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0109.htm )  Note: several other sites carry the same commentary.

Note: Again, regardless if one wants to believe the sexual sin, most all commentaries agree that Ham mocked his fathers and attacked his authority under God.

Another source:

Another commentary I found on the Internet had this to say regarding verse 24:

Verse 24 mentions that "Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his

youngest son had done to him" (NIV) The KJV translation is almost identical:

"Noah...knew what his youngest son had done unto him." Some have speculated

that this passage hints that Ham did a great deal more than simply catch a glimpse of his

father's genitals; he must have engaged in some overt act. Perhaps he went into the tent

and engaged in some form of sexual activity with his father. This would be a type of

homosexual rape, since Noah was drunk and unable to consent to sex. Perhaps

incestuous rape was the crime that Ham was guilty of and for which his son and other

descendants were eternally punished.

This same source was not willing to say that the sexual act was fact but did state that it was the view of some Christians and scholars.

Here is yet another source:

Genesis 9:22   And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

 Here we have again the statement "And Ham, the father of Canaan...". The man Canaan still hadn't been born yet, so again, what gives with this? That's two hints:  "And Ham, the father of Canaan...".   Just exactly what does this phrase, "the nakedness of his father" really mean?  Turn to Leviticus 18:8, and then Leviticus 20:11.

 Leviticus 18:8  
The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

 Leviticus 20:11   And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Very clearly then, to 'uncover his father's nakedness' is a euphemism, or figure of speech. It means to have intercourse with your father's wife, i.e. one's mother.  Many have taught that Ham actually looked upon Noah's own nakedness, and committed sin. It's sad that the KJV translators didn't carry this idiom of 'thy father's nakedness' properly from the Hebrew into English. This act which took place with Ham was incest with his mother.

Genesis 9:23  
And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

So just who is Shem and Japheth covering up with the garment here; Noah or their mother, Noah's wife? As Lev.20:11 so stated, 'the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness.'   So Ham's brothers were covering their mother here.

Genesis 9:24  
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

Uh oh..., Noah all of a sudden sobers up and discovers the sin of Ham ('younger' than Shem), having uncovered his father's nakedness (incest between Ham and his mother).

Note:  The commentaries noted above and our research all indicate that a sexual act took place.  This latter argument is very sound and hard to refute as an indication that a sexual act took place.

CONCLUSION:

Most commentaries agree that at the very least there was great distain, contempt and possibly even hate between Ham and his father. 

The curse was valid for this breach alone.  Some scholars believe there was a sexual act between Ham and either his father or mother. 

We tend to agree with the latter.  The sexual act itself would have indicated an even deeper contempt and hate on the part of Ham. 

The curse was valid and just and in keeping with the Word of God as the breach was ultimately against God, the Father.