Ham, Noah's Son

By Mary Jane Chaignot

Categories: Men in the Old Testament

Scholars do not agree what Ham’s name means.
Some relate it to a Hebrew word meaning “burnt,” “black, or “hot.”
Others relate it to an Egyptian word meaning either “servant” or “majesty.”
Scholars believe Ham is the youngest of Noah’s three sons.
No one knows exactly when he is born, just that he’s the youngest.
Ham has four sons: Cush, Mizraim, Put (Phut), and Canaan.
Mizraim is Hebrew for Egypt. Egypt is sometimes referred to as the Land of Ham.
The Hamitic people have a bad reputation. They are considered to be godless and worldly.
Ham is the ancestor of the Arabians, Canaanites, and Africans.
Genesis 9:20-27 describes an incident involving Ham.
After the flood, Noah plants a vineyard.
Noah also drinks of the wine and gets drunk.
At some point, Noah is “uncovered” in his tent.
Ham sees the “nakedness” of his father.
He tells his two older brothers about it.
They take a garment, walk in backwards, and cover their father.
When Noah wakes up, he knows what has happened with Ham.
He says, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.”
He also blesses Shem and says that Canaan “shall be his servant.”
He blesses Japheth, who will dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan “shall be his servant.”
It is noteworthy that Noah does not curse Ham, only his son, Canaan.
Some scholars point out that God has already blessed Noah’s sons in an earlier passage (see Genesis 9:1). Noah cannot curse that which God has already blessed.
Nonetheless, scholars struggle to explain this incident. Most believe there is more to the event.
They look to other biblical texts to find an explanation.
The issue seems to be with the words, “to look upon his nakedness.”
In Leviticus, this phrase is used to describe sexual sin after seeing nakedness.
The sin of incest is often attributed to this incident.
In other instances, this phrase can also be used as a euphemism for having relations with one’s mother.
In that scenario, Ham, upon seeing his father incapacitated is making a bid for leadership by conquering his father’s wife.
Some have even suggested that Canaan is the result of that union. That might explain why Canaan is cursed.
Another ancient document charges that Ham “knew” his father, using the same terminology as in the story of Dinah, when Hamor “took her.”
It is important to remember that there is no biblical verification for any of these theories.
These are scholarly attempts to explain why Canaan is cursed because the punishment appears to exceed the crime, especially since it is his father who does the wrongdoing.
On the other hand, something must have happened.
It is possible that the “crime” is that Ham enters the tent without reservations, does not honor his father by assisting him in any way, and probably tells everyone about it.
The bottom line is that he dishonors his father.
Yet, in the genealogy that follows in chapter 10, nothing is said to disparage Ham or his descendants.
Indeed, this entire chapter is an ode to God’s command to Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply, and to fill the earth.” They did.
It should also be noted that there are no racial overtones in any of this.
The wife of Moses is purported to be a descendant of Ham.
Ham is also the ancestor of the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians.
His son, Put, is the father of Africans.
Canaan is the ancestor of the Canaanites: the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, and others.
Yet, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, this story becomes foundational to the enslavement of dark-skinned people.
A poor reading of Scripture evolves into the belief that Ham is dark-skinned.
This thinking continues that because he acts without honor, he is cursed; hence, it is God’s intention to curse dark-skinned people.
This thinking has been long debunked, but it can still be conveniently exploited to suit such misguided thinking.
According to the Book of Jubilees, Ham leaves his father’s house after being cursed and sets up a city on the south side of the mountain.
His allotment of land includes everything west of the Nile and south of Gadir.
When it is time to leave, Canaan remains behind, settling in the territory of Shem. He is cursed a second time because he defies Noah’s allotment of land.
Early writers see this as a justification for the conquest of the Promised Land.
It explains why God promised his land to Abraham.
Both his father and brothers warn that Canaan is doing wrong.
It is believed that Ham is buried in a tomb in the area of Pakistan.
According to a plaque on the tomb, he is revered as a prophet who lived for 536 years.

Bible Characters