20And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23And 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.
24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant____________________
Hi everyone!! I'm not sure I understand why Caanan was cursed by Noah, and not Ham to be cursed instead. Ham was the one that uncovered his father, Noah's nakedness, so why did Noah curse Caanan (Ham's descendant) instead of cursing Ham? Any ideas? Thank you and God bless :)
2 comments:
This is a tough question Sarah. I looked up "Canaan cursed" on a couple of Bible answer sights. Here's what most said:
The curse on Canaan is the most difficult to understand because it is hard to see why he should be cursed rather than his father, who actually did the wrong. But we note the following. First, it is a biblical principle (whether liked by us or not) that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children even to the third and fourth generations (Exod. 20:5). Second, the punishment, though inflicted on Canaan, was appropriate to Ham since he reaped exactly as he had sown. He sinned as a son and was punished in his son. Third, the assigning of the punishment to Canaan may have been (as is so often the case in God's judgments) a function of the mercy of God, who could have cursed Ham and all his descendants but instead restricted the punishment to only this fourth part, Canaan being only one of Ham's four sons. Whatever the reasoning may be, the judgment is nevertheless pronounced: "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers" (v. 25).
Here's another possible explanation:
1. It is very possible that Canaan was involved in some way. In verse 22 the text specifically states that Ham was the father of Canaan. It seems to be of some significance that Moses does not specify any of the other sons. It is quite possible that Canaan had the same base disposition as his father. It is even possible that Canaan participate in some way in this shameful episode. Noah also speaks in a loving, kind toward Shem and Japheth for their faithfulness toward him.
2. It is also certain that Noah was speaking prophetically here. God would use this occasion to show the natural consequences of Canaan's sinful disposition. This statement should be seen as a prophetic utterance rather than a pronouncement of a curse upon Canaan's descendants. It's interesting to note that at least one commentator states that the original Hebrew is better translated "cursed is Canaan" instead of "cursed be Canaan." This would suggest a statement of current fact, rather than a future wish. The future wickedness of the Canaanites would tell us that Noah was right about Canaan's wickedness.
3. It should be added that the prophecy was fulfilled. The Canaanites were enslaved because of their wickedness by first Joshua (Joshua 9:23) and later by Solomon (1 Kings 9:20-21). Later the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Egyptians were enslaved by the Persians, Macedonians and Romans.
This episode shows that there are great consequence to sin and a sinful attitude. We need to
remember that we are dealing with the beginnings of the repopulating of the globe. These sons and grandsons of Noah would shape future generations by their attitudes toward sin and righteousness. We need to learn that our actions and attitudes, while not perhaps as far reaching as the sons and grandsons of Noah, will surely have far reaching consequences upon our families and those around us.
Hope these help.
:) Jan
Heres my thought. Ham saw his father naked and instead of covering him up he went and told his brothers about it. In a way he was being a gossip. Instead of being helpful and silent about what had happened he had to proclaim it. What I learned from this passage myself is that it is better to be a silent helper than a loud gossip. Build others up and get your rewards in heaven. No need to spread rumors true or false. But as for Caanan specificaly being cursed due to his fathers actions I think Jan said it best.
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