18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. 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. 26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant (Genesis 9:18-27).
Admittedly this is a difficult passage to understand. Noah was not acting as he should have and evidently Canaan behaved in a shameful way. It is hard to tell exactly what Canaan did, from the words it seems a bit trivial, but evidently it was a big deal. Noah’s reaction was harsh. The reaction it seems was aimed at the fact that Canaan did not honor his father. Though it would be 1000s of years before the Commandments of God were given to Moses clearly the idea of honoring father and mother were present from antiquity.
Admittedly this is a difficult passage to understand. Noah was not acting as he should have and evidently Canaan behaved in a shameful way. It is hard to tell exactly what Canaan did, from the words it seems a bit trivial, but evidently it was a big deal. Noah’s reaction was harsh. The reaction it seems was aimed at the fact that Canaan did not honor his father. Though it would be 1000s of years before the Commandments of God were given to Moses clearly the idea of honoring father and mother were present from antiquity.
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