seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth’s(b) territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth’s(b) territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
b. Genesis 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for extend.
Here's what studylight.org says about the curse.
This seems to indicate that whatever happened to Noah, it was more than one of his sons or grandsons seeing his nudity. This explains the strength of the curse.
It seems strange that if Ham sinned against Noah, that Canaan (Hams son) is cursed. Perhaps Canaan was also involved in this sin against Noah in a way not mentioned in the text. Perhaps the strongest punishment against Ham was for Noah to reveal prophetically the destiny of his son Canaan.
We can trust God is not punishing the son (Canaan) for the sin of the father (Ham). This goes against the heart and justice of God (Ezekiel 18:2-3). However, through Noahs prophecy, God tells Ham what will happen to his son.
In earlier generations, prejudiced people regarded the descendants of Canaan as black people from Africa, and they used the curse on Canaan to justify slavery. But black people did not come from Canaan. Canaan was the father of the near-eastern peoples, most of who were conquered by Joshua when Israel took the Promised Land.
It seems strange that if Ham sinned against Noah, that Canaan (Hams son) is cursed. Perhaps Canaan was also involved in this sin against Noah in a way not mentioned in the text. Perhaps the strongest punishment against Ham was for Noah to reveal prophetically the destiny of his son Canaan.
We can trust God is not punishing the son (Canaan) for the sin of the father (Ham). This goes against the heart and justice of God (Ezekiel 18:2-3). However, through Noahs prophecy, God tells Ham what will happen to his son.
In earlier generations, prejudiced people regarded the descendants of Canaan as black people from Africa, and they used the curse on Canaan to justify slavery. But black people did not come from Canaan. Canaan was the father of the near-eastern peoples, most of who were conquered by Joshua when Israel took the Promised Land.
The easy English commentary says this.
Noah spoke about the future of his sons by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, this was not just Noah’s idea. This was a message from God. We do not know when Ham’s descendants became his two brothers’ slaves. But we do know that Canaan’s descendants became very evil. In fact, they were so evil that God gave their land to Abraham’s descendants. And God helped Abraham’s descendants to overcome Canaan’s descendants. (See the Book of Joshua.)
One would expect Noah to say ‘I bless Shem, the Lord’s man.’ It is not usual to ‘bless the Lord of a person’. But it might mean that Shem was the son that God blessed in particular. And Noah was blessing God especially because he (God) was Shem’s God. Shem’s descendants were the people that God chose specially for himself. Abraham and his descendants (Israel) were among Shem’s descendants.
The Hebrew word for ‘Let him make bigger’ sounds like the name Japheth. It does not mean that Japheth would get fat! It means ‘Let Japheth’s descendants increase in number and let them be more powerful.’ It is not clear what Noah was praying. Maybe he prayed that God would ‘live in Shem’s tents’. Or maybe he prayed that Japheth would live in them. God did actually ‘live in the tents’ of Shem’s descendants (Israel). That was because God chose that nation for himself. But this seems to be a peculiar blessing for Japheth. Probably Noah was saying that Japheth would live in Shem’s tents. But we cannot discover when this happened. Many people have suggested different times. This is one possible meaning. People that were not Jews would live together with Jews. That would happen by means of what Jesus did. (See Ephesians 2:11-19.) Noah repeated his words about Canaan again. That showed how important they were.
One would expect Noah to say ‘I bless Shem, the Lord’s man.’ It is not usual to ‘bless the Lord of a person’. But it might mean that Shem was the son that God blessed in particular. And Noah was blessing God especially because he (God) was Shem’s God. Shem’s descendants were the people that God chose specially for himself. Abraham and his descendants (Israel) were among Shem’s descendants.
The Hebrew word for ‘Let him make bigger’ sounds like the name Japheth. It does not mean that Japheth would get fat! It means ‘Let Japheth’s descendants increase in number and let them be more powerful.’ It is not clear what Noah was praying. Maybe he prayed that God would ‘live in Shem’s tents’. Or maybe he prayed that Japheth would live in them. God did actually ‘live in the tents’ of Shem’s descendants (Israel). That was because God chose that nation for himself. But this seems to be a peculiar blessing for Japheth. Probably Noah was saying that Japheth would live in Shem’s tents. But we cannot discover when this happened. Many people have suggested different times. This is one possible meaning. People that were not Jews would live together with Jews. That would happen by means of what Jesus did. (See Ephesians 2:11-19.) Noah repeated his words about Canaan again. That showed how important they were.
