seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 9:18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.
The commentaries hint at more than nakedness going on here. This is from studylight.org.
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).
This is repulsive, but not terribly surprising. Many people who get drunk become victims of abuse, sexual and otherwise. 75% of the men and 55% of the women involved in date-rape situations were drinking or taking drugs just before the attack. The FBI says 50% of all rapes involve alcohol.
In the United States 100,000 people die each year in alcohol-related deaths, while alcohol abuse costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Still, the average American television viewer sees 90,000 incidents of drinking on television by age 21 and 100,000 beer commercials by age 18.
Others think Hams only sin here was in seeing Noahs drunken, uncovered state, and that he made fun of him, mocking him as a father and as a man of God.
Literally, the ancient Hebrew says that Ham told with delight what he saw in his fathers tent. He determined to mock his father and undermine his authority as a man of God.
This is repulsive, but not terribly surprising. Many people who get drunk become victims of abuse, sexual and otherwise. 75% of the men and 55% of the women involved in date-rape situations were drinking or taking drugs just before the attack. The FBI says 50% of all rapes involve alcohol.
In the United States 100,000 people die each year in alcohol-related deaths, while alcohol abuse costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Still, the average American television viewer sees 90,000 incidents of drinking on television by age 21 and 100,000 beer commercials by age 18.
Others think Hams only sin here was in seeing Noahs drunken, uncovered state, and that he made fun of him, mocking him as a father and as a man of God.
Literally, the ancient Hebrew says that Ham told with delight what he saw in his fathers tent. He determined to mock his father and undermine his authority as a man of God.
This came from the easy English commentary.
People should respect their parents. Ham should have covered his father. Then Ham should have said nothing. But he gossiped to his brothers. It is not certain whether Ham’s son Canaan sinned too. It was Canaan that suffered as a result. God would later promise to bring his people (Shem’s descendants) to a new country that was also called Canaan. The Canaanites, the people that would live there first, would be Canaan’s descendants. And they would be very wicked. Some people think that Ham did not just look at his father. They think that Ham did something worse than that. Some people think that he had some sort of sex with his father. But it is not necessary to think that. Ham did not respect his father, and in that way Ham sinned.
Shem and Japheth respected their father. They were careful to look away from him as they covered him. A ‘cloak’ was a large piece of warm cloth. People wore it on top of other clothes during the day. And they used it as a blanket at night.
Shem and Japheth respected their father. They were careful to look away from him as they covered him. A ‘cloak’ was a large piece of warm cloth. People wore it on top of other clothes during the day. And they used it as a blanket at night.
