JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

May 1987

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your inquiry concerning Canaan's being cursed for a sin committed by Ham.

Notice the incident: "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him" (Gen. 9:24). An illicit sexual act is indicated. Noah was drunk and did not know what was occurring.

The difficulty is one of grammar. A similar problem exists elsewhere. Notice: "And he [Moses] was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments" (Ex. 34:28). It appears that "he wrote" refers to Moses, but from Exodus 31:18 and Deuteronomy 9:10 it is absolutely proved that God wrote the Ten Commandments on the stone tables.

Armed with this example, we can now solve the problem in Genesis 9. Begin with verse 22: "And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren .... And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his [that is, Ham's] younger son [some versions have 'youngest son'] had done unto him And he said, Cursed be Canaan ..." (verses 22-25).

The emphasis is on Canaan's being Ham's son; he is so mentioned twice in the account. The pronoun "his" properly refers back to Ham, not to Noah. Was Canaan really the YOUNGEST son of Ham? The answer is found in Genesis 10:6: "And the sons of Ham; Cush and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan." Canaan is put LAST in time order of birth. That is, Canaan was the youngest son of Ham.

Canaan was not punished for something Ham did. Canaan was punished for his own sin.

Thank you for your interest. It is our pleasure to help you with your study of the Bible.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT