Noah became drunk and exposed his nakedness to Ham. Upon awaking he pronounced a judgment upon Ham’s son, Canaan. He then issued a prophecy for all three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth (Gen 9:20–29).
1. The Hebrew language seems to suggest it.
2. The phrase “nakedness of his father” in 9:22 is definitely connected with sexual immorality in Leviticus 18 and 20.
3. Ham’s son, Canaan, was the progenitor of the Canaanite people who later populated Palestine and who were noted for their sexual perversion (Gen 10:19; 19:1–11; 1 Kgs 14:24).
Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures suggests that the phrase “his younger son” should be translated “his youngest one,” and was actually a reference to Noah’s youngest grandson, which was Canaan. To lend credibility to this claim, if the account in Genesis 5:32 can be taken at face value, Japheth was Noah’s youngest son, and not Ham.
1. To Ham and Canaan—“A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.”
a. Negative.
It did not result in a special curse upon black people. Ham had four sons: Cush—the progenitor of the Ethiopians; Mizriam—of the Egyptians; Phut—of the Libyans and peoples of Africa; Canaan—of the Canaanites.
Thus, as the curse was specifically leveled at Canaan and not Phut, there exist absolutely no racial implications whatsoever within the curse. In fact, the skin texture of Israelites and Canaanites at the time of Joshua’s invasion was probably very similar. The Canaanites’ problem was not in the color of their skin but rather in the condition of their hearts.
b. Positive.
The wider scope of Noah’s words accurately foretells that the descendants of Ham would be in some measure subjected to the descendants of both Shem and Japheth. History attests to this. Joshua, David, and Solomon had subdued them by 1000 BC. Alexander the Great (a descendant of Japheth) defeated the Phoenicians in 331 BC.
The Romans (of Japheth) defeated Hannibal of Carthage (founded by the Hamitic Phoenicians in 850 BC) during the Second Punic War in 202 BC at Zama. German theologian Erich Sauer writes: With Nimrod began, with Hannibal ended the drama of Hamitic world empire, and Scipio’s brilliant victory sealed conclusively the . . . establishment of the world-rule of the Japhetic race. “Let Canaan be his servant”—this it is which stands as written, as with letters of fire, over the battlefield of Zama. (Dawn of World Redemption, p. 80)
2. To Shem—“Blessed be the LORD God of Shem.”
3. To Japheth—“God shall enlarge Japheth.”
Some nineteen centuries later this prophecy came to pass. During those centuries the Hamites ruled in the Nile Valley and the Semites reigned in Mesopotamia. But in October of 538 BC, the decisive hour struck. Cyrus the Persian (a descendant of Japheth) defeated Belshazzar (Dan 5) and the proud Semitic capital fell. Shortly after this, Cambyses, successor of Cyrus, conquered Egypt and ended the Hamitic rule. The second part of the prophecy about Japheth reads, “and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” Paul himself would later explain this glorious fulfillment in Romans 11:13–25.