What REALLY Was Ham’s Sin Against Noah?
In Genesis 9, after the world perished in the flood, God blessed Noah and his family and told them to fill the earth. The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, from whom all nations are descended.
The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. (Genesis 9:18-19)
Noah planted a vineyard, and one day he drank some of the wine and got smashed, so drunk he came out of his clothes and passed out naked in his tent. Ham came in and saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers.
Shem and Japheth took a garment and walked backward to cover the nakedness of their father. When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor, he knew what had happened, and cursed Ham’s son, Canaan: “A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of this father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.” (Genesis 9:20-27)
Regarding Ham’s sin, some have pointed to Leviticus 18:8, which says, “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.” So when Ham “saw the nakedness of his father,” this means he slept with his own mother! But text says Ham “saw” his father in the buff, he did not “uncover” his nakedness.
Noah acted shamefully. And instead of covering his father’s shame, Ham left him naked and gossiped about it with his brothers, who did not share his amusement. Ham’s sin was that he dishonored his father. Yeah, it’s not as juicy, but it’s still very serious. The Lord said:
“Honor your father and your mother, that you may live long in the land that God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)
Canaan’s descendents, the Canaanites, would have their land taken from them and given to Shem’s descendents, the Israelites. From the line of Shem would also come a Savior, Jesus Christ, who covers our shame…
…when we understand the text.
(This video is by WWUTT. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central.)