Noah’s Shame and Canaan’s Curse

The narrative names Noah’s three sons again, notes Ham as the father of Canaan, and says the whole earth is populated from them. The family line is set before the fracture inside it appears.

T¹⁸he sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Noah plants a vineyard, becomes drunk, and lies uncovered in his tent. Ham sees his father’s nakedness and tells his brothers, but Shem and Japheth carefully cover Noah without looking on his shame.

²⁰Now Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. ²¹But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²²And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. ²³Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.

When Noah wakes and learns what his youngest son has done, he speaks a curse over Canaan. The household’s shame gives way to words that shape its future.

²⁴When Noah awoke from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵he said,