HAM'S TRANSGRESSION
Andre Widodo
© ORI
Shalom,
Gen 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, SAW THE NAKEDNESS OF HIS FATHER, and told his two brethren without.
Gen 9:23
And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
Gen 9:24
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him
Gen 9:25
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
Gen 9:26
And he said, Blessed be Y-H-V-H God of Shem; And Canaan shall be his servant.
The question :
We know that Ham had sin, but then why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?
Answer :
There are 3 possibilities of answer.
1.
Based on the TARGUM ONQELOS (an Aramaic translation of the Bible dating from the first few centuries AD), Ham gossiped about his father's drunken disgrace "publicly". So Noah had become a public mockery. This was what had angered Noah.
But this doesn't answer why Noah cursed Canaan, instead of Ham.
2.
Based on BABYLONIAN TALMUD - SANHEDRIN 70A (dating around 500 AD), it is said that "TO SEE SOMEONE'S NAKEDNESS" meant "TO HAVE SEX WITH THAT PERSON".
Gen 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, SAW [רָאָה - RA'AH] THE NAKEDNESS OF HIS FATHER, and told his two brethren without.
Example :
Gen 34:2
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, SAW [רָאָה - RA'AH] her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Lev 20:17
And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and SEE [רָאָה - RA'AH] HER NAKEDNESS, and she SEE [רָאָה - RA'AH] HIS NAKEDNESS; it is a WICKED THING; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
In Gen 9:22, it explains that Ham either castrated his father, or sodomised him.
The same explanations are found in three Greek translations of the Bible, which replace the word "SEE" in verse 22 with another word denoting HOMOSEXUAL RELATION.
If Ham castrated Noah so that Noah couldn't bear the 4th son, then it could be understood why Noah cursed Canaan, Ham's son.
3.
Based on modern scholars and rabbis, they said that to "TO SEE THE NAKEDNESS OF MAN" or "TO UNCOVER THE NAKEDNESS OF MAN" means "TO HAVE SEX WITH THAT MAN'S WIFE".
Lev 20:11
And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath UNCOVERED HIS FATHER'S NAKEDNESS: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them
If Ham had sex with his mother, and Canaan was the product of this forbidden union, it could explain why the curse falls on his son.
Which one is the closest answer? It's your own decision.
Andre Widodo
© ORI
Shalom,
Gen 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, SAW THE NAKEDNESS OF HIS FATHER, and told his two brethren without.
Gen 9:23
And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
Gen 9:24
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him
Gen 9:25
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
Gen 9:26
And he said, Blessed be Y-H-V-H God of Shem; And Canaan shall be his servant.
The question :
We know that Ham had sin, but then why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?
Answer :
There are 3 possibilities of answer.
1.
Based on the TARGUM ONQELOS (an Aramaic translation of the Bible dating from the first few centuries AD), Ham gossiped about his father's drunken disgrace "publicly". So Noah had become a public mockery. This was what had angered Noah.
But this doesn't answer why Noah cursed Canaan, instead of Ham.
2.
Based on BABYLONIAN TALMUD - SANHEDRIN 70A (dating around 500 AD), it is said that "TO SEE SOMEONE'S NAKEDNESS" meant "TO HAVE SEX WITH THAT PERSON".
Gen 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, SAW [רָאָה - RA'AH] THE NAKEDNESS OF HIS FATHER, and told his two brethren without.
Example :
Gen 34:2
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, SAW [רָאָה - RA'AH] her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Lev 20:17
And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and SEE [רָאָה - RA'AH] HER NAKEDNESS, and she SEE [רָאָה - RA'AH] HIS NAKEDNESS; it is a WICKED THING; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
In Gen 9:22, it explains that Ham either castrated his father, or sodomised him.
The same explanations are found in three Greek translations of the Bible, which replace the word "SEE" in verse 22 with another word denoting HOMOSEXUAL RELATION.
If Ham castrated Noah so that Noah couldn't bear the 4th son, then it could be understood why Noah cursed Canaan, Ham's son.
3.
Based on modern scholars and rabbis, they said that to "TO SEE THE NAKEDNESS OF MAN" or "TO UNCOVER THE NAKEDNESS OF MAN" means "TO HAVE SEX WITH THAT MAN'S WIFE".
Lev 20:11
And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath UNCOVERED HIS FATHER'S NAKEDNESS: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them
If Ham had sex with his mother, and Canaan was the product of this forbidden union, it could explain why the curse falls on his son.
Which one is the closest answer? It's your own decision.
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