Genesis 9:18

Shem’s blessing and Canaan’s curse

18 Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth came out of the ark. Now Ham was Canaan's father.

Genesis 9:18 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 9:18

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were
Shem, and Ham, and Japheth
These were born before the flood, and went into the ark with Noah, and came out with him; see ( Genesis 5:32 ) ( 6:10 ) and Ham [is the] father of Canaan;
this is observed for the sake of the following history, concerning the behaviour of the one to Noah, and of the curse of the other by him, which would not have been so well understood if this remark had not been made: the father and the son, as they were, related in nature, they were much alike in manners and behaviour. Cush, the firstborn of Ham, is not mentioned, but Canaan, his youngest son, because he was cursed, as Aben Ezra observes; and who remarks that the paragraph is written to show that the Canaanites were accursed, the father of whom this Canaan was; and who is the same Sanchoniatho ^F25 calls Cna, and says he was the first that was called a Phoenician.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Apud. Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 39.

Genesis 9:18 In-Context

16 The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth's creatures."

17 God said to Noah, "This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between me and all creatures on earth."

18 Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth came out of the ark. Now Ham was Canaan's father.

19 These were Noah's three sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.

20 Noah, a farmer, made a new start and planted a vineyard.