Who Was Ham and Why Was He Cursed?
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You might have heard about “the curse of Ham” and been curious — who is Ham, and why is his curse worth mentioning?
The Bible tells us Ham was the son of Noah, as well as the father of Canaan (Genesis 9:18). He, along with the rest of his family, was saved from destruction when God flooded the earth.
But after the floodwaters receded, Ham offended his father, bringing a curse down upon his family. His curse teaches important lessons about the consequences of sin, as well as about respecting our parents.
Who Was Ham?
Ham’s brothers were Shem and Japheth, and they along with their father, Noah, were among the few who survived the Great Flood that wiped out the rest of humanity.
This is the same Noah God identified among all men as singularly righteous. As explained in Genesis 6:9, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” God decided to flood the corrupted earth and restart creation with Noah, his wife, their sons, and their sons’ wives, as well as two of all living creatures, male and female. Noah built the ark, then entered it with his family and the animals when the rains began (Genesis 7:7). Everything on dry land died.
Scripture says, “Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark” (Genesis 7:23).
After the floodwaters receded, God called Noah and his family, including his son Ham, forth from the ark and the animals. God made a covenant with Noah and his sons and blessed them, urging them to multiply across the earth and promising never again to destroy the earth with the flood, setting his rainbow in the clouds as a visible reminder of the covenant (Genesis 9:13).
After this, life went on. The Bible tells us Noah planted a vineyard, drank some of the wine, and became drunk — then “lay uncovered inside his tent,” which is when the trouble began (Genesis 9:20-21).
Why Did Noah Curse Ham?
The Bible tells us next that “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside” (Genesis 9:22).
Unlike Ham, these brothers, Shem and Japheth, covered Noah’s nakedness and avoided looking at his naked body.
When Noah awoke and found out what happened, he blessed Shem and Japheth. Then he issued a curse — not on Ham specifically, but on Ham’s son Canaan.
“He said, ‘Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.’ He also said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth’” (Genesis 9:25-27).
Beyond this, the Bible tells us nothing about Ham other than that he is also the father of Cush, Mizraim, and Phut in addition to Canaan, and in a few other passages it mentions Egypt as “the land of Ham” (Psalm 78:51 and Psalm 105:23).
We don’t know the specifics as to why Noah cursed Canaan, not Ham. Bible scholars infer a few things, most commonly that for Ham to have seen his father’s nakedness was considered deeply disrespectful, especially given that he did nothing to remedy this, indeed even telling his brothers. Some infer Ham poked fun at his father, as well. His brothers, who the Bible tells us attempted to avoid seeing their father’s nakedness and covering him with a garment (Genesis 9:23), received a blessing, but Noah cursed not Ham but Ham’s youngest son, Canaan.
Other scholars think perhaps Canaan was involved in the disrespect, also seeing Noah naked, or perhaps that Canaan was particularly special to Ham, so Noah cursed the person whom Ham held dear.
Others further speculate that “seeing him naked” meant something far worse, innuendo perhaps for an evil act Ham or Canaan or both might have done to Noah, such as castrating him or committing sodomy. Still others think that, as “uncovering nakedness” refers to sexual sin elsewhere in the Bible, Ham committed a sexual sin with his father’s wife, possibly fathering Canaan from it.
Regardless, Ham behaved disrespectfully toward his father, Noah, and because of this, Noah cursed him by cursing Ham’s beloved descendent, Canaan.
Are Black or African People Descended from Ham?
The notion that Black/African people are descended from Ham is untrue. The Bible tells us absolutely nothing about Black/African people being descended from Ham. Noah’s curse upon Ham’s son, of servitude, does not mention race.
Later revelations about Egypt being “the land of Ham” also imply nothing about race or slavery. Indeed, we know the Israelites, descendants of Ham’s brother Shem, later became slaves of the Egyptians (Exodus 1).
In the 1600 and 1700s, a misreading of the language led to a belief that the name Ham referred to “dark” or “black,” and advocates of the enslavement of Black people of that day used this incorrect meaning to justify their stance. But scholars have since negated this entirely.
All the people of the world descended from Noah and his children. Abraham was part of Shem’s family line. Japeth fathered several sons, and one line became the “maritime” or seafaring peoples.
Ham’s lineage eventually became the Ludites, the Hittites and Jebusites, the Amorites and Canaanites. The Canaanites are the same people God wanted Joshua to destroy because of their evil, wicked, idolatrous ways.
None of this has anything to do with race.
Why Is It Important to Understand This?
It’s important for us to understand the curse of Ham — which is really the curse of Canaan — so we can understand how much God values respect, particularly respecting one’s parents.
While we might not fully comprehend how or why it was a sin that Ham saw his father naked, what he did was wrong and resulted in a sin against his father. He could have covered his father, as his brothers did. Instead, he told others about what he saw. This was not a kind or respectful way to treat his father, and Noah was upset when he found out, hence the curse.
Treating our parents well is an important value for God’s people. When God gave the people the Ten Commandments through Moses, among them was His commandment to “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). Interestingly, this is the first commandment that has a promise associated with it — do the right thing, and all will go well for you. Even when our parents aren’t worthy of honor, we should honor them. It’s a similar concept expressed by Jesus when he told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, “that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).
How we treat people matters. We are commanded to love others, to show honor and care always.
It’s also important we understand that sin has consequences, not only on ourselves but on others in our world. Ham’s actions hurt his father and were clearly incorrect behavior. Noah’s response was to curse Ham’s son — and likely future generations in the process.
Today, we can be grateful that Jesus washes clean those who believe and follow him. The sins of our ancestors no longer follow us.
All of us — whether descendants of Shem, Japheth, or Ham — are welcome at God’s table. All of us who believe in Jesus have the right to be called children of God and share in eternal salvation (John 1:12).
The curse is gone. Thanks be to God!
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Katarzyna Bialasiewicz
