Genesis 9 Footnotes

The creation account makes it clear that all people are of equal worth (Gn 1:26-27). Slavery contradicts this principle. Those OT and NT passages that provide for and regulate slavery assume it as a regrettable aspect of sinful human society. Early indications that slavery eventually would become obsolete were laws that prohibited the mistreatment of slaves (see notes on Ex 21:2,7; 21:20-21,26). The gospel and the brotherhood of the saints (Gl 3:28; Phm 1-25) undermine the practice of slavery. These considerations suggest that Noah’s curse of Canaan was either figurative, or a misunderstanding of the Lord’s intent. The narrative does not portray Noah as an entirely exemplary character (Gn 9:21).