Genesis 9:18

Noah’s Descendants

18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark [were] Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham [was] the father of Canaan.)

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 shall be in the clouds, and I will see it, so as to remember [the] everlasting covenant between God and between every living creature, with all flesh that [is] upon the earth."

17 And God said to Noah, "This [is] the sign of the covenant which I am establishing between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark [were] Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham [was] the father of Canaan.)

19 These three [were] the sons of Noah, and from these {the whole earth was populated}.

20 And Noah began [to be] a man of the ground, and he planted a vineyard.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "And"