CINXE.COM

<!doctype html> <html lang="en" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Article"> <head> <title>Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham? | GotQuestions.org</title> <META name="keywords" itemprop="keywords" content="Noah curse Canaan"><META name="description" itemprop="description" property="og:description" content="Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham? If Ham was the one who sinned against Noah, why did Noah curse Canaan?"> <meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <link rel="image_src" itemprop="image" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><link rel="canonical" itemprop="url mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/curse-Ham-Canaan.html"> <meta itemprop="author" content="GotQuestions.org"> <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2005-09-04"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/OG/curse-Ham-Canaan.jpg"> <meta property="og:site_name" content="GotQuestions.org"> <meta property="og:type" content="article"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/curse-Ham-Canaan.html"> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-M7EVHFDMSZ"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-M7EVHFDMSZ'); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">  <script type="module" src="/components/header-element-unified.js"></script> <script type="module" src="/components/footer-element-unified.js" defer></script> <script src="/components/unified-script.js" defer></script> <link rel="preload" href="/components/unified-style.css" as="style"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/components/unified-style.css"> </head> <body data-site-theme="light"> <div class="fixed-button settings box-shadow"><img src="img/cogwheel.svg" alt="settings icon" onclick="settingsMenu(this)"></div> <div class="fixed-button sharebutton box-shadow"><img src="img/share.svg" alt="share icon" onclick="shareMenu(this)"></div> <header-element></header-element> <div id="modals"> <ul class="settings-menu modal-menu box-shadow"> <li> <div class="toggle-wrap"> <span>Light</span><input type="checkbox" checked id="toggle" class="checkbox" onclick="toggleTheme(this)" /><label for="toggle" class="switch"></label><span>Dark</span> </div> </li> <li><div id="bibleRefLinkSettings"><label for="bibleRefLinkVersion">Bible Version</label><select id="bibleRefLinkVersion" name="bibleRefLinkVersion" onchange="changeVersion();BibleRefLink.brlSavePrefs();"><option value="ESV">ESV</option><option value="CSB">CSB</option><option value="KJV">KJV</option><option value="NASB">NASB</option><option value="NIV" selected="selected">NIV</option><option value="NKJV">NKJV</option><option value="NLT">NLT</option></select></div></li> <li><label for="font">Font Family</label><select name="font" id="font" onchange="changeFont()"><option value="system-ui">Default</option><option value="Arial">Arial</option><option value="Verdana">Verdana</option><option value="Helvetica">Helvetica</option><option value="Tahoma">Tahoma</option><option value="Georgia">Georgia</option><option value="Times New Roman">Times New Roman</option></select></li> <li><label for="lineheight">Line Height</label><select name="lineheight" id="lineheight" onchange="changeLineHeight()"><option value="1.4">Default</option><option value="1">1.0</option><option value="1.2">1.2</option><option value="1.5">1.5</option><option value="2">2</option></select></li> <li><label for="fontsize">Font Size</label><select name="fontsize" id="fontsize" onchange="changeFontSize()"><option value="1">Default</option><option value="1">1.0</option><option value="1.2">1.2</option><option value="1.5">1.5</option><option value="2">2</option></select></li> </ul> <ul class="final-menu modal-menu box-shadow"> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="fb"><img src="img/logo-fb-simple.svg" alt="Facebook icon">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="tw"><img src="img/logo-twitter.svg" alt="Twitter icon">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="pi"><img src="img/logo-pinterest.svg" alt="Pinterest icon">Pinterest</a></li> <li><a class="SendEmail" href=""><img src="img/letter.svg" alt="Email icon">Email</a></li> <li class="mobile-show"><a class="SendSMS" href=""><img src="img/sms-icon.svg" alt="SMS icon">Text/SMS</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="featured gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: var(--bgcolor-featured-start); --color-end: var(--bgcolor-featured-end)"> <div class="featured-left"> <h5>Find Out</h5> <h4><a href="going-to-heaven.html">How to go to heaven</a></h4> <h4><a href="get-right-with-God.html">How to get right with God</a></h4> </div> <div class="featured-right"> <div class="desktop-hide gq-YT"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/gotquestionsorg" target="_blank"><img src="img/GQ-YT.png"></a></div> </div> </div> <main><div class="breadcrumb-wrapper"> <span class="breadcrumb" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BreadcrumbList"><span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org"><span itemprop="name"><span class="home-icon"></span>Home</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="1"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/content.html"><span itemprop="name">Content Index</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="2"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/questions-about-books-Bible.html"><span itemprop="name">Books of the Bible</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="3"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/questions-about-Genesis.html"><span itemprop="name">Genesis</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="4"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> Noah curse Canaan</span></div> <section class="content-wrap gradient-to-b" style="--color-start: var(--bgcolor-content-start); --color-end: var(--bgcolor-content-end);" ><div class="content"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #96445a; --color-end: #6f637e;">Question</div> <div class="sponsor-sidebar"><div class="desktop-show" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder"></div></div></div> <h1><span itemprop="name headline" property="og:title">Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?</span></h1> <div class="actions-wrap"><div class="actions"> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="INTL/curse-Ham-Canaan.html" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'intl'});"><img src="img/translate-icon.svg" alt="translate"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://podcast.gotquestions.org/episode-223.html" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'podcast'});"><img src="img/podcast.svg" alt="podcast" class="questionInteract"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" property="og:video" href="https://youtu.be/0VtIGbF-Nm8" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'video'});"><img src="img/logo-youtube.svg" alt="video" class="questionInteract"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://printer.gotquestions.net/GeneratePF?articleId=226" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'print'});"><img src="img/print.svg" class="questionInteract" alt="Noah curse Canaan"></a> <span class="audio-icon"><img src="img/volume.svg" alt="audio" class="questionInteract"><audio controls preload="none" style="width:300px;height:25px"><source src="audio/curse-Ham-Canaan.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"></audio></span> </div></div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #29a699; --color-end: #749c5a;">Answer</div><br><br> The unbiblical idea that Noah cursed Ham, and thereby all of Ham’s descendants, was used to justify the African slave trade, and is still used by some today to justify racism, prejudice, and discrimination against people of color. Let it be clearly said. Noah did not curse Ham. Noah did not curse all of Ham’s descendants. Rather, Noah only cursed Canaan, one of Ham’s sons, and through Canaan, all of Canaan’s descendants. Why and to what end? Please continue reading. What is abundantly clear, however, is that this account in Genesis 9 regarding Noah, Ham, and Canaan does not, in any way, support slavery or racism in any form.<br><br> <div class="youtube-player" data-id="0VtIGbF-Nm8"></div><br> After the flood, “God blessed <a href="life-Noah.html">Noah</a> and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth’” (Genesis 9:1). The men and their wives, under God’s blessing, began to do just that. Sometime later, Scripture relates an unhappy episode in Noah’s life involving Noah and <a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/Shem-Ham-Japheth.html">his three sons</a>. In the fallout of that incident, Noah’s grandson Canaan is said to be “cursed” (Genesis 9:25).<br><br> It all started when Noah planted a vineyard and used the grapes to make wine. He drank the wine, <a href="is-getting-drunk-a-sin.html">became drunk</a>, and shamefully lay naked in his tent (Genesis 9:20–21). Noah’s youngest son <a href="Ham-in-the-Bible.html">Ham</a>, identified as “the father of Canaan” in verse 22, saw his father’s condition and the fact that Noah was naked in his tent. Rather than keep the matter quiet or attempt to help his father, Ham told his two brothers the salacious news (Genesis 9:22). Ham’s response to his father’s sin shows somewhat of Ham’s character and disrespect for his father.<br><br> <a href="Shem-in-the-Bible.html">Shem</a> and <a href="Japheth-in-the-Bible.html">Japheth</a> acted more nobly. They “took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked” (Genesis 9:23).<br><br> Later, Noah sobered up. He made some inquiries and “found out what his youngest son had done to him” (Genesis 9:24). This wording suggests that Ham did more than just see Noah’s nakedness. He did something, but just what is unknown. It’s useless to speculate. In any case, upon hearing the facts, Noah said something surprising: “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers” (Genesis 9:25). He also praised the Lord at that time and pronounced a patriarchal, prophetic blessing on Shem and Japheth (verses 26–27). Twice more in that blessing, Noah declared that Canaan would be a slave to Shem and Japheth.<br><br> Of note is the fact that Noah did not curse Ham. The curse is pronounced on Canaan, Ham’s son, but nowhere does Noah directly curse Ham. It is significant, though, that the other two of Noah’s sons receive a blessing, but Ham does not. That omission resulted in the <a href="fathers-blessing.html">patriarchal blessing</a> passing Ham by. This was no doubt intentional, given Ham’s behavior.<br><br> So, why did Noah curse <em>Canaan</em> when it was clearly <em>Ham</em> who acted inappropriately? Several theories have been put forward:<br><br> <div style="margin-left: 5%"> • There is an ellipsis in the text. When Genesis 9 speaks of Canaan, it is really “the father of Canaan” that is meant—the words <i>the father of</i> being understood. This theory relies on an insupportable assumption about the text.<br><br> • Canaan and Ham were both involved in the sin against Noah. This means that Canaan was present when Ham observed Noah’s nakedness. This theory adds to Scripture, however; the text never mentions Canaan’s whereabouts, but it does specify that it was Ham, Noah’s youngest son, who “had done [something] to him” (Genesis 9:24).<br><br> • Ham had been blessed by God (Genesis 9:1), and Noah refused to curse someone whom the Lord had blessed. In the same way, the prophet Balaam could not curse the Israelites. God had told <a href="Balaam-in-the-Bible.html">Balaam</a>, “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12; cf. Numbers 23:20). So, Noah pronounces a curse on some of Ham’s descendants. Ham’s sin against his father brought a punishment through his son. Not all of Ham’s descendants were cursed; only those through Canaan. It’s possible that Canaan was chosen to bear the imprecation because he was already showing evidence that he shared his father’s character.<br><br> • The “curse” on Canaan is more of a prophecy. Noah learned of Ham’s sin and gave him the bad news that one line of his posterity would suffer. As a prophet of God, Noah foresaw that the <a href="Canaanites.html">Canaanites</a>, in their wickedness, would deserve their fate (see Leviticus 18 for a list of future Canaanite sins). Ham’s punishment was to lack a fatherly blessing and to know that he was the ancestor of a doomed people group.<br><br></div> In Genesis 10, the descendants of Canaan are listed. They include the Sidonians, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 10:15–19). Noah’s curse/prophecy came true during the time of Joshua. The Canaanites, descendants of Ham, were conquered by the Israelites, descendants of Shem. True to God’s Word, some of the Canaanites became slaves (Joshua 9:27; 17:12–13).<br><br> The inclusion of this sordid incident in the life of Noah is interesting. Out of all that Noah did after the flood, why is this episode the only one recorded? The answer lies in the events surrounding the writing of Genesis. Moses, the author of Genesis, was leading the Israelites toward the <a href="land-of-Canaan.html">land of Canaan</a> to take possession of it. The story of how Canaan came to be cursed was one justification of the conquest. God had pronounced doom upon these people long ago, and it was time for that prophecy to be fulfilled.<br><br> </div> <section class="homepage-sponsor desktop-hide"> <div class="desktop-hide" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder-mobile"></div></div> </section> <div class="related resources"><h4>For Further Study</h4> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'chrbook'});" href="https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFFp=1011693&item_no=383951">The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications, 50th Anniversary Edition by Morris & Whitcomb</a><br><br> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'logos'});" href="https://www.logos.com/?utm_campaign=logossubxlaunch-phase1&utm_source=gotquestions&utm_medium=advertising_display&utm_content=logossubxlaunch-phase1-gtlink">More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free!</a> </div> <div class="related topics"><h4>Related Articles</h4> <a href="Noah-drunk.html">Why did Noah get drunk after the flood?</a><br><br> <a href="sons-of-Noah.html">Who were the sons of Noah, and what happened to them and their descendants?</a><br><br> <a href="black-people-cursed.html">Are black people cursed?</a><br><br> <a href="uncover-nakedness.html">What does it mean to uncover nakedness in the Bible?</a><br><br> <a href="who-Baal.html">Who was Baal?</a> </div> <center><strong class="return">Return to:<br><br> <a class="button-link box-shadow" href="questions_miscellaneous-Bible.html">Miscellaneous Bible Questions</a><br><br> Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?</strong></center> </div> </section> <section class="subscribe gradient-to-br" style="--color-start: #153c59; --color-end: #1b537c"> <div class="grid"> <div class="gradient-to-br box-shadow" style="--color-start: #2c6482; --color-end: #64547b"> <h5>Subscribe to the</h5> <h3>Question of the Week</h3> <p>Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox!</p> <iframe src="scommon/qotw.htm" title="question of the week" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%"></iframe> </div></div> </section> </main> <footer-element></footer-element> <center> <div itemprop="dateModified" content="2023-10-03">This page last updated: October 3, 2023</div></center> <script src="scripts-2025.js"></script> <div style="display: none;" itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><meta itemprop="name" content="GotQuestions.org"><div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img src="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="width" content="400"><meta itemprop="height" content="79"> </div></div> <div itemprop="video" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"><meta itemprop="embedURL" content="https://youtu.be/0VtIGbF-Nm8"><meta itemprop="name" content="Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?"><meta itemprop="description" content="Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham? If Ham was the one who sinned against Noah, Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?"><meta itemprop="thumbnailUrl" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/video-thumbnails/curse-Ham-Canaan.jpg"><meta itemprop="uploadDate" content="2023-04-24"> </div> </body> </html>