The Curse of Ham and what Ham Actually Saw

What the heck is 'Thy Father's Nakedness'?

Genesis 9:22-26

There has been a lot of confusion about this seemingly over-reaction of Noah, just because his son Ham saw him naked. However, few translators of the bible seem to want to consider or recognize what the bible seems to point to as really happening.

The first thing we have to ask the bible is, "What is 'thy father's nakedness' ". Leviticus 18:8 tells us the answer just as plain as day...

Lev. 18:8 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father's wife; she is your father's nakedness.

Then we have to look at why Noah was mad, who he was mad at, and who he cursed. It wasn't Ham, it was Ham's son, Canaan. Noah didn't say, "Cursed be Ham", he said "Cursed be Canaan". Additionally, if Ham was indeed the younger son, it would have listed Noah's sons in the order of birth. And according to verse 18, Ham was the middle son, while Japeth was the younger son. So when the bible speaks of "his youngest son" in verse 24, this is really his "grandson".

Which blows away another long held CRAZY belief of some bible students, especially in the south, that the black race was cursed because of this and this is why black people's skin is black. CRAZY I tell ya, but I'll make a separate note about that...

The point I'm trying to clear up here though is that Ham walked in and caught Canaan having sex with his grandma, either that or something worse! Ham didn't want to see his mother's naked body or his father's naked body for sure, and that's why he and his brother walked in backwards to cover "his father's nakedness" whatever it really was, but it was deeper than that. It's as if Canaan took advantage of the fact that Grandad was knocked out drunk and got it on with his grandma, or as I alluded to earlier, something worse. Sure, it's foul and it's rank, and we as "Holy'er than thou" Christians, wouldn't even think of such of a thing, but surely you can understand why Noah was soooo freaking mad at this guy.

Were black people cursed because of this episode in the bible?

Genesis 9:20-24

This may seem foreign to some people, but there are still people out there that think that the black race was cursed because Noah cursed Canaan, the son of Ham, because Ham say Noah naked.

Here is what you can find on Wikipedia, when looking at the article "Curse of Ham":

The "curse of Ham" had been used by some members of Abrahamic religions to justify racism and the enslavement of people of Black African ancestry, who were believed to be descendants of Ham. They were often called Hamites and were believed to have descended through Canaan or his older brothers. This racist theory was widely held during the 18th-20th centuries, but it has been largely abandoned since the mid-20th century.

As mentioned in a previous contribution, we have to look at why Noah was mad, who he was mad at, and who he cursed. It wasn't Ham, it was Ham's son, Canaan. Noah didn't say, "Cursed be Ham", he said "Cursed be Canaan". Additionally, if Ham was indeed the younger son, it would have listed Noah's sons in the order of birth. And according to verse 18, Ham was the middle son, while Japeth was the younger son. So when the bible speaks of "his youngest son" in verse 24, this is really his "grandson", Canaan, who he actually cursed.

So, if you're black like me, and happen to have an inferiority complex because of what others (the devil) has said by means of this passage of scripture, you are now free from your chains.

Chris' Alt Version of this Passage

Gen. 9:20

Noah, who as a farmer, was the first one to plant a vineyard (the kind of vineyards that grow grapes to make wine).

Gen. 9:21

And of course, since he was the first to do it, he partook of the fruit of his labor. (Since he didn't invent refridgeration along with it, there was an abundance of fermented grapes (wine/alcohol).  Thus he tended to drink so much that he would often end up drunk and passed out and laying in his tent.

Gen. 9:22

One day, Ham, Canaan's daddy, saw his son having sex with his grandma, Noah's wife.  Surely he was shocked, and he ran out and told his two brothers who were outside.

Gen. 9:23

Ham's  brothers, Shem and Japeth, took a sheet, probably a large animal skin, and held it between them on their shoulders as they walked backwards to cover up what was going on.  They kept their heads turned because they did not want to even see what was going on.

Gen. 9:24

When Noah woke up from his hangover, he found out what his grandson had done.

Gen. 9:25

Noah cursed out Canaan, and said, "You will be a slave to your uncles, Shem and Japeth.  You're going to do whatever they say for now on.

Gen. 9:26

"The God of Shem (who just happens to be the firstborn, oldest son) is worthy to be praised, but Canaan, that will be his slave."

Gen. 9:27

While blessing the oldest, Noah skips over the middle child Ham, and goes on blessing Jepeth, the youngest, saying "God, make Japeth so wealthy that his possesions, children, and grandchildren live in and near Shem's area, so that Canaan can be his slave too.

Progress on this project....

So while I really want to stay diligent to the project, I must admit that I really don't get a chance to sit down and concentrate on it as much as I'd like to, so if you're really jonesing for some verse interpretations, I encourage you to follow me on Youversion since I'm always trying to at least do a couple of verses here and there on that site during my quiet time with God.

You should be able to find me at www.youversion.com/user/djnoyze

So why are you doing this?

I was sitting here reading another book about re-translating the bible again and then the thought occurred to me: why am I doing this?  Do we REALLY need yet another bible translation or interpretation?  Immediately I heard like the sound coming from a walkie talkie, my inside voice saying that the bible is not relevant and not practical,\- that it is an old book.  However, I know from personal experience that the bible text is very much alive and practical in our every day lives, but it only becomes that way when we chew on it with our own teeth and not chew vicariously through some theologian or pastor somewhere.  Now, don't think I'm saying that we don't need pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.  because we need those gifts to actually come to a place where we can take the God's word and get it to make sense in our own minds.  It's like we need God to reveal himself to us through his Word, but many translations don't allow for that.

So the short answer, is that I believe that God told me to, and I know and see that it is waaayyyyy to big for me to do alone, but I'm going to do and go as far as I can while God provides the rest as a result of my obedience.

A Hip Hop Prayer

Psalm 23:1-6
Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse

The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated
and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that
I can represent and give
shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through
the Hood of death,
I don't back down
for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered
allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up
in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller
and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib
for the rest of my life.

Just a little sumthin while we're waiting...

The beginning of another blog

So of course, this is like my 5th blog that I've created for yet another purpose.  Urban Bible Project started out of a simple question:


Why won't somebody do an urban bible? My favorite translation right now is the NET bible simply because of it's transparency and translators notes. I've learned sooo much just by reading the translators notes, but I often find myself meditating on scripture using the NET and the Amplified bible, and putting an urban spin on it for my son and daughter so that it can be relevant and understandable without losing the original meaning and context.

For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:13

The stupid stuff that you're going through right now that are tempting you are nothing new. But you must know that God will always give you an way out so that you don't have to fall for the temptation. Look for the way out.

So, who wants to help?