In the Book of Genesis, the curse of Ham is described as a curse which was imposed upon Ham's son Canaan by the patriarch Noah. It occurs in the context of Noah's drunkenness and it is provoked by a shameful act that was perpetrated by Noah's son Ham, who "saw the nakedness of his father".[1][2] The exact nature of Ham's transgression and the reason Noah cursed Canaan when Ham had sinned have been debated for over 2,000 years.[3]
The story's original purpose may have been to justify the biblical subjection of the Canaanites to the Israelites,[4] or a land claim to a portion of New Kingdom of Egypt which ruled Canaan in the late Bronze Age.[5][6]
In later centuries, the narrative was interpreted by some Jews, Christians and Muslims as an explanation for black skin, as well as a justification for enslavement of black people.[7][8] Nevertheless, many Christians, Muslims and Jews now disagree with such interpretations, because in the biblical text, Ham himself is not cursed, and neither race nor skin color are ever mentioned.[9][10][11][disputed – discuss]
- ^ Sarna 1981, p. 76.
- ^ Genesis 9:22
- ^ Goldenberg 2003, p. 157.
- ^ Alter 2008, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Mathee, Mohamed Shahid (1 Dec 2016). "Curse motives in the "Curse of Ham" narrative : land for Yahweh's landless people?". Journal for Semitics. 25 (2): 726–747. doi:10.25159/1013-8471/2554. ISSN 2663-6573.
- ^ Redford, Donald B. (1992). Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-21465-8.
- ^ Goldenberg 2003, p. 170.
- ^ Gomez 2018, p. 47–50.
- ^ Whitford 2009, p. 35; Ham, Sarfati & Wieland 2001.
- ^ Hammerman, Joshua (11 January 2024). "Blacks and Jews: Shame, pride and the Curse of Canaan". Religion News Service. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ^ Kell, Garrett (9 January 2021). "Damn the Curse of Ham: How Genesis 9 Got Twisted into Racist Propaganda". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 21 September 2024.