. Literally. Dr. Hahn et. al explain. Excerpts follow:...As Adam (whose name in Hebrew literally means "ground") was given a garden to till, Noah plants a vineyard and becomes "a man of the soil" (compare Genesis 1:2 and 7:11). And as the forbidden fruit of the garden proves to be Adam’s downfall, so the fruit of Noah’s vine - wine - becomes his. And like Adam’s fall, Noah’s exposes his sin and nakedness (see Genesis 3:6-7; 9:21) and results in a curse (see Genesis 3:14-19; 9:25).As he also explained elsewhere rather recently, the fertility cult of the Canaanites centered around the reenactment of the founding of their nation--which means people were related to the temple prostitutes they were "celebrating the rituals" with. For more from him on Genesis, see the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Book of Genesis
What’s going on in the story of Ham uncovering "his father’s nakedness" (see Genesis 9:22)? In Hebrew, this phrase is a figure of speech used to describe incest (Leviticus 20:17; 18:6-18. Note: In other places besides the story of Noah and Ham, The New American Bibletranslates this phrase as "to have intercourse with." The Revised Standard Version
in all cases keeps the more literal translation "uncover the nakedness of." See RSV-Leviticus 20:17; 18:6-18).
To uncover the nakedness of your father is to commit incest with your mother. To state it bluntly, in all its brutality - while Noah was drunk, Ham slept with his mother. We don’t know what Ham was thinking. It could be that he wanted to seize power from his dad and this heinous act was his way of insulting Noah and showing his total disrespect (see similar episodes in Genesis 29:32; 35:22; 49:3-4; 2 Samuel 16:21-22).
But notice that Noah doesn’t curse Ham. He curses Canaan - the son born of this incestuous encounter. Why Canaan? It’s another hint in the text of what Ham’s crime was. As we’ll see later, Canaan will be the founding father of a nation that will be known for its abominable practice of maternal incest (see Leviticus 18:6-18; Exodus 23:23-24).
Canaan is the bad fruit born of Noah’s sin. But as Adam bore both Cain, the slayer of his brother, and Seth the righteous one, Noah too has a good seed: his firstborn son Shem, who had tried to "cover" his father’s nakedness (see Genesis 9:23).
As he curses Canaan, the bad seed, Noah blesses Shem: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem" (see Genesis 9:26) and says that he will prevail over the wicked spawn, Canaan.
It is interesting to note, too, that the only other episode of drunkenness in Genesisis also associated with incest - and the birth of immoral nations hostile to the people of God. That’s the story of Lot’s daughters, who ply Lot with wine and then lie with him in incestuous unions that are the origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites (see Genesis 19:30-38).
And so Genesis
.See also a discussion of the claim regarding Ham here. For a scholarly discussion of the idea, see here. So the later conquests described in the Old Testament are in the context of earlier curses and wars within the family. Why? Because of the trustee family structure common to ancient societies, as discussed in Family and Civilization
, and the dire consequences for betrayal of the family. Families went to war, not arbitrary nations. Nations emerged from patriarchs and their lineages. The consequences for sins against the family covenant were most severe, since the covenant is the source of all law, of all order, of all trust and is the most binding sort of tie that can be established. Indeed, it makes others kin and reinforces the familial relationship...oh, just go and read A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God's Covenant Love in Scripture
.Or (if you can ignore the unnecessary music in the background), watch this:
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