As we continue in our study of the Old Testament do we arrive at the ninth chapter of Genesis, where we are faced with one of the most controversial stories in all of the Holy Bible. For this section of God's Word has been used and abused to justify the African slave trade and to excuse all the ill treatment perpetrated against blacks in the Western Hemisphere going back for at least the past 400 years. And this difficult passage of scripture is known as the “Curse of Canaan.” For as we shall see the patriarch Noah cursed Canaan and his descendants prophesying that Canaan would become a slave to Shem and to Japheth, the brothers of his father Ham. Yet further down in scripture when we come to the story of Moses leading the Israelites towards the promised land, we see that the land of the Israelite inheritance is called Canaan, for the people living there were the Canaanites. So if Canaan was cursed, what where his descendants doing in a land that was blessed? Though this is a sensitive and complicated subject, hopefully by studying the Bible honestly as well as by comparing scripture with recorded history, can we come to a better understanding of the ancient “Curse of Canaan” and its significance for those of us living in modern times. For Noah had three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. But the son who would bring the curse of slavery upon his descendants was Ham. And it is with Ham where we begin.
Ham is referred to as the “father of Canaan” because, according to St. John Chrysostom, Ham did not gird his loins, but broke the vow of chastity and conceived a child while the other couples remained celibate during the entire time they were aboard the Ark. For in the Ark, the people were supposed to practice a rule of prayer and fasting, as well as to abstain from marital relations. Further on in this story, Ham would again yield to his base desires and shame his own father. For as it is written: Noah planted a vineyard and drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered within his tent. Ham saw the nakedness of his father and went and told his two brothers without. Shem and Japheth then took a garment, laid it upon their shoulders, and walked backwards in order to cover the nakedness of their father (Genesis 9:20-23). The Fathers of the Church teach that the magnitude of Ham's sin lay not so much in seeing his father naked, but that Ham saw his father in a shameful condition (passed out drunk) and then mocked his father by spreading the scandal to others. For Ham's sin was that of being totally shameless. On the other hand, Ham's two brothers demonstrated honor and respect towards their father as they covered Noah's shame and kept the matter to themselves.
Now when Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his son Ham had done to him he said, “...Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers. He also said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the habitations of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant as well” (Genesis 9:25-27). Though it is clear from reading this story that it was indeed Ham who shamed his father Noah, yet it is not so easily understood as to why Noah cursed Canaan the son of Ham, and not Ham directly. St. John Chrysostom sheds light on this puzzle by explaining that Ham had previously and personally received God's blessing (Genesis 9:1), so now the curse must be laid upon his offspring, which in turn brought suffering to Ham as well. It could also be due to the sin of Canaan himself. For St. Ephraim relates that Ham's son Canaan, as a young child, saw Noah naked first and then went and told his father Ham, thus making Canaan partially guilty for the shaming of his grandfather Noah.
In the closing verses of the ninth chapter of Genesis, the Bible tells us that after the Flood Noah lived for another three hundred and fifty years, and all the days of Noah were a total of nine hundred and fifty years and then Noah died. Immediately following the record of Noah's death in Genesis chapter nine, are we presented with the Table of Nations in Genesis chapter ten. For this Table of Nations lists the descendants of the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. A grand total of seventy-two persons who would go on to make up all of the various races or people groups scattered abroad across the face of all the earth. Out of the seventy-two descendants identified, fourteen descend from Japheth, twenty-seven stem from Shem, and thirty-one are of Ham. Some of the sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. From these were the Gentiles, or Europeans, separated into their lands. The sons of Shem were Asshur, Arphaxad, and Eber. Eber being the ancestor of the Hebrews and also a direct descendant of Shem, the ancestor of the Semitic peoples, makes the Arabs and the Israelites the children of Shem, as they settled in the lands we know today as the Middle East. The sons of Ham are listed as Cush, Mizraim, and Put who would later settle into the continent of Africa. Cush is believed to be the forefather of the Ethiopians, and Mizraim the ancestor of the Egyptians. But Canaan, being a descendant of Ham, would not initially settle in Africa. For as we shall see the Land of Canaan would later be set apart by God as the Promised Land for the descendants of Shem (the Israelites) to inherit, and not for the sons of Ham (the Canaanites) to inhabit.
Although Canaan was a son of Ham, whose descendants populated Africa, it is not clear from scripture if the Canaanites themselves were what we would call black. For the territories which make up the land of Canaan are not located in Africa. Instead they encompass parts of the Sinai peninsula and Gaza to the south, stretching up to the area of southern Lebanon to the north, and spanned from the Mediterranean coast to the west unto the Jordan Valley in the east. This is also backed up and verified from what we find in the Bible, where the borders of the land of Canaan are outlined. For the book of Genesis tells us that, “...the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go towards Gerar, as far as Gaza: then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, as far as Lasha” (Genesis 10:9). Since these territories have traditionally been inhabited by Arab peoples, it is a bit of a paradox how Hamites initially settled in the geographic boarders that for millennia, have been populated by Semites. This enigma may possibly be deciphered from an ancient Hamite document which sheds light on the African plight of slavery, as well as how the Canaanites established themselves on Semite soil.
Now to back up a bit, the curse of Canaan is indeed a very sensitive subject for black people and for all those of African descent. However, this curse is found in the Bible and history has also proven that slavery was (and continues to be in some cases) the lot of the people of Africa. Even within the ancient writings of the The Ethiopian Tewahedo Church is it recorded that slavery was given to the children of Ham. For as the Ethiopian holy book the Kebra Nagast teaches: that it was the will of God for the kingdoms of the world to be given to the seed of Shem, the gift of craftsmanship to the seed of Japheth, and slavery to the seed of Ham. The Kebra Nagast also explains how after the dispersion of the peoples at the Tower of Babel, Canaan initially rent the kingdom from the children of Shem and forcefully seized the territories which were originally Shem's rightful inheritance. And this reference from the Kebra Nagast, concerning how Canaan took possession of a land not belonging to him, is also backed up in what is written in the Book of Jubilees 10:29-34, where it is written how Canaan settled in the land set aside for Shem and his sons which fell to them by lot. But later, during the Israelite conquest of Canaan, God took vengeance upon the sons of Canaan and made the sons of Shem to inherit their country. Thus when the children of Israel subjected the Canaanites, under the leadership of Joshua, the prophecy of Noah was at least partially fulfilled.
However, even though the Canaanites inherited the lot of slavery, this didn't mean that they would be denied salvation. For the Fathers of the Church have made it abundantly clear, that no matter the sins of one's ancestors, all races which make up the human family have the potential to be saved. Even if a man's forefathers were cursed, any individual is able to personally repent of their own sins, and in so doing attract the mercy of the Lord and acquire God's grace. Now as we read in Exodus 34:7 God does forgive, but God also says that He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. However, in Ezekiel 18:20 it is written that a son shall not bear the iniquity of his father, neither shall a father bear the iniquity of his son. Though at first glance this may be perceived as a contradiction, it can be explained by the fact that each of us are only held responsible for the sins we commit, and not for the sins which our parents perpetrate. We do however inherit the traits of our parents, which are passed down to us genetically, but in the end we are solely to blame for our own transgressions. For example, we see in the book of Jonah that the people of Nineveh were not only the offspring of Canaan, but were also very sinful. Yet the Lord demonstrated His love towards the Ninevites by sending the prophet Jonah to preach to them. In the end the Ninevites repented and God showered His mercy upon them. In the New Testament we read of the Canaanite woman who won the blessing of God, even though she was a descendant of Canaan who was cursed. This reveals how salvation is intended for us all, no matter the magnitude of our sins and despite the iniquities we inherit.
Returning to the racial origins of the Canaanites, it can be argued that even though Canaan was the son of Ham, all the descendants of the Canaanites need not necessarily be African nor dark skinned people. Remember, thirty-one races stemmed from Ham, so it is very likely that not all of them were dark skinned, nor did they all bear African characteristics. For example, in Genesis 10:15 it is stated that Canaan begat Sidon, which is also the name of a city in modern day Lebanon that was founded in the 3rd millennium BC. Since the ancient land of Canaan included the territories of Lebanon in its original geographical borders, this has led many to speculate that the Lebanese Arabs are also descendants of Canaan the son of Ham. Going further, historically the ancient Lebanese were also known as the Phoenicians. For the name "Phoenicia" was a Greek term which signified the territories encompassing the Canaan coast. Also, as previously mentioned, the Ninevites were the descendants of Ham yet did not settle in Africa but in Upper Mesopotamia. Even in the days of Jesus, one of Christ's twelve disciples was in fact a Canaanite (Matthew 10:4). Given these examples from both the Bible and the historical records, it is very likely that some of the Hamites in the ancient world spoke Semitic languages and possessed a Semite culture. It is also quite possible that there was a great amount of intermarriages among the Semitic and Hamitic peoples of old, creating a melting pot of ethnic groups in the areas of the Levant and Mesopotamia, which are traditionally held to be predominately Semitic and not Hamitic.
Also in the days of king Solomon, during the 10th century BC, we see how the queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon traveling from the territories of Southern Arabia and East Africa, traditionally speaking. So if the queen of Sheba was Ethiopian and had dark skin this didn't seem to bother Solomon, nor those of his court and his administration, for no controversy concerning her nationality is recorded. However, what is recorded in the Bible is a love poem titled “Song of Solomon” where the lover of Solomon says, “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar...” (Song of Solomon 1:5). So here we witness the Bible proclaiming that black is beautiful! Going further, the name Kedar means “darkness” which is attributed to Solomon's lover (possibly the queen of Sheba) proving that she was a woman of color. Additionally, Kedar was also the name of one of the sons of Ishmael, who's mother was an Egyptian, making Ishmael and his descendants a mixture of Hamitic and Semitic stock. In the New Testament it is clearly related that one of the first Gentiles to be baptized into the Christian faith was a man of Ethiopia: a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians (Acts 8:27). And in the days of the early Church many Christian theologians hailed from North Africa, with some of the oldest Christian churches and monasteries in the world being established in Egypt and Ethiopia. So if God so loved the world then this must mean that all the races, no matter the color of their skin nor the curse of their forebears, are given the gift of everlasting life freely. For as it is written in the Bible, “...there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11).
So even if Canaan was cursed, and even though slavery has been the lot of the people of Africa over the centuries, this still cannot separate God's love towards all of His children. For many of the greatest saints of the Orthodox Church have been people of black or African descent, take St. Mary of Egypt and St. Moses the Ethiopian for example. What is required of the black man is also required of the white man, for all men are commanded to submit unto the law and to the will of Almighty God. For as Malcolm X said, “What's good for the goose is good for the gander!” It is also a shame how some whites have used the Bible to justify slavery, while many times they themselves fall short of what it means to be a genuine practicing Christian. So in the end it is a person's deeds which reveals and defines one's character. In order to lift any curses that we may have acquired due to our sins it is our responsibility as individuals, who have been created in the image of God, to regain the likeness of our divine creator are rise above sinful human nature and repent. Even if we turn to God full of sins, curses, and vices God will accept all of us who truly repent, despite our retched spiritual condition. For as we read in the New Testament, “..if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have” (II Corinthians 8:12). This means that God is looking at our sacrifice and not at the sins for that sacrifice when we come to him bearing with us the fruits of our repentance.
References:
Brenton. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., 1851).
Brooks, M.F. Kebra Nagast. (Kingston, Jamaica: LMH Publishing Limited, 2001).
Jackson, J.B. A Dictionary of the Proper Names of the Old and New Testament Scriptures.(Mansfield Centre, CT: Martino Publishing, 2016).
Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).
Orthodox Study Bible (Elk Grove, CA:St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, 2008).
Rose, Fr. Seraphim. Genesis, Creation, and Early Man. (Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alska Brotherhood, 2011).
Strong, J. The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2010).
Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).
