Perhaps one of the earliest account of a father cursing his son is found in Genesis 9:20-29. When reading through the passage one might wonder why did noah curse his son ? Was the crime so big that he cursed him ? Because a simple reading of the text doesn’t reveal any details.

What was the offense?

Was it a serious crime ? Why did noah curse his son ?

Let’s read,

Genesis 9:20–22 NIV
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.
21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.

A simple reading of this passage might make us wonder what the offense truly was, but a careful study of this passage will help us understand the seriousness of the sin that Ham committed.

There are a few different views on what the offense could be. I will present three viewpoints and share the one that is most likely to have occurred.

View #1

Ham disgraced his father, Noah, by seeing him naked and even went to report to his brothers, as if they should come to see what their father had done. This view suggests that the sin was that Ham saw his father but failed to cover his nakedness, because the other two brothers, Shem and Japheth, covered their father’s nakedness by walking backward (Genesis 9:23 NIV).

View #2

Ham’s offense was voyeurism, seeking sexual stimulation by visual means. This meant that Ham dishonored his father’s dignity and privacy by looking upon him and seeking a certain level of stimulation from it. Some rabbinic sources even state that Ham went beyond this by committing sodomy with his father.

View #3

The third view suggests that Ham committed incest and forcible rape of his mother, Noah’s wife. View 2 and 3 suggest that there was some sexual intercourse involved because of the expression “to see nakedness” (Genesis 9:22 NIV). This expression, “to see nakedness,” means the same as “to uncover nakedness,” which denotes intercourse.

Which view is correct?

A careful study reveals that View #3, “Ham committed incest and forcible rape of his mother,” is closest to the meaning of the text because there are additional pieces of evidence to support this view.

Genesis 9:24–25 NIV
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him,
25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”

In Verse 24, Noah realizes what his youngest son, Ham, had done to him. So he curses, but notice to whom the curse is addressed—it’s addressed to Canaan.

Who is Canaan?

Canaan is the offspring born out of Ham’s forcible rape of his mother. Canaan, in this case, was considered a brother to Shem and Japheth. Although not fathered by Noah, Canaan was still born to the same mother as the other brothers, making him a brother to Shem and Japheth.

Noah curses by saying, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”

In Verse 26, Noah says, May Canaan be the slave of Shem.

Genesis 9:26 NIV
He also said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.”

Canaan is referred to here as the slave of Shem, which clearly suggests that Canaan was a brother to Shem.

Why did Ham commit such an act?

Ham committed this act to gain inheritance and to usurp Noah’s leadership position in the household. During those days, it was common to use sexual relations to take over leadership positions. For example, Absalom committed sexual immorality with his father David’s concubines in order to take over the kingship.

Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?

Noah cursed Canaan instead of Ham because Ham’s intention was to produce an offspring to gain inheritance & usurp his father’s leadership in the house.

Was God pleased?

Definitely not. That is why Noah pronounces a judgment on Canaan, and this also explains why God uses Israelites to destroy Canaanites.