Latest / A Tithe of Time Podcast / Genesis 9:18–29 — Noah’s Family After the Flood | Bible Commentary
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: Welcome to A Tithe of Time, verse by verse.
- 0:03SPEAKER_00: Today we begin reading from the ESV, Genesis 9, 18-29, Noah's Family After the Flood.
- 0:11SPEAKER_00: The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
- 0:17SPEAKER_00: Ham was the father of Canaan.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
- 0:25SPEAKER_00: Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.
- 0:28SPEAKER_00: He drank of the wine and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent.
- 0:33SPEAKER_00: And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
- 0:39SPEAKER_00: Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father.
- 0:47SPEAKER_00: Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
- 0:52SPEAKER_00: When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.
- 1:02SPEAKER_00: He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.
- 1:09SPEAKER_00: May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.
- 1:16SPEAKER_00: After the flood, Noah lived three hundred and fifty years.
- 1:19SPEAKER_00: All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
- 1:24SPEAKER_00: Now let's look closer.
- 1:26SPEAKER_00: The passage begins by naming Noah's three sons again, and immediately adds, Ham was the father of Canaan.
- 1:33SPEAKER_00: That detail matters because Canaan becomes central to what Noah says later.
- 1:38SPEAKER_00: After everything Noah has experienced, Genesis does not present him as flawless.
- 1:43SPEAKER_00: He plants a vineyard, becomes drunk, and lies uncovered in his tent.
- 1:48SPEAKER_00: Ham sees his father's nakedness and tells his brothers outside.
- 1:52SPEAKER_00: Shem and Japheth respond differently.
- 1:55SPEAKER_00: They walk backward with a garment and cover Noah without looking at him.
- 1:59SPEAKER_00: The passage clearly contrasts Ham's action with the care shown by his brothers.
- 2:04SPEAKER_00: But Genesis leaves some details unstated.
- 2:07SPEAKER_00: It says Noah later knew what his youngest son had done to him, but it does not explain anything beyond what the passage has already described.
- 2:16SPEAKER_00: So we should be careful about theories that add another act to the story when the text itself does not tell us one occurred.
- 2:23SPEAKER_00: Then Noah says, Cursed be Canaan.
- 2:26SPEAKER_00: Notice carefully, Noah does not say, Cursed be Ham.
- 2:31SPEAKER_00: The curse is spoken over Canaan, Ham's son.
- 2:34SPEAKER_00: That distinction has sometimes been ignored.
- 2:37SPEAKER_00: This passage says nothing about skin color, and it does not place a curse on an entire race of people.
- 2:43SPEAKER_00: What the text actually gives us is Noah's declaration concerning Canaan.
- 2:48SPEAKER_00: Noah then blesses the Lord, the God of Shem, asks that God enlarge Japheth, and again speaks of Canaan's future servitude.
- 2:57SPEAKER_00: These words look beyond the immediate family and prepare us for the family lines that Genesis will trace next.
- 3:03SPEAKER_00: The chapter closes Noah's life quietly.
- 3:06SPEAKER_00: He lives 350 years after the flood, reaches 950 years, and dies.
- 3:12SPEAKER_00: Here's the picture Genesis 918-29 leaves us with.