Churches Guilty of False Teaching for Centuries: The Curse of Noah
Copyright 2019 by Joan Berry
For centuries, churches have erroneously taught that Noah cursed Ham to have black skin and he was to be a slave to his brothers. This was used as an excuse to justify slavery forever among peoples with black skin. To begin with, Ham’s skin was already black, and the curse was placed on Ham’s youngest son, Canaan. And then, there are the false claims against Ham and to clarify those: Ham did not UNCOVER his father’s nakedness; he was not cursed to be black; he did not commit sexual sins against either parent; and he did not castrate his father. These issues and more will be discussed in this paper. Skin color will be discussed first.
White, Black, and Red Skin
Consensus among many anthropologists is that all early mankind had black skin [shades of brown were included in this category]. White skin was unusual and sometimes considered to be albino. Noah was not an albino. Red skin came as a combination of the colors. Due to intermarriages, they posit, skins began changing to various colors as well as eye color. Biblical scholars/anthropologists in tracing the genealogy of biblical families report that Abraham was black and had two black wives and then Sarah who was white. Moses married a black woman in Cush [Ethiopia/political]; Joseph married an Egyptian; sons of Jacob married Canaanite women of various colors. From these intermarriages, scholars/anthropologists say that we now have many skin and eye colors. Jesus is described as having skin the color of burnished brass [Revelation, Letter to Thyatira]. According to ethnologists, Noah’s children were black (Ham); Japheth, white like Noah; and Shem, brown).
The Controversy of the Curse
The order of the events preceding the curse:
Noah raised a vineyard and produced wine;
He drank too much wine and passed out in his own tent;
Ham entered the tent and SAW his father’s nakedness;
Rather than leaving and not saying anything out of respect, he ran to his brothers and told them (making fun of Noah is indicated);
Shem and Japheth took a cloth and walking backwards covered their father without seeing his nakedness;
Later, when Noah woke up and found out what happened, he cursed Canaan, Ham’s youngest son. While he cursed Canaan, he indirectly cursed Ham, who was Noah’s youngest son. This act most likely hurt Ham more than being directly cursed. It must be remembered this was a curse by Noah (not God). It applied only to his son and grandson. And the curse was that Canaan would be subservient to Shem. The Land of Canaan was later given to Shem (Israelites) and the Canaanites exterminated.
Now the False Teaching
False teachers insert a word from Leviticus into Genesis as their source to accuse Ham of untrue charges: “The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou NOT UNCOVER: she is thy mother; thou shalt not UNCOVER her nakedness.” – Leviticus 18:7. The word for uncover is “galah” meaning uncover, remove, or expose. The word for saw is “raah” meaning appear, see, or become visible. Moses wrote Leviticus and Genesis and it is doubtful that Moses mixed up these words. Our Bibles use the correct word, “saw”, however that does not keep false teachers from perverting scripture. Ham did not uncover his father or molest either parent and his skin was already black.
The Tower of Babel
Following God’s disbursement of Noah’s descendants after their attempt to build a tower to Heaven, Ham’s descendants migrated southward and their names can be seen in Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, and central Asia. A great migration occurred to Egypt, but Canaan settled in the land now called Israel. Canaan’s land was later ceded to Shem.
The three sons of Noah represent the three great races of mankind. A list of 70 individual founders is found in Genesis and divides them into three basic groups. Ethnologists generally agree that mankind is divided into three basic groups; the Bible divides them geographically.
Sources
Berry, J. (2019). Noah Before and After the Great Flood. Hamilton, OH: “The Original Love, Learn, Live in Christ” website by joan-berry.com
Book of Noah
Holy Bible from the Ancient Eastern Text. (1957). Lamsa, G. M. (trans). New York, NY: Harper –Collins Pub.
Josephus: The Complete Works. (1998). (trans.) Wm. Whiston, A. M. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson
Kaffi, A. (2000). Rethinking the significance of the Black Presence in the Pentateuch for Translation Study Bible.
Kass, L.P. (1992 & 2001). Seeing the Nakedness of His Father: Part 1. American Community, Vol. 3, Is. 93, 7p.
Life Application study Bible. (NIV, 2005). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois
New King James Version Study Bible. (2007). Pub. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Sadler, R.S. Jr. (n.d.). Can a Cushite Change His Skin Color? “Racial Othering” and the Hebrew Bible. Charlotte, NC: Union-PSCE.
The Amplified Bible. (1987). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House
The Torah and its Commentary (Revised Ed.) (2005). New York, NY: Union for Reform Judaism
Williams, T. D. (2018). The Bible is Black History ISBN-13: 978-1792125881 ISBN-10: 1792125887
Books used from Bibles: Genesis, I Chronicles, Psalms 105: 23, 27; 106: 22.