Post on 23-Apr-2020
Cursing Canaan
Pre-Geonic interpretations of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman
Table of Contents
1 Introduction The inexplicable curse 2 2 ldquoHam sinned and Canaan is cursedrdquo 4
21 Canaan was cursed 4 211 Canaan sinned 5 212 Noah was unable to curse Ham 7 213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring 10 214 As an affliction for Ham 12
22 Ham was cursed 14 23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed 16
3 The significance of slavery 19 31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo 21
4 Realisation of Noahs curse 24 41 Immediate results 24 42 Conquering of Canaan 26 43 Peoples affected by the curse 29
431 Canaanites 30 432 Hamites 33
5 Lessons from the narrative 37 51 Respect for onersquos father 38 52 The effects of wine 40 53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed 43 54 Other moral lessons 46
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists 48 7 Notable absences 51 8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis 52 References 57
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 2
1 Introduction The inexplicable curse
One of the more confusing narratives found in Genesis is that of Noahs drunkenness that
begins the antediluvian period in which humanity is reborn from his three sons Shem Ham
and Japheth As the narrative relates
את ערות וירא חם אבי כנען ויתגל בתוך אהלה וישכר היין- וישת מן כרם ויטע איש האדמה ויחל נח
מלה-ויקח שם ויפת את אחיו בחוץ-ויגד לשני אביו ויכסו את וילכו אחרנית שכם שניהם- עלוישימו ה
עשה לו בנו הקטן-את אשר וידע וייקץ נח מיינו וערות אביהם לא ראו ופניהם אחרנית ערות אביהם
ארור כנען ויאמר
ש
יפת אלהים ויהי כנען עבד למו אלהי שםייברוך ויאמריה לאחיועבד עבדים יה
ויהיו שלש מאות שנה וחמשים שנה אחר המבול נח-ויחי ויהי כנען עבד למו שם-וישכן באהלי ליפת
1וימת נח תשע מאות שנה וחמשים שנה-יימ- כל
There are many issues commonly taken with this story most significant may be the question
of what sin Ham actually committed in this incident but also the unusual reference to his
youngest son (בנו הקטן) the insertion of statements that Ham is the father of a previously
unmentioned Canaan in 918 22 and the cursing of Canaan when the only misdeed told in the
story is that of his father This paper intends to focus on the verse that first entails this final
difficulty
And he said Cursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves Shall he be to his brothers2
The numerous and stark curiosities associated with the above passage made it a relatively
common subject of concern for commentators from the outset of the history of Bible
interpretation While no passages in the Tanakh itself comment directly on the verse or its
contents it may be possible to see the cursing of Canaan as a commentary on later events
depicted in the Biblemdashat least if subscribing to a source theory of Genesismdashor as a prophecy
or premonition of future relationships depicted in the Bible a connection a number of later
1 Gen 920ndash29
2 Gen 925 New JPS translation in bold in the Hebrew above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 3
commentators indeed do make A number of references to this verse are given in Hellenistic
Jewish works such as those of Philo Judaeus Josephus and a number of works from the
pseudepigrapha and one Dead Sea Scrolls fragment Parallels are occasionally drawn to other
mythologies which may also give us insight into the understanding of Canaanrsquos curse In
addition numerous Rabbinic midrashic sources include reference to this passage often
contrasting but also showing similarities in many cases with the approach of early Christian
writers Further Greek and Aramaic translations of Genesis include minor linguistic
differences that give some insight to understanding the verse in the eyes of its translators and
editors Throughout we find a number of common threads of interpretation and at the same
time significant variation in approach and understanding
Rather than discussing each of these sources by their genre or chronology the various
sources have primarily been grouped on the basis of their commentary Through this we hope
to identify common resolutions to problems in the interpretation of the passage and to see the
similarities and differences in exegetical approach The first issue of focus is the largest one
immediately visible from the verse why does it seem to say that Canaan was cursed for the
actions of Ham In much more recent times our verse has also become associated as a source
for biblical justification of black slavery and it is important to view this versersquos interpretation
in terms of the advent of slavery or the meaning of עבד עבדים as the outcome for Canaan in
the curse This issue further bears upon us to uncover what the early interpreters saw as the
realisation of Noahrsquos statement and which peoples it was to affect A few further sources
notably the midrash and the patristic writers intend to learn moral implications from the
cursing and its associated narrative Our penultimate topic of discussion relates to a midrashic
manner of including this verse among patterns within the Bible and thus creating another
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 4
form of exegesis on the passage It is finally worthwhile to note the absences of commentary
on this verse where it otherwise may have been expected By uncovering and comparing the
different meanings and uses assumed from Genesis 925 we shed light on the history of its
interpretation and may succeed in comparing exegetical approaches and viewpoints presented
by the various pre-Gaonic Jewish sources
2 ldquoHam sinned and Canaan is cursedrdquo
This is the introductory statement of Genesis Rabbah as it attempts to solve the primary issue
implied by our verse3 it is certainly the most common question directly answered by
commentaries thereupon While the only actions in the narrative are performed by Noah and
his sons his curse in verse 25 falls upon Canaan a phenomenon quite clearly requiring
explanation on behalf of commentators on the passage In general three solutions can be taken
(a) Ham was actually the subject of the curse but Canaanrsquos name was used in the curse (b)
Canaan was actually the subject of the curse but in this case exegetes need to provide an
explanation as to why (c) by some manner both Ham and his son are direct targets of Noahrsquos
curse The passage does seem to indicate a focus towards Canaan at this stage being the only
of Noahrsquos sons mentioned being described in relation to Ham in the context of his misdeed
Possibly as a result of this the majority of opinions on the subject take the second option
21 Canaan was cursed
As a result of the inconsistency present in a simple reading of the text numerous early
interpreters of the Genesis story had to provide an explanation for Noah cursing Canaan We
3 Gen R 367
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 5
find four general solutions among pre-Geonic exegetes that agree with the literal reading of
the Masoretic text in cursing Canaan (a) ascribe some sin to Canaan (b) provide a reason
why Noah could not curse Ham and therefore cursed Canaan instead (c) Noah cursed Hamrsquos
son in poetic justice in being prevented a son and (d) Ham would be taught a greater lesson
by his son being cursed for his sin Because it abides by a direct reading of the verse this
general approach is more popular than having to explain Ham into the curse as discussed in
the next section
211 Canaan sinned
One clear way to explain the cursing of Canaan is by assuming that it was he that performed
the transgression against Noah rather than his father What exactly Canaan did is most vividly
depicted in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer
Canaan entered and saw the nakedness of Noah and he bound a thread (where the mark of)
the covenant was and emasculated him He went forth and told his brethren Ham entered
and saw his nakedness hellip But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his
fatherhellip Noah awoke from his wine and he knew what the younger son of Ham had done
him and he cursed him as it is said ldquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrdquo4
Here we find the famous rabbinic explanation of Noahrsquos castration as the cause for the curse5
While this emasculation is not in any way described or implied by the Genesis text
Heinemann describes the aggada as ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and suggests that
4 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170f
5 See also Lev R 175 and the opinion of Rab or Shmuel in Sanhedrin 70a where castration is also
explicit it is implicit R Berakhiah and R Huna in the name of R Joseph in Gen R 367 and ldquoour mastersrdquo in
Tanhuma Noah 14 Hamrsquos castration of Noah may also be derived from or related to Greek mythology which the
Sibylline Oracles (3110-116) implies by associating Ham with Cronos (Κρόνος)
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 6
The aggada hellip fills in the details [of the historical record] in an imaginative way in order to
find an answer to the questions of the listeners and to arrive at a depiction which will act on
their feelings6
Although castration is found else where the present source seems unique among the
midrashic literature in pinning the act upon Canaan rather than Ham The new narrative it
supplies attempts to find consistency within the passage of Genesis 920-27 by having Canaan
entering Noahrsquos tent prior to his father who then enters afterward and performs as in verse 22
Nonetheless with little doubt the license for the interpretation put forward by Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer is found in its reading of verse 24 here where Noah knows what ldquohis younger sonrdquo
has done to him our midrash reinterprets the pronominal reference of ldquohisrdquo not to refer
reflexively to Noah but to Ham the subject of the narrative prior to this verse As such ldquohis
younger sonrdquo now referred to Hamrsquos son Canaan as explicitly stated here in the midrashic
retelling of events who could thus be reasonably cursed by his grandfather for his actions
A similar approach is offered elsewhere in the midrash where we again find that
Canaan is first to enter the tent and see Noahrsquos nakedness although less detail in the narrative
is given and no castration is implied In very similar passages in Genesis Rabbah and
Tanhuma we find respectively attributed to R Nehemiah
(a) It was Canaan who saw it and informed them therefore the curse is attached to him
who did wrong7
(b) Canaan had looked and told his father so the curse had returned to its source8
The subtle difference between these interpretations may be significant the use of ldquoinformed
themrdquo in the Gensis Rabbah quote can either be interpreted to imply that it was actually
6 Heinemann p 21
7 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
8 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 2
1 Introduction The inexplicable curse
One of the more confusing narratives found in Genesis is that of Noahs drunkenness that
begins the antediluvian period in which humanity is reborn from his three sons Shem Ham
and Japheth As the narrative relates
את ערות וירא חם אבי כנען ויתגל בתוך אהלה וישכר היין- וישת מן כרם ויטע איש האדמה ויחל נח
מלה-ויקח שם ויפת את אחיו בחוץ-ויגד לשני אביו ויכסו את וילכו אחרנית שכם שניהם- עלוישימו ה
עשה לו בנו הקטן-את אשר וידע וייקץ נח מיינו וערות אביהם לא ראו ופניהם אחרנית ערות אביהם
ארור כנען ויאמר
ש
יפת אלהים ויהי כנען עבד למו אלהי שםייברוך ויאמריה לאחיועבד עבדים יה
ויהיו שלש מאות שנה וחמשים שנה אחר המבול נח-ויחי ויהי כנען עבד למו שם-וישכן באהלי ליפת
1וימת נח תשע מאות שנה וחמשים שנה-יימ- כל
There are many issues commonly taken with this story most significant may be the question
of what sin Ham actually committed in this incident but also the unusual reference to his
youngest son (בנו הקטן) the insertion of statements that Ham is the father of a previously
unmentioned Canaan in 918 22 and the cursing of Canaan when the only misdeed told in the
story is that of his father This paper intends to focus on the verse that first entails this final
difficulty
And he said Cursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves Shall he be to his brothers2
The numerous and stark curiosities associated with the above passage made it a relatively
common subject of concern for commentators from the outset of the history of Bible
interpretation While no passages in the Tanakh itself comment directly on the verse or its
contents it may be possible to see the cursing of Canaan as a commentary on later events
depicted in the Biblemdashat least if subscribing to a source theory of Genesismdashor as a prophecy
or premonition of future relationships depicted in the Bible a connection a number of later
1 Gen 920ndash29
2 Gen 925 New JPS translation in bold in the Hebrew above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 3
commentators indeed do make A number of references to this verse are given in Hellenistic
Jewish works such as those of Philo Judaeus Josephus and a number of works from the
pseudepigrapha and one Dead Sea Scrolls fragment Parallels are occasionally drawn to other
mythologies which may also give us insight into the understanding of Canaanrsquos curse In
addition numerous Rabbinic midrashic sources include reference to this passage often
contrasting but also showing similarities in many cases with the approach of early Christian
writers Further Greek and Aramaic translations of Genesis include minor linguistic
differences that give some insight to understanding the verse in the eyes of its translators and
editors Throughout we find a number of common threads of interpretation and at the same
time significant variation in approach and understanding
Rather than discussing each of these sources by their genre or chronology the various
sources have primarily been grouped on the basis of their commentary Through this we hope
to identify common resolutions to problems in the interpretation of the passage and to see the
similarities and differences in exegetical approach The first issue of focus is the largest one
immediately visible from the verse why does it seem to say that Canaan was cursed for the
actions of Ham In much more recent times our verse has also become associated as a source
for biblical justification of black slavery and it is important to view this versersquos interpretation
in terms of the advent of slavery or the meaning of עבד עבדים as the outcome for Canaan in
the curse This issue further bears upon us to uncover what the early interpreters saw as the
realisation of Noahrsquos statement and which peoples it was to affect A few further sources
notably the midrash and the patristic writers intend to learn moral implications from the
cursing and its associated narrative Our penultimate topic of discussion relates to a midrashic
manner of including this verse among patterns within the Bible and thus creating another
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 4
form of exegesis on the passage It is finally worthwhile to note the absences of commentary
on this verse where it otherwise may have been expected By uncovering and comparing the
different meanings and uses assumed from Genesis 925 we shed light on the history of its
interpretation and may succeed in comparing exegetical approaches and viewpoints presented
by the various pre-Gaonic Jewish sources
2 ldquoHam sinned and Canaan is cursedrdquo
This is the introductory statement of Genesis Rabbah as it attempts to solve the primary issue
implied by our verse3 it is certainly the most common question directly answered by
commentaries thereupon While the only actions in the narrative are performed by Noah and
his sons his curse in verse 25 falls upon Canaan a phenomenon quite clearly requiring
explanation on behalf of commentators on the passage In general three solutions can be taken
(a) Ham was actually the subject of the curse but Canaanrsquos name was used in the curse (b)
Canaan was actually the subject of the curse but in this case exegetes need to provide an
explanation as to why (c) by some manner both Ham and his son are direct targets of Noahrsquos
curse The passage does seem to indicate a focus towards Canaan at this stage being the only
of Noahrsquos sons mentioned being described in relation to Ham in the context of his misdeed
Possibly as a result of this the majority of opinions on the subject take the second option
21 Canaan was cursed
As a result of the inconsistency present in a simple reading of the text numerous early
interpreters of the Genesis story had to provide an explanation for Noah cursing Canaan We
3 Gen R 367
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 5
find four general solutions among pre-Geonic exegetes that agree with the literal reading of
the Masoretic text in cursing Canaan (a) ascribe some sin to Canaan (b) provide a reason
why Noah could not curse Ham and therefore cursed Canaan instead (c) Noah cursed Hamrsquos
son in poetic justice in being prevented a son and (d) Ham would be taught a greater lesson
by his son being cursed for his sin Because it abides by a direct reading of the verse this
general approach is more popular than having to explain Ham into the curse as discussed in
the next section
211 Canaan sinned
One clear way to explain the cursing of Canaan is by assuming that it was he that performed
the transgression against Noah rather than his father What exactly Canaan did is most vividly
depicted in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer
Canaan entered and saw the nakedness of Noah and he bound a thread (where the mark of)
the covenant was and emasculated him He went forth and told his brethren Ham entered
and saw his nakedness hellip But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his
fatherhellip Noah awoke from his wine and he knew what the younger son of Ham had done
him and he cursed him as it is said ldquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrdquo4
Here we find the famous rabbinic explanation of Noahrsquos castration as the cause for the curse5
While this emasculation is not in any way described or implied by the Genesis text
Heinemann describes the aggada as ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and suggests that
4 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170f
5 See also Lev R 175 and the opinion of Rab or Shmuel in Sanhedrin 70a where castration is also
explicit it is implicit R Berakhiah and R Huna in the name of R Joseph in Gen R 367 and ldquoour mastersrdquo in
Tanhuma Noah 14 Hamrsquos castration of Noah may also be derived from or related to Greek mythology which the
Sibylline Oracles (3110-116) implies by associating Ham with Cronos (Κρόνος)
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 6
The aggada hellip fills in the details [of the historical record] in an imaginative way in order to
find an answer to the questions of the listeners and to arrive at a depiction which will act on
their feelings6
Although castration is found else where the present source seems unique among the
midrashic literature in pinning the act upon Canaan rather than Ham The new narrative it
supplies attempts to find consistency within the passage of Genesis 920-27 by having Canaan
entering Noahrsquos tent prior to his father who then enters afterward and performs as in verse 22
Nonetheless with little doubt the license for the interpretation put forward by Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer is found in its reading of verse 24 here where Noah knows what ldquohis younger sonrdquo
has done to him our midrash reinterprets the pronominal reference of ldquohisrdquo not to refer
reflexively to Noah but to Ham the subject of the narrative prior to this verse As such ldquohis
younger sonrdquo now referred to Hamrsquos son Canaan as explicitly stated here in the midrashic
retelling of events who could thus be reasonably cursed by his grandfather for his actions
A similar approach is offered elsewhere in the midrash where we again find that
Canaan is first to enter the tent and see Noahrsquos nakedness although less detail in the narrative
is given and no castration is implied In very similar passages in Genesis Rabbah and
Tanhuma we find respectively attributed to R Nehemiah
(a) It was Canaan who saw it and informed them therefore the curse is attached to him
who did wrong7
(b) Canaan had looked and told his father so the curse had returned to its source8
The subtle difference between these interpretations may be significant the use of ldquoinformed
themrdquo in the Gensis Rabbah quote can either be interpreted to imply that it was actually
6 Heinemann p 21
7 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
8 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 3
commentators indeed do make A number of references to this verse are given in Hellenistic
Jewish works such as those of Philo Judaeus Josephus and a number of works from the
pseudepigrapha and one Dead Sea Scrolls fragment Parallels are occasionally drawn to other
mythologies which may also give us insight into the understanding of Canaanrsquos curse In
addition numerous Rabbinic midrashic sources include reference to this passage often
contrasting but also showing similarities in many cases with the approach of early Christian
writers Further Greek and Aramaic translations of Genesis include minor linguistic
differences that give some insight to understanding the verse in the eyes of its translators and
editors Throughout we find a number of common threads of interpretation and at the same
time significant variation in approach and understanding
Rather than discussing each of these sources by their genre or chronology the various
sources have primarily been grouped on the basis of their commentary Through this we hope
to identify common resolutions to problems in the interpretation of the passage and to see the
similarities and differences in exegetical approach The first issue of focus is the largest one
immediately visible from the verse why does it seem to say that Canaan was cursed for the
actions of Ham In much more recent times our verse has also become associated as a source
for biblical justification of black slavery and it is important to view this versersquos interpretation
in terms of the advent of slavery or the meaning of עבד עבדים as the outcome for Canaan in
the curse This issue further bears upon us to uncover what the early interpreters saw as the
realisation of Noahrsquos statement and which peoples it was to affect A few further sources
notably the midrash and the patristic writers intend to learn moral implications from the
cursing and its associated narrative Our penultimate topic of discussion relates to a midrashic
manner of including this verse among patterns within the Bible and thus creating another
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 4
form of exegesis on the passage It is finally worthwhile to note the absences of commentary
on this verse where it otherwise may have been expected By uncovering and comparing the
different meanings and uses assumed from Genesis 925 we shed light on the history of its
interpretation and may succeed in comparing exegetical approaches and viewpoints presented
by the various pre-Gaonic Jewish sources
2 ldquoHam sinned and Canaan is cursedrdquo
This is the introductory statement of Genesis Rabbah as it attempts to solve the primary issue
implied by our verse3 it is certainly the most common question directly answered by
commentaries thereupon While the only actions in the narrative are performed by Noah and
his sons his curse in verse 25 falls upon Canaan a phenomenon quite clearly requiring
explanation on behalf of commentators on the passage In general three solutions can be taken
(a) Ham was actually the subject of the curse but Canaanrsquos name was used in the curse (b)
Canaan was actually the subject of the curse but in this case exegetes need to provide an
explanation as to why (c) by some manner both Ham and his son are direct targets of Noahrsquos
curse The passage does seem to indicate a focus towards Canaan at this stage being the only
of Noahrsquos sons mentioned being described in relation to Ham in the context of his misdeed
Possibly as a result of this the majority of opinions on the subject take the second option
21 Canaan was cursed
As a result of the inconsistency present in a simple reading of the text numerous early
interpreters of the Genesis story had to provide an explanation for Noah cursing Canaan We
3 Gen R 367
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 5
find four general solutions among pre-Geonic exegetes that agree with the literal reading of
the Masoretic text in cursing Canaan (a) ascribe some sin to Canaan (b) provide a reason
why Noah could not curse Ham and therefore cursed Canaan instead (c) Noah cursed Hamrsquos
son in poetic justice in being prevented a son and (d) Ham would be taught a greater lesson
by his son being cursed for his sin Because it abides by a direct reading of the verse this
general approach is more popular than having to explain Ham into the curse as discussed in
the next section
211 Canaan sinned
One clear way to explain the cursing of Canaan is by assuming that it was he that performed
the transgression against Noah rather than his father What exactly Canaan did is most vividly
depicted in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer
Canaan entered and saw the nakedness of Noah and he bound a thread (where the mark of)
the covenant was and emasculated him He went forth and told his brethren Ham entered
and saw his nakedness hellip But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his
fatherhellip Noah awoke from his wine and he knew what the younger son of Ham had done
him and he cursed him as it is said ldquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrdquo4
Here we find the famous rabbinic explanation of Noahrsquos castration as the cause for the curse5
While this emasculation is not in any way described or implied by the Genesis text
Heinemann describes the aggada as ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and suggests that
4 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170f
5 See also Lev R 175 and the opinion of Rab or Shmuel in Sanhedrin 70a where castration is also
explicit it is implicit R Berakhiah and R Huna in the name of R Joseph in Gen R 367 and ldquoour mastersrdquo in
Tanhuma Noah 14 Hamrsquos castration of Noah may also be derived from or related to Greek mythology which the
Sibylline Oracles (3110-116) implies by associating Ham with Cronos (Κρόνος)
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 6
The aggada hellip fills in the details [of the historical record] in an imaginative way in order to
find an answer to the questions of the listeners and to arrive at a depiction which will act on
their feelings6
Although castration is found else where the present source seems unique among the
midrashic literature in pinning the act upon Canaan rather than Ham The new narrative it
supplies attempts to find consistency within the passage of Genesis 920-27 by having Canaan
entering Noahrsquos tent prior to his father who then enters afterward and performs as in verse 22
Nonetheless with little doubt the license for the interpretation put forward by Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer is found in its reading of verse 24 here where Noah knows what ldquohis younger sonrdquo
has done to him our midrash reinterprets the pronominal reference of ldquohisrdquo not to refer
reflexively to Noah but to Ham the subject of the narrative prior to this verse As such ldquohis
younger sonrdquo now referred to Hamrsquos son Canaan as explicitly stated here in the midrashic
retelling of events who could thus be reasonably cursed by his grandfather for his actions
A similar approach is offered elsewhere in the midrash where we again find that
Canaan is first to enter the tent and see Noahrsquos nakedness although less detail in the narrative
is given and no castration is implied In very similar passages in Genesis Rabbah and
Tanhuma we find respectively attributed to R Nehemiah
(a) It was Canaan who saw it and informed them therefore the curse is attached to him
who did wrong7
(b) Canaan had looked and told his father so the curse had returned to its source8
The subtle difference between these interpretations may be significant the use of ldquoinformed
themrdquo in the Gensis Rabbah quote can either be interpreted to imply that it was actually
6 Heinemann p 21
7 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
8 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 4
form of exegesis on the passage It is finally worthwhile to note the absences of commentary
on this verse where it otherwise may have been expected By uncovering and comparing the
different meanings and uses assumed from Genesis 925 we shed light on the history of its
interpretation and may succeed in comparing exegetical approaches and viewpoints presented
by the various pre-Gaonic Jewish sources
2 ldquoHam sinned and Canaan is cursedrdquo
This is the introductory statement of Genesis Rabbah as it attempts to solve the primary issue
implied by our verse3 it is certainly the most common question directly answered by
commentaries thereupon While the only actions in the narrative are performed by Noah and
his sons his curse in verse 25 falls upon Canaan a phenomenon quite clearly requiring
explanation on behalf of commentators on the passage In general three solutions can be taken
(a) Ham was actually the subject of the curse but Canaanrsquos name was used in the curse (b)
Canaan was actually the subject of the curse but in this case exegetes need to provide an
explanation as to why (c) by some manner both Ham and his son are direct targets of Noahrsquos
curse The passage does seem to indicate a focus towards Canaan at this stage being the only
of Noahrsquos sons mentioned being described in relation to Ham in the context of his misdeed
Possibly as a result of this the majority of opinions on the subject take the second option
21 Canaan was cursed
As a result of the inconsistency present in a simple reading of the text numerous early
interpreters of the Genesis story had to provide an explanation for Noah cursing Canaan We
3 Gen R 367
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 5
find four general solutions among pre-Geonic exegetes that agree with the literal reading of
the Masoretic text in cursing Canaan (a) ascribe some sin to Canaan (b) provide a reason
why Noah could not curse Ham and therefore cursed Canaan instead (c) Noah cursed Hamrsquos
son in poetic justice in being prevented a son and (d) Ham would be taught a greater lesson
by his son being cursed for his sin Because it abides by a direct reading of the verse this
general approach is more popular than having to explain Ham into the curse as discussed in
the next section
211 Canaan sinned
One clear way to explain the cursing of Canaan is by assuming that it was he that performed
the transgression against Noah rather than his father What exactly Canaan did is most vividly
depicted in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer
Canaan entered and saw the nakedness of Noah and he bound a thread (where the mark of)
the covenant was and emasculated him He went forth and told his brethren Ham entered
and saw his nakedness hellip But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his
fatherhellip Noah awoke from his wine and he knew what the younger son of Ham had done
him and he cursed him as it is said ldquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrdquo4
Here we find the famous rabbinic explanation of Noahrsquos castration as the cause for the curse5
While this emasculation is not in any way described or implied by the Genesis text
Heinemann describes the aggada as ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and suggests that
4 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170f
5 See also Lev R 175 and the opinion of Rab or Shmuel in Sanhedrin 70a where castration is also
explicit it is implicit R Berakhiah and R Huna in the name of R Joseph in Gen R 367 and ldquoour mastersrdquo in
Tanhuma Noah 14 Hamrsquos castration of Noah may also be derived from or related to Greek mythology which the
Sibylline Oracles (3110-116) implies by associating Ham with Cronos (Κρόνος)
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 6
The aggada hellip fills in the details [of the historical record] in an imaginative way in order to
find an answer to the questions of the listeners and to arrive at a depiction which will act on
their feelings6
Although castration is found else where the present source seems unique among the
midrashic literature in pinning the act upon Canaan rather than Ham The new narrative it
supplies attempts to find consistency within the passage of Genesis 920-27 by having Canaan
entering Noahrsquos tent prior to his father who then enters afterward and performs as in verse 22
Nonetheless with little doubt the license for the interpretation put forward by Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer is found in its reading of verse 24 here where Noah knows what ldquohis younger sonrdquo
has done to him our midrash reinterprets the pronominal reference of ldquohisrdquo not to refer
reflexively to Noah but to Ham the subject of the narrative prior to this verse As such ldquohis
younger sonrdquo now referred to Hamrsquos son Canaan as explicitly stated here in the midrashic
retelling of events who could thus be reasonably cursed by his grandfather for his actions
A similar approach is offered elsewhere in the midrash where we again find that
Canaan is first to enter the tent and see Noahrsquos nakedness although less detail in the narrative
is given and no castration is implied In very similar passages in Genesis Rabbah and
Tanhuma we find respectively attributed to R Nehemiah
(a) It was Canaan who saw it and informed them therefore the curse is attached to him
who did wrong7
(b) Canaan had looked and told his father so the curse had returned to its source8
The subtle difference between these interpretations may be significant the use of ldquoinformed
themrdquo in the Gensis Rabbah quote can either be interpreted to imply that it was actually
6 Heinemann p 21
7 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
8 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 5
find four general solutions among pre-Geonic exegetes that agree with the literal reading of
the Masoretic text in cursing Canaan (a) ascribe some sin to Canaan (b) provide a reason
why Noah could not curse Ham and therefore cursed Canaan instead (c) Noah cursed Hamrsquos
son in poetic justice in being prevented a son and (d) Ham would be taught a greater lesson
by his son being cursed for his sin Because it abides by a direct reading of the verse this
general approach is more popular than having to explain Ham into the curse as discussed in
the next section
211 Canaan sinned
One clear way to explain the cursing of Canaan is by assuming that it was he that performed
the transgression against Noah rather than his father What exactly Canaan did is most vividly
depicted in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer
Canaan entered and saw the nakedness of Noah and he bound a thread (where the mark of)
the covenant was and emasculated him He went forth and told his brethren Ham entered
and saw his nakedness hellip But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his
fatherhellip Noah awoke from his wine and he knew what the younger son of Ham had done
him and he cursed him as it is said ldquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrdquo4
Here we find the famous rabbinic explanation of Noahrsquos castration as the cause for the curse5
While this emasculation is not in any way described or implied by the Genesis text
Heinemann describes the aggada as ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and suggests that
4 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170f
5 See also Lev R 175 and the opinion of Rab or Shmuel in Sanhedrin 70a where castration is also
explicit it is implicit R Berakhiah and R Huna in the name of R Joseph in Gen R 367 and ldquoour mastersrdquo in
Tanhuma Noah 14 Hamrsquos castration of Noah may also be derived from or related to Greek mythology which the
Sibylline Oracles (3110-116) implies by associating Ham with Cronos (Κρόνος)
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 6
The aggada hellip fills in the details [of the historical record] in an imaginative way in order to
find an answer to the questions of the listeners and to arrive at a depiction which will act on
their feelings6
Although castration is found else where the present source seems unique among the
midrashic literature in pinning the act upon Canaan rather than Ham The new narrative it
supplies attempts to find consistency within the passage of Genesis 920-27 by having Canaan
entering Noahrsquos tent prior to his father who then enters afterward and performs as in verse 22
Nonetheless with little doubt the license for the interpretation put forward by Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer is found in its reading of verse 24 here where Noah knows what ldquohis younger sonrdquo
has done to him our midrash reinterprets the pronominal reference of ldquohisrdquo not to refer
reflexively to Noah but to Ham the subject of the narrative prior to this verse As such ldquohis
younger sonrdquo now referred to Hamrsquos son Canaan as explicitly stated here in the midrashic
retelling of events who could thus be reasonably cursed by his grandfather for his actions
A similar approach is offered elsewhere in the midrash where we again find that
Canaan is first to enter the tent and see Noahrsquos nakedness although less detail in the narrative
is given and no castration is implied In very similar passages in Genesis Rabbah and
Tanhuma we find respectively attributed to R Nehemiah
(a) It was Canaan who saw it and informed them therefore the curse is attached to him
who did wrong7
(b) Canaan had looked and told his father so the curse had returned to its source8
The subtle difference between these interpretations may be significant the use of ldquoinformed
themrdquo in the Gensis Rabbah quote can either be interpreted to imply that it was actually
6 Heinemann p 21
7 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
8 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 6
The aggada hellip fills in the details [of the historical record] in an imaginative way in order to
find an answer to the questions of the listeners and to arrive at a depiction which will act on
their feelings6
Although castration is found else where the present source seems unique among the
midrashic literature in pinning the act upon Canaan rather than Ham The new narrative it
supplies attempts to find consistency within the passage of Genesis 920-27 by having Canaan
entering Noahrsquos tent prior to his father who then enters afterward and performs as in verse 22
Nonetheless with little doubt the license for the interpretation put forward by Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer is found in its reading of verse 24 here where Noah knows what ldquohis younger sonrdquo
has done to him our midrash reinterprets the pronominal reference of ldquohisrdquo not to refer
reflexively to Noah but to Ham the subject of the narrative prior to this verse As such ldquohis
younger sonrdquo now referred to Hamrsquos son Canaan as explicitly stated here in the midrashic
retelling of events who could thus be reasonably cursed by his grandfather for his actions
A similar approach is offered elsewhere in the midrash where we again find that
Canaan is first to enter the tent and see Noahrsquos nakedness although less detail in the narrative
is given and no castration is implied In very similar passages in Genesis Rabbah and
Tanhuma we find respectively attributed to R Nehemiah
(a) It was Canaan who saw it and informed them therefore the curse is attached to him
who did wrong7
(b) Canaan had looked and told his father so the curse had returned to its source8
The subtle difference between these interpretations may be significant the use of ldquoinformed
themrdquo in the Gensis Rabbah quote can either be interpreted to imply that it was actually
6 Heinemann p 21
7 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
8 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 7
Canaan who saw Noahrsquos nakedness and then told others outside as is described of Ham in the
Genesis text or that he told others including his father who then performed as is described in
922 If the former understanding is taken Hamrsquos role in the text is left unexplained The
Tanhuma text thus seems to be a refinement on the same idea implying that Canaan and then
Ham saw Noahrsquos nakedness as we found also in the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer text above9
The only earlier source that seems to imply that Canaan sinned is a reference in
Jubileesmdashwhere Rebecca warns her son not to take a daughter from among the Canaanitesmdash
that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted outrdquo10
Although this states quite clearly that Canaan sinned and this may well be the reason for the
curse being upon him it is a result of Hamrsquos sin and not the reverse as seems to be
highlighted in the midrashic tradition Furthermore where Jubilees relates the story of Hamrsquos
sin it expresses it quite comparably to the Masoretic text of Genesis certainly providing no
detail that Canaan actually performed any wrong11
212 Noah was unable to curse Ham
One of the approaches which seems to have been accepted most widely among a variety of
sources is the concept that Noah was unable to curse Ham because he had already been
blessed by God along with his brothers12 Possibly the most interesting appearance of this
9 Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer seems to combine the two traditions of castration prominent among the
opinions discussed in sect 213 and of Canaanrsquos sinning both of which are transmitted in similar collections of
comments on the problem of Canaan being cursed in Hamrsquos place in Genesis Rabbah and Tanhuma Noah
10 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
11 See Jubilees 79ff Also see comments on this passage sect 1 214 on p 12
12 See Gen 91
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 8
explanation was found on a fragment of 4Q252 found at Qumran ldquoa rather mysterious text
interwoven with quotations near quotations and rewordings from Genesis rewordings of
other texts and free additionsrdquo13
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him he said
ldquoCursed be Canaan the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothersrdquo And he did not curse
Ham but rather his son because God had already blessed the sons of Noah ldquoAnd let him live
in the tents of Shemrdquo14
This identical explanation is also offered in later compilations of midrash and clearly
identifies an early source for the interpretation of R Judah who similarly claims that ldquothe
curse does not coexist with a blessingrdquo15
Adding further curiosity to the antiquity of this interpretation we also find it within the
early Church fathers Justin Martyr (100ndash165 CE) tells that
hellip Another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of Noah of which you are
not aware It is this in the blessings wherewith Noah blessed his two sons and in the curse
pronounced on his sonrsquos son For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers] But since the punishment of the sin would
cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos nakedness he made the
curse originate with his son16
Here Justin not only gives the same explanation as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and midrash
but finds the need to further provide a reason for why Noah would curse his grandson instead
The appearance of this opinion in an interpretive text from the Dead Sea Scrolls may indicate
its antiquity thus reason to find it reflected in the Patristic literature but there has also been
13 Froumlhlich p 82
14 4Q252 frag 1 col ii 5bndash7 translated in Wise et al pp 275f
15 Tanhuma Noah 14 also Gen R 367
16 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 9
extensive scholarly debate as to whether Justin has been influenced by the midrash17 While it
is likely then that Justin the rabbinic tradition and 4Q252 have a common source for their
tradition it seems quite plausible for Justin to have reached his conclusion independently
Since this solution to the problems posed by the passage is prominent in the early
centuries CE it is significant to note the similarity although not identity to what is found in
the Judean Antiquities of Flavius Josephus (c37ndashc100 CE)
And Nochos realising this invoked a blessing for his other sons but he did not curse
Chamas because of his kinship to him but rather his descendants And whereas the others
escaped the curse God pursued the children of Chananaios18
While the difficulty in cursing Ham as put forward in the above sources was because he had
previously been blessed by God Josephus differs by limiting this to Noah being unwilling to
bless his son simply because of kinship Feldman considers that Josephus would likely know
other Rabbinic responses to the text whether either of those quoted so far from Genesis
Rabbah but that ldquorealising that such rabbinic interpretations are not readily derived from the
plain meaning of the text prefers to abide by the literal meaning of the text and explains very
simply and reasonably that Noah did not curse Ham himself because of his nearness of kin
(συγγένειαν)rdquo19 This may accord with Josephusrsquos purported goal of synthesizing Jewish and
Hellenistic culture where a seemingly far-fetched Rabbinic approach may be less becoming
Despite this argument it is not clear that Josephusrsquos explanation here is particularly simpler
than the contradiction of Godrsquos blessing and Noahrsquos curse as found in 4Q252 Justin and the
midrash Indeed Feldman places this argument directly after discussing the Rabbinic position
17 See Rokeacuteah pp 38ndash40 for a summary of some such discussion
18 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1142 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
19 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 10
that Canaan was the first to see Noahrsquos nakedness (or to castrate him) as above20 distancing it
from the present midrashic tradition and so not clearly responding to this challenge21
Nonetheless Josephus does seem to accord to the general school of thought that Canaan was
cursed as a result of Noahrsquos inability to curse his own son
213 Now disallowed offspring Noah cursed offspring
As a result of the rabbinic opinion that the misdeed in 922 was an act of castration comes the
suggestion that Canaan being Hamrsquos son was cursed because Ham prevented Noah from
having further progeny and as a result Hamrsquos progeny should be cursed22 The Babylonian
Talmud puts it simply and by way of a play on words
23 מתוך שקלקלו ברביעי קללו ברביעימאן דאמר סרסו
20 See sect 212 p 7
21 There is also no clear evidence that the idea of Canaanrsquos transgression should have been available to
Josephusmdashthe attribution to R Nehemiah dates it to the mid-2nd century CE while Josephusrsquos antiquities were
completed by 94mdashwhereas Noah being unable to curse Ham is expressed by nearly contemporaneous authors
22 See note 5 p 5 for other sources on Noahrsquos emasculation Possibly the causality is in reversemdashor it
may a compounding of the two factorsmdashin that the desire to explain why Hamrsquos offspring was cursed may result
in the idea of castration The textual evidence seems to indicate otherwise in Sanhedrin 70a this explanation of
the cursing of Canaan is an incidental addition to the more certain opinion that Noah was castrated in Gen R
367 and Tanhuma Noah 14 his impotence as a result of the deed seems to be assumed knowledge Even the
opinion in Sanhedrin 70a that the transgression was one of intercourse is resolved by saying that in addition Noah
was castrated and both this and Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer where castration is upheld but another explanation is
given for Canaanrsquos cursing seem to indicate the prevalence of this opinion The idea that Noah was emasculated
is likely thus a direct response to the inexplicability Genesis 921-22
23 BT Sanhedrin 70a
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 11
Since Ham damaged Noah in relation to having a fourth child Noah cursed Hamrsquos fourth
child This same reading is expressed in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
דהוא קליל בזכותא דגרם ליה דלא ואיתער נח מן חמריה וידע באשתעות חלמא ית דעבד ליה חם בריה
24 עביד משעבד יהי לאחוידהוא בריה רביעייואמר ליט כנען יוליד בר רביעיי
Finally the same position is stated in the midrash of Genesis Rabbah although there it is
phrased as a first-person pronouncement by Noah
R Huna said in R Josephrsquos name [Noah declared] lsquoYou have prevented from me from
begetting a fourth son therefore I curse your fourth sonrsquo25
In this same passage of midrash the opinion of R Berakhiah is presented comparable but
again not identical with a parallel passage in the Tanhuma respectively
(a) R Berakiah said Noah grieved very much in the Ark that he has no young son to
wait on him and declared lsquoWhen I go out I will beget a young son to do this for mersquo
But when Ham acted thus to him he exclaimed lsquoYou have prevented me from
begetting a young son to serve me therefore that man [your son] will be a servant to
his brethrenrsquo26
(b) Our masters have said when Noah was in the ark he said Oh that my children had
slaves so that while they were seated those ltslavesgt would go forth before them
When however I go out from the ark whomever I beget I shall make into slaves for
them He said to him (Ham) You did not allow me to beget a fourth son who would
be a slave for his brothers By your life I am making your fourth son a slave Thus it
is stated And he said Cursed be Canaan [A slave of slaves shall he be to his
brothers]27
24 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 924ndash25 Emphasis added
25 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
26 Gen R 367 translated by Freedman p 293
27 Tahnhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 12
In the three midrashic quotations the idea that Ham caused Noahrsquos impotence is implicit28
and in all cases the cursing of the youngest son is a result of Noahrsquos being impaired from
bearing another The latter two cases though also explain making the cursed son of Ham a
slave to his brethren and then differ subtly in Noahrsquos reasoning29 In all cases this may be
derived from the general idea of Hamrsquos youngest son being cursed by way of his father not
being able to bear another in turn likely a result of the midrashic view that Hamrsquos sin was an
act of castration
214 As an affliction for Ham
Another approach taken by a few early interpreters of our passage is that Noah chose to curse
Hamrsquos son as this would be of greater offence than cursing him directly Alongside his
primary thesis of an allegorical reading30 this is an explanation given by Philo Judaeus
(20 BCEndash40 CE) He writes in his Questions and Answers on Genesis
In the first place God pronounced this sentence because both father and son had displayed
the same wickedness being both united together and not separated and both indulging in the
same disposition But in the second place he did so because the father would be exceedingly
afflicted at the curse thus laid upon the son being sufficiently conscious that he was punished
not so much for his own sake as for that of his father And so the leader and master of the two
28 By allowing reference to Noahrsquos castration to be implicit these midrashim gives a clue to the oral
nature of its transmission where ldquoThe corpus of assumed popular knowledge hellip played an important role in
establishing a rapport between early preachers and their audiences hellip [who could rely on their] familiarity with
well-known traditionsrdquo Jacobs p 80
29 See sect3 p 19
30 To be discussed in sect 23 p 16
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 13
suffered the punishment of his wicked counsels and words and actions This is the literal
meaning of the statement31
This reads into the text a psychological motivation for Noahrsquos curse upon Canaan while Ham
in his wickedness may feel no upset at a curse upon him with his son cursed and knowing that
it is due to his fatherrsquos wrongdoing it sets up a discord and relationship of blame between
Canaan and his father thus leaving Ham greater afflicted than if he was to be the cursersquos
direct subject In another work On Sobriety a polemic regarding Noah and the effects of wine
he suggests a related reason of allowing the fulfilment of Exodus 205 in which God is
described as ldquovisiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth
Generationsrdquo32 an inter-scriptural connection typical of midrash texts Noah curses his
grandson to illustrate the extent of the transgression for which Ham ultimately bears more
guilt
Although not providing as much detail Jubilees comments with a notion very similar
to that given by Philo
And Noah woke up from his wine and knew everything which his youngest son had done to
him And he cursed his son and said ldquoCursed is Canaan let him be an enslaved servant of his
brothersrdquo hellip And Ham knew that his father cursed his younger son and it was disgusting to
him that he cursed his son And he separated from his father he and his sons with him Cush
and Mizraim and Put and Canaan33
This rewriting of the Genesis narrative does not as clearly identify why Canaan was cursed
but it almost implies Philorsquos reading by identifying Hamrsquos displeasure at his fatherrsquos cursing
his son Unlike Philorsquos reading it does not seem to indicate that the reason Noah chose to
31 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge
32 Philo On Sobriety 1048 translated by Yonge
33 Jubilees 710ndash13 translated by Wintermute p 69
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 14
curse Canaan over his own son was to add to the affliction incurred upon his son although
this could be a possible reading of Jubilees
Since these two interpretations alone are the only reflecting this sort of tradition to a
common problem in the understanding of Genesis 925 it may be possible that they derive
their resolution from a common source or that Philo was knowledgeable in Jubilees although
there seems no evidence34 Ultimately both these interpretations examine Hamrsquos reaction to
the cursing of his son although only Philo explicitly details this as the reason that Noah chose
Canaan as the subject of his curse
22 Ham was cursed
The alternative approach of rereading Genesis 925ndash26 as actually referring to Ham rather
than Canaan is less popular than the converse among Jewish commentators Despite being a
later midrashic compilation than a number of the works mentioned heretofore in association
with the opposite view Numbers Rabbah stands out amid the rabbinic canon by following this
approach
hellip it says And Noah awoke from his wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f) by
which he meant Ham who was his third son and was called the father of Canaan35
This midrash seems unusually to claim that Ham was merely referred to as Canaan by virtue
of being his father This view is only clearly repeated in the writings of early Christians
34 Jubilees was probably sufficiently ancient even by the time of Philo for its ideas to be publicly known
See Wintermute pp 43ndash44 for a discussion of the dating of Jubilees under the assumption of a separation of the
Qumran sect regarding high-priesthood the latest possible date for its composition would be 140 or 152 BCE
35 Num R 102 translated by Slotki p 347 Also in Num R 108
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 15
Epiphanius (c 310ndash403) for instance states simply that ldquothe mocker received the curserdquo36 In
Aduersus Haereses Irenaeus Lugdunesis (c 130ndash202) quotes ldquothe presbyterrdquo in saying
hellip We ought not to hellip become like Ham who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell
under a curse37
Elsewhere he confirms this position more clearly where he quotes the verse as ldquocursed be
Hamhelliprdquo
The younger of them [Noahrsquos sons] who was called Ham having mocked their father and
having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness
against his father received a curse38
Despite the changed quotation of the verse McKenzie argues that Irenaeusrsquos reference to Ham
here is intentional and consistent with his message and world-view which ldquosees the
subsequent history of the human race in its relation to God as the unfolding of the original
blessing and cursing which determines the relations of the respective races descended
variously from their favoured or rejected forefatherhelliprdquo39 Introducing Canaan as the recipient
of the curse would upset his portrayal of its affliction upon the progeny of Ham40
Independent of motivation that Noah cursed Ham seems to be the dominant view among
many of the early Christian writers in sharp contrast to the majority of rabbinic positions41
36 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
37 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
38 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation by Robinson in MacKenzie p 6
39 MacKenzie p 132
40 See sect 43 below p 29 for a discussion of Irenaeusrsquos views on those affected by the curse
41 Goldenberg pp 158f lists many examples from later Christian authors as well as the patristic
writers where Ham is given as the target of Noahrsquos curse or at least being affected by it This paper treats Ham
being affected by the curse elsewhere in sect 432 p 33
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 16
Whether as a result of this opinion a cause or an independent but identical resolution
Wevers notes that the Byzantine text of the Septuagint encountered the incongruence of
Canaan being cursed for Hamrsquos act ldquorealized the difficulty and changed the name to χαμ
(Ham)rdquo in both Genesis 925 and the following verses42 It may significant to note that in
each of the Christian examples cited Canaan is entirely absent from mention unlike in the
Numbers Rabbah explanation above This could easily be explained by use of the Byzantine
edition of the Bible text (or some equivalent) whose substitution removes the problem here
being addressed entirely
On the one hand then there could be a cause of textual or oral tradition to explain
Christian dominance in the view of Ham being cursed but on the other hand there may be
some motivation to do so early Christian interpretations of servitude considered all men freed
that would serve Christ and so maximising the number of nations originally designated by the
Genesis account as slaves may be beneficial for rhetorical reasons 43 At the same time as the
Christians for whatever reason tend to indicate Ham as the direct target of Noahrsquos curse
Jewish sources tend not to
23 Both Ham and Canaan were cursed
The primary proponent of a position wherein both Ham and Canaan were cursed is Philo who
takes an allegorical reading of the text In this he identifies both father and son as
representing wickedness and by their similar natures and mindsets mentioning only Canaan
is inherently referring to both similarly the repeated statement that ldquoHam is the father of
42 Wevers on 925 p 124
43 See sect 53 p 43 on the curse being revoked for those who submit their faith to Jesus
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 17
Canaanrdquo is not primarily an indication of genealogy but of their affiliation by way of lack of
virtue44 By unifying their characters Philo needs to thus justify Genesisrsquos use of one or the
other name in reference to various acts In his Questions he suggests that Moses ldquodoes not
mention the father with blame but with respect to the man with whom he thought it fair that
the son should be a partakerrdquo45 he further suggests that this may be a premonition of
Canaanrsquos conquer in later times46 also that Ham would be exceedingly hurt by a curse upon
his son47 Nonetheless Philorsquos most expansive account of the allegorical nature of Canaanrsquos
curse is covered in his On Sobriety
hellip Ham the son of Noah is the name of wickedness in a state of inactivity but his grandson
Canaan is the name of wickedness in a state of motion For Ham being interpreted means
warm but Canaan means commotion hellip But no lawgiver ever affixes a punishment to
wicked men while in a state of inaction but only when they are in a state of motion and
practise actions in accordance with injusticehellip The just man will appear to have launched his
curses against his grandson Canaan But I have used the expression will appear because in
effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaan for Ham being moved to
commit sin does himself become Canaanhellip Canaan ishellipdescribed as the son of Ham
commotion as the offspring of tranquillity in order that the statement made in another
passage may be true namely visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth Generations48
Both the form and the content of this reading are not familiar within the rabbinic corpus
Dawson suggests that Philo follows the Ptolemaic Jewish interpreters Aristobulus of Paneas
44 See Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 270
45 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Yonge
46 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 270 translated by Yonge Regarding interpretation of our
verse as a premonition of the nature Canaanrsquos conquer and servitude see sect42 p 26 42
47 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 277 translated by Yonge See also sect 214 p 12
48 Philo On Sobriety 1044ndash48 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 18
and Aristeas in reading scripture through allegory in order to associate it with Hellenistic
ideas that are otherwise unconnected49 Philo thus transforms Moses as the author of the
Pentateuch into a remarkable allegorist and philosopher who uses his characters and groups as
symbols for various abstract concepts While in itself depicting Canaan as a symbol of
wickedness is not too far from the text in distinguishing between Ham and Canaan as
different manifestations of wickedness one static and one in motion is clearly drawing upon
classical ideas from Greek philosophy in order to paint new ideas onto the difficulties in the
Genesis narrative In Dawsonrsquos words
Philo hellip evades the constraints of literalism by suspending the personal identity of important
biblical characters Read allegorically these characters become hellip personifications of various
types (tropoi) of souls or faculties (dynameis) within the soul hellip When Noah curses Canaan
for Hamrsquos sinhelliphe is in effect ignoring his sonrsquos literal individualities in order to make an
allegorical pointhellipPhilorsquos allegorical readings turn specific characters who speak and act
according to ordinary narrative realism into the impulses and faculties of the inner world and
of the human soul Along with the suspension of narrative time and space the reading of
scriptural characters as personifications of psychological dispositions and faculties provides
scripture with an underlying meaning of immediate universal spiritual relevance50
To aid this method of drawing abstract meaning from biblical characters we also see Philo
making use of Hebrew language to find or aid interpretations for characters51 While the
49 Dawson p 73ff Goldenberg gives numerous references to Philo as an allegorist in p 333 note 65
50 Dawson p 100
51 Goldenberg p 150 points out that ldquoHamrdquo and ldquohotrdquo originally made use of different gutturals for
their first consonant (ḥ and ḫ respectively in his notation Philorsquos equating these words makes use of their
equivalent orthography and possibly phonetic value According to note 62 upon that page Gary Rendsburg (in
Ancient Hebrew Phonology pp 73-74) identifies their phonological merging to around 200BCE
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 19
meanings of names do seem to play a role in some midrash and even in the Bible itself52
there they are usually related to narrative or thematic rather than philosophical concepts as
are typical of Philo
Ignoring the allegorical method or value of Philorsquos commentary he ultimately
produces an opinion that both Ham and Canaan sinned and were thus cursed the latter as a
result of the former It may be possible to see a similar interpretation in the statement from
Jubilees that ldquothrough the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be blotted
outrdquo53 While it misses the allegorical reading this seems to be conceptually comparable to
Philorsquos ldquoin effect he is cursing his son Ham through the medium of Canaanrdquo and thus draws
for us another parallel between the writings of Philo and those in Jubilees54
3 The significance of slavery
While the major textual issues in Genesis 925 are borne of asking who is the subject of the
curse it is important too to note that the our verse is the first use of the word עבד ldquoslaverdquo or
ldquoservantrdquo in the Pentateuch While the exact meaning of the expression עבד עבדים may also be
questioned the text here possibly suggests that slavery in general is the result of a curse upon
Canaan As the Tanhuma describes
Noah was the first with planting with drunkenness with cursing and with slaveryhellip55
52 See for instance Garsiel Moshe Biblical Names A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and
Puns Ramat Gan 1987 Trans Phyllis Hackett Bar-Ilan University Press 1991
53 Jubilees 2221 translated by Wintermute p 98
54 This connection was also made in sect 214 p 12
55 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 220 p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 20
From our verse the midrash illustrates Noah as the inventor of both the slave and the curse
Later in that same passage we find the quote of ldquoour mastersrdquo as cited above56 In that
passage as well as in the views of R Berakhiah from Genesis Rabbah also quoted there there
is an implication that Noah desired to invent a slave either to wait upon himself or for his
children ldquoso that while they were seated those slaves would go forth before themrdquo Elsewhere
in early rabbinic literature the concept that all slavery stems from this verse is evidenced In
Pesikta Rabati the same R Berakhia is attributed with the statement that ldquoonly upon Canaan
fell the curse of being a bondmanrdquo57 in the Mishnah the Babylonian Talmud and the minor
tractate of lsquoAbadim any heathen slave is referred to as ldquoa Canaanite slaverdquo58 Hence although
the references may be sparse there is definitely evidence of a rabbinic opinion that at least
associates slavery with the nation of Canaan59 if not with our particular story in Genesis
In addition to these rabbinic sources Philo also makes a comment in On Sobriety that
describes the nature of slavery as deriving from this verse
And very appropriately has he assigned the fool to be a slave to those who cultivate virtue
that either by passing under a better government he may live a better life or if he continue in
evil doing he may easily be punished by the independent authority of his masters60
Here he applauds the Bible for designing the slave as an inherently wicked or foolish
character again relating the narratives and characters to the much more abstract philosophical
concepts of government and subjugation of slaves This may further have related to his
56 See p 11
57 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
58 See Mishnah Qiddushin 13 BT Baba Mezia 71a Masekhet lsquoAbadim 32
59 See sect 431 p 30 for a discussion of interpretations that the curse affects only the Canaanites
60 Philo On Sobriety 1369 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 21
attitude towards his surrounding Egyptians of Hamitic background of whom he gives
occasional positive appraisals but mostly ldquohellip offers sharp criticism of their worship of
animals and of the Nile hellip of the character of the Egyptians they are arrogant hellip jealousy is
part of the Egyptiansrsquo nature and the Egyptians have an ancient and innate hostility to the
Jewsrdquo61 Philo was also the author of an entire treatise on slavery entitled Every Good Man is
Free which neglects to mention this biblical account But as Colson writes
This treatise is usually believed to be a youthful essay of Philos and we may well suppose
that it belongs to a period of his life when he still had the dialectic of the philosophical
schools fresh in mind and before he had settled down to his lifes work of interpreting the
Pentateuchhellip The tract is an argument to show the truth of the Stoic ldquoparadoxrdquo that the wise
man alone is freehellip The thought that slavery in the sense of subjection to the wise is the best
hope for the wicked a moral which he draws from the story of Esau and from Noahrsquos curse
of Canaan in De Sob 69 may well have played a part62
We therefore see that Philo in associating slavery with wickedness both draws upon Stoic
philosophy and upon the Genesis 920ndash27 narrative which hemdashalong with a number of
rabbinic sourcesmdashseems to associate with the origin of a practice of servitude
31 The meaning of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
If our passage is indeed to be taken as the origin or slavery or otherwise it may be sensible to
ask why the passage does not simply curse Canaan to be an עבד rather than עבד עבדים As an
idiomatic form of Hebrew also commonly found in the phrase מלך מלכים the duplication
literally translated as ldquoservant of servantsrdquo or ldquoslave of slavesrdquo generally implies emphasis a
61 Borgen p 23
62 Colson vol 9 pp 2-5
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 22
superlative degree and is therefore often translated as ldquolowly servantrdquo The translation given
by the Septuagint for Genesis 95 reads as follows
Καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος Χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ
In this the words עבד עבדים have been translated as παῖς οἰκέτης Generally παῖς means
child boy or servant οἰκέτης indicates a domestic or menial slave The popular Brenton
translation of the text renders in English ldquoAnd he said Cursed be the servant Chanaan a slave
shall he be to his brethrenrdquo a more recent translation differs in phrasing ldquoCursed be Chanaan
a slave a domestic shall he be to his brothersrdquo63 Wevers seems to take the latter approach
commenting that the translator tries to express the superlative meaning of the Hebrew
duplication by suggesting ldquolsquoa slave even a household servantrsquo by which is meant the lowest
of all possible ranks in the community of slavesrdquo64 As Emanuel Tov writes
Every translation reflects linguistic exegesis which is an integral part of the act of
translation Linguistic exegesis involves the grammatical identification of all words
(especially forms of verbs and nouns) in the source language as well as their semantic
interpretation On the other hand not every translation contains additional forms of exegesis
A translation like Aquilarsquos for example reflects mainly linguistic exegesis since Aquila was
interested only in the linguistic identification of the Hebrew words and did not introduce any
exegetical elements in this translation This tendency is visible in his choice of equivalents
which was stereotyped throughout the translation irrespective of context65
As such we find that Aquilarsquos translation differs from the standard LXX by suggesting quite
literally ldquoδοῦλος δούλωνrdquo Jellicoe points out that Aquilarsquos version created to counter
Christian misuses of the original Septuagint was likely never ldquointended for popular
63 Translation by Hiebert
64 Wevers on 925 p 124
65 Tov p 82
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 23
circulationrdquo and that by giving an exact account of the Hebrew was ldquousable only by one who
already understood that language its function was interpretive rather than literaryrdquo66 It is
not clear how on the present verse Aquila may be attempting to avoid an untoward
understanding of the LXX text but his hyper-literal translation method is certainly accorded
to in this instance
In a similar fashion the traditionally most literal Aramaic translations copy the form
the Samaritan Targum has שמש שמושין while the Syriac Peshitta gives ܒ ܒ (עבד עבדין)
Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti maintain the repetition of עבד but not in the same form as the
Hebrew presenting עבד משעבד and עבד משתעבד respectively approximately ldquoan enslaved
servantrdquo while Onkelos gives עבד פלח using a word meaning to labour serve or worship
paralleling in some sense the LXX While the available translations differ in the specific
words used to translate the idiomatic עבד עבדים we see that they tend to vary from a literalist
approach to a looser one where the essence of ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo is described
In one instance the midrash goes further to explain the meaning of עבד עבדין In
Tanhuma we find
Resh Laqish said Behold those from Ham are slaves forever but the children of Shem go
forth into the world free [as in the laws of the Hebrew slave described in Deut 1512 17] hellip
Here however it is a slave of slaves ltiegt a slave who does not take his freedom and never
goes away67
It is not entirely clear whether this interpretation takes a literal reading of ldquoa slave of slavesrdquo
rather than understanding the expression as ldquoa most lowly slaverdquo Nonetheless this midrash
provides a reading as to why Canaan was cursed to be an עבד עבדים and its distinction from
66 Jellicoe p 77
67 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 24
the general term עבד This passage too hides the implication that the non-Hebrew slave
derives its definition and origin from the Genesis 9 curse as was highlighted in other rabbinic
literature above
4 Realisation of Noahs curse
The Patristic father Origen (185ndashc254 CE) in his Contra Celsum speaks of the prophecy of
Noah presumably as a result of the curse and blessings described in Genesis 925ndash2768 There
is certainly a sense in Noahrsquos curse that seems to make it predict future events as mentioned in
the Bible or otherwise From the text even the immediate effects of the curse remain
uncertain while it is also unclear who the curse should effect in the long-term all the peoples
the descended from Ham or only those of Canaan At the same time the most prominent
reference to Canaan in the Bible is surely that of the land and its people which the Israelites
conquer primarily in the books of Joshua and Judges and many interpretations connect the
curse and the conquest
41 Immediate results
The Bible text describes the curse upon Canaan and the blessing for Shem before announcing
Noahrsquos death and continuing with a listing of Noahrsquos descendents In its parallel recount of the
narrative Jubilees expands the immediate aftermath of the cursing explaining that Ham
separated from his father in upset over the curse and built himself a city69 In the account
68 See note 9 on Contra Celsum VII ch 7 httpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf0040040062htm
Justin Martyr in Dialogue with Trypho 139 similarly argues that Noahrsquos curse is prophetic
69 Jubilees 710 quoted p 13 above
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 25
Japheth follows suit and in jealousy also separates and builds a city while Shem remains with
his father anticipating the centrality of Shem to the continuation of the biblical narrative and
presumably its righteousness in contrast to Ham The thirdndashfourth century Christian writer
Lactantius (c240ndashc320 CE) also depicts Hamrsquos separation from his family
When their father [Noah] became aware of what had been done he disowned and sent away
his son But he went into exile hellip This was the first nation which was ignorant of God since
its prince and founder did not receive from his father the worship of God being cursed by
him and thus he left to his descendants ignorance of the divine nature70
In this case Ham is sent away by his father rather than a voluntary separation as is described
in Jubilees Further it describes explicitly the outcome of this separation that may only be
alluded to in Jubilees by the comparison of Shem and Hamrsquos fate Ham and his children were
left devoid of spiritual guidance understood as a repercussion of Noahrsquos curse The emphasis
on the spiritual may also reflect a Christian trend adding some allegorical understanding to
the incident Jubilees and Lactantius thus seem to use the physical separation of Ham a result
of the curse as a justification for the objectionable theology of the Hamites
In quite a different vein Genesis Rabbah describes another result of Noahrsquos curse Just
as preventing Noah a fourth son caused the cursing of Hamrsquos fourth son so does R Huna
suggest in the name of R Joseph suggest that Noah had exclaimed
You have prevented me from doing something in the dark therefore your seed will be ugly
and dark-skinned
The curse thus becomes an explanation for Hamrsquos offspring being dark-skinned71 Goldenberg
points out that curses bear an important role in the aetiologies of the ancient Near East
ldquoCurses hellip served as an explanation for enigmatic psychological or environmental
70 Lactantius The Divine Institutes II translated in Roberts and Donaldson
71 Goldenberg p 97 describes the negative rabbinic perception of black skin in Amoraic sources
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 26
peculiarities The ancestor or proto-type of those exhibiting such abnormalities was
considered to have been cursed by God hellip or by some ancient herordquo72 Although it is the only
source to ascribe the black skin of Ham to the curse Genesis Rabbah is far from alone in
identifying the curse of Ham as aetiology and indeed in describing Hamrsquos moral severance
from his father Lactantius also gives the curse aetiological value as do the approaches in the
next section
42 Conquering of Canaan
After his appearance in the narrative of Genesis 9 Canaanrsquos primary role in the Bible is as the
forefather of the nations inhabiting the Land of Canaan which are eventually conquered by
Israel returning from Egypt The Israelite possession of the land is promised by God to
Abraham ldquoI assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come all the Land of
Canaan as an everlasting holdingrdquo73 and is realised primarily in the stories of the books of
Joshua and Judges74 In this vein Philo identifies the curse of Canaan as a ldquopremonitory
warning hellip that he designs to take away the land of the Canaanites hellip and to show that he
[Canaan] both practised singular and peculiar wickedness of his own hellip so that in every part
he might be convicted of an ignoble slavery and submissionrdquo75 While Philo views the curse
as a prophecy or foreboding the midrash uses the passage in reverse by way of justifying
72 Stanley Gervitz Curse Motifs in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East PhD diss University
of Chicago 1959 quoted by Goldenberg p 98
73 Gen 178 See also 1Ch 1618 Ps 10511
74 See for instance Judges 423f
75 Questions and Answers on Genesis 265 translated by Younge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 27
Canaanrsquos continued submission according to similar tales given in three rabbinic sources76
the Canaanites approached Alexander the Macedonian alongside the Egyptians and
Ishmaelites In each case the complainant party attempts to use the Torah in their argument
and is refuted by a quotation from the Torah In the case of the Canaanites
lsquoWhence do you adduce your proofrsquo asked he [Gebiha b Pesisa the Sagesrsquo representative]
lsquoFrom the Torahrsquo they replied77 lsquoI toorsquo said he lsquowill bring you proof only from the Torah
for it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren Now if a slave acquires property to whom does he belong and whose is the
property Moreover it is now many years that ye have not served usrsquo Then Alexander said
to them lsquoAnswer himrsquo lsquoGive us three daysrsquo timersquo they pleaded So he gave them a respite
they sought but found no answer Immediately thereon they fled leaving behind their sown
fields and their planted vineyards78
The three variations of this folk tale indicate that it is likely little more than that in terms of its
historical verity Its message thus has greater bearing Israel has been given divine authority
through the Bible to subjugate the Canaanites as expressed through the curse of our verse It
is interesting to note that this passage identifies Canaan not primarily as a slave but as former
inhabitants of the land by which it is inferred that their land may also be possessed So while
the slavery cursed upon Canaan in Genesis 925 does not explicitly refer to the land both
Philo and later rabbinic midrash identify the curse with the conquest of the Land of Canaan
Justin Martyr in his persuasion of Trypho the Jew uses this connection as the basis of
a polemic regarding the changed nature of servitude given the advent of Christ
76 BT Sanhedrin 91a Gen R 617 Megilat Taanit 3 pp 14-16
77 The Genesis Rabbah version states the claim as ldquoIt is everywhere written lsquoThe land of Canaanrsquo then
let them return us to our countryrdquo Megilat Taanit quotes Numbers 342rsquos reference to ldquothe Land of Canaan
according to its bordersrdquo
78 BT Sanhedrin 91a Translated in Epstein p 609
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 28
Now in what he said he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the
property and dwellings of Canaanhellip And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass
For you who have derived your lineage from Shem invaded the territory of the sons of
Canaan by the will of God and you possessed it hellip To the two peoples there was the one
people of Canaan handed over for servants so Christ has come according to the power given
Him from the Almighty Fatherhellip And hence all men everywhere whether bond or free who
believe in Christ hellip know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good79
Initially outlining the prophecy of Noah and its realisation he then comes to compare it to a
new situation where Jesus has freed all those who believe him even among them the slaves80
Appropriate to his framework of argument he thus connects the Old Testament prophecy and
characters the national history of the Jews to whom he is preaching and how the preachings
of Jesus work upon them
The relation between the curse and the Land of Canaan is also alluded to in Jubilees in
which Canaan covets a lot of land among Shemrsquos inheritance whereupon his father and
brothers angrilymdashbut to no availmdashwarn him
ldquoDo not do this because if you do this you and your children will fall in the land and be
cursed with sedition because by sedition you have dwelt and by sedition your children will
fall and you will be uprooted forever You are cursed and you will be cursed more than all
the sons of Noah by the curse which we swore with an oath before the holy judge and before
Noah our fatherrdquo81
Indeed this adds upon Noahrsquos curse of slavery a second curse as a result of inhabiting the
region that would become the Land of Canaan While it could be argued that Jubilees
distinguishes between the curse of slavery described earlier82 and the present curse relating to
79 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson
80 See the discussion on revoking the curse sect 53 p 43
81 Jubilees 1030-31 translated by Wintermute p 76
82 In Jubilees 710ff
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 29
the land the reference to the first curse here highlights their connection Again it is worth
noting the appeal to provide an ancient aetiology for the actualities of the world later
perceived and this second incident seems to be provided to strengthen or give a more specific
explanation of the people of Canaan later being displaced by Israel according to the biblical
account Hence it likely accords with the rabbinic and Christian texts cited above in justifying
conquest through curse
43 Peoples affected by the curse
Many commentaries related to Genesis 925 describe a certain group or person as afflicted by
the curse indirectly bestowed upon them by Noah In a literal reading of the text we find that
only Canaan and his descendents are cursed directly Nonetheless given a reading that Ham
was the subject of the curse83 or even if he was not Hamrsquos descendents are also often
described as being affected by the curse A quite maximalist approach to this issue is given by
the Church father Irenaeus in his Demonstration in which he lists each of the nations afflicted
as Ham is cursed
ldquoCursed be Ham the child a servant shall he be unto his brethrenrdquo This having come upon
his race he begat many descendants upon the earth [even] for fourteen generations growing
up in a wild condition and then his race was cut off by God being delivered up to
judgement For the Canaanites and Hittites and the Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and
Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phoenicia all
the Egyptians and the Libyans are of the posterity of Ham who have fallen under the curse
for the curse is of long duration over the ungodly84
83 As discussed in sect 22 23 p 14ff
84 Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 20 translation of J Armitage Robinson in
MacKenzie p 6
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 30
Irenaeusrsquos approach seems to take the descendents of Ham as those who are ungodly
Nonetheless MacKenzie notes that the list contains more theological nuance the entries on
Irenaeusrsquos list are drawn from the OT dwellers of Canaan as well as from the cultures who
head the Gospel in the Pentecost of Acts 29-11 This seems to indicate that despite them
being long-cursed they are newly freed in ldquothe dispensation of God through the incarnation of
the wordrdquo85 Nonetheless the connection that MacKenzie assumes to the Pentecost seems
quite weak the listing of Arabians Egyptians and Libyans Irenaeus excludes around thirteen
other peoples mentioned in Acts Rather it should be assumed that Irenaeus generally
assumed these cultures belonged to the progeny of Ham
Other sources that provide interpretation for our verse by detailing those affected by
the curse are generally not as explicit or exclusive but make mention of the burden of the
curse upon some group or individual
431 Canaanites
By far the most explicit in portraying Canaanrsquos descendents alone as afflicted by the curse is
Josephus who states that ldquowhereas the others escaped the curse God pursued the children of
Chananaiosrdquo A statement of this strength that excludes all other members of the family of
Ham from the detriment of the curse is not parallelled
A less explicit instance then is found nearly triplicated in Genesis Rabbah the
Babylonian Talmud and Megilat Taanit in a story where Canaanites present a complaint to
Alexander the Macedonian86 It is notable that in the same episodes where the Egyptians
85 MacKenzie p 132 See sect 1 53 p 43
86 See a quotation from this story above on p 27 source references in note 76 p 27
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 31
approach to give their protest they are not refuted with the same text of ldquoCursed be Canaanrdquo
Had all the descendents of Ham been included within the curse this would be a sufficient
response to them too87
Elsewhere we find a realisation of the curse upon Canaan where Jacob is being
forbidden from marrying the ldquodaughters of Canaanrdquo88 This prohibition is repeated at length in
the Jubilees version of the account and there we find three explanations for their prohibition
from Adamrsquos progeny
(a) And when any woman or girl fornicates among you you will burn her with fire and
let them not fornicate with her after their eyes and hearts and let them not take wives
from the girls of Canaan because the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land89
(b) Be careful my son Jacob that you do not take a wife from any of the seed of the
daughters of Canaan because all of his seed is (destined) for uprooting from the
earth because through the sin of Ham Canaan sinned and all of his seed will be
blotted out from the earth and all his remnant and there is none of his who will be
saved90
(c) My son do not take for yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan as (did) Esau
your brother who took for himself two wives from the daughters of Canaan And
they have embittered my soul with all their impure deeds because all of their deeds
(are) fornication and lust And there is not any righteousness with them because
(their deeds are) evil91
87 This argument nonetheless may not be conclusive the Egyptians complaint regarding the theft of
their possessions is more directly answered by the given quotation from of Exod 1236
88 See Gen 281 6
89 Jubilees 204 translated by Wintermute p 93-4
90 Jubilees 2220-21 ibid p 99
91 Jubilees 241 ibid p 102
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 32
Of these appeals only (b) explicitly makes reference to the sin of Ham and the resulting curse
Nonetheless Canaanrsquos ldquouprooting from the earthrdquo in (a) may be connected to the curse92 their
promiscuous practices in (c) may further be related to the nature of Hamrsquos action by which he
was cursed Still the reference in (b) quite certainly describes Canaanrsquos progeny as those
affected by the curse and not generally the descendents of Ham It seems then to be at least
the view of Jubilees that Canaanrsquos progeny alone were affected by Noahrsquos curse hence the
prohibition of marriage to their daughters
Eliezer as cursed Canaan
One of the more curious interpretations of Noahrsquos curse within the midrashic literature is a
claim that ldquoEliezer is called Canaanrdquo and is therefore cursed We find this claim in two
midrashim from Midrash Rabbah In Genesis Rabbah 599 Eliezer is taken as the subject of a
variant reading of Hosea 128 ldquoCanaan has the balances of deceit in his hand to rob the
beloved onerdquo93 Eliezer hence is portrayed of having intended his own daughter for Isaac but
ldquolsquoThou art accursedrsquo said he [Abraham] to him lsquoand my son is blessed and the accursed
cannot unite with the blessedrsquordquo94 Later in Genesis Rabbah but also paralleled in Leviticus
Rabbah we find Eliezer again referred to as Canaan but find there that he is able to escape
from the category of the cursed95 In the first place considering Eliezer as Canaan is
92 See above sect 42 p 26
93 More commonly translated as ldquoA trader who uses false balances who loves to overreachrdquo (NJPS)
The midrash reads אהב (ldquohe lovesrdquo) as אהב (ldquoa beloved onerdquo)
94 Gen R 599 translated by Freedman p 522
95 Gen R 607 and R Jose b Dosa in Lev R 175 For a quotation of the midrash and discussion on
the righteous escaping curse see below sect 53 p 43
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 33
problematic since he is described in Genesis 152 as ldquothe Damascene Eliezerrdquo and we have
no reason to consider Damascus as a Canaanite dwelling96 It may well be then that this
reference to Eliezer as Canaan is referring to his position as a servant and as we saw above it
is common in rabbinic literature to consider all non-Hebrew slaves as Canaanite97
432 Hamites
A number of sources available to us whether or not interpreting Ham as the direct target of
Noahrsquos curse give indication that all his descendants are affected and not just those of
Canaan For instance Philo who in his allegorical approach takes Ham and Canaan both as
recipients of Noahrsquos curse describes Ham as having ldquofallen from his brilliant nobility of birth
and having become accursed and having also become the beginning of misery to all his
posterityrdquo98 which implies that the curse here quite non-descript is fallen upon all his
progeny In the pseudepigraphal Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs we find Canaan and
Ham separately designated to destruction presumably as a result of the curse upon them
Then shall perish the seed of Canaan
And a remnant shall not be unto Amalek
And all the Cappadocians shall perish
And all the Hittites shall be utterly destroyed
Then shall fail the land of Ham
And all the people shall perish
Then shall all the earth rest from trouble
96 A further problem to consider although not of bearing here is that in one of the present midrashim
Eliezer is relieved of his curse while in the other he is accused of being cursed a seeming contradiction
97 See sect 3 p 19 Most notable is Pesikta Rabatirsquos comment that ldquoonly upon Canaan fell the curse of being
a bondmanrdquo
98 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 34
And all the world under heaven from war
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem
For the Lord God shall appear on earth
And Himself save men99
The contrast with the blessedness of Shem clearly sources those nations doomed in this poetic
prophecy attributed to Simeon to the parallel cursing of HamCanaan in a reflection of
Genesis 925-26 Notable here too and comparable to Philo is the lack of mention of slavery
and rather general images of destruction
This vague but devastating curse upon the entire people of Ham is depicted in later
rabbinic sources as well One midrash from Tanhuma describes the effect of Noahrsquos actions
with the words
Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness hellip he and his lineage were set far apart until the end
of all the generations100
Another Tanhuma passage connects Noahrsquos curse to the Prophets
hellip So also the Holy One is going to exact punishment from the children of Ham and
humiliate them at the hands of Assyria as stated ldquoso shall the king of Assyria drive off the
captives of Egypt and the exiles of Nubiahelliprdquo (Isaiah 204)101
Again in both these cases no image of slavery is given but it is clear that the curse is not
limited to the lineage of only one of Hamrsquos sons
In other sources we find the descendents of Ham described as slaves in one case as
simply as ldquothose from Ham are slaves foreverrdquo as cited above102 Because of Hamrsquos
99 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Simeon 63ndash5 translated by Kee p 787
100 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
101 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53 Mekhilta Pisha 12 also connects the curse to
the Philistines in Joel 48 see a quote and discussion of this passage in sect 6 p 48
102 See the quotation of Resh Laqish on p 23
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 35
association as the father of Mizraim makes for common depiction of the Egyptians as slaves
which provides a sense of even humorous irony because of Israelrsquos slavery under them In
Lamentations for instance we find the biblical author lamenting submission to Egypt and
Assyria and two verses later stating that ldquoservants rule over usrdquo The Midrash Rabbah on that
passage explains that this expression must indicate the Egyptians103 presumably by means of
their descent from Ham as otherwise the reference to the subjugators as servants seems
unfounded In this way the curse of Genesis 925 is brought in by the midrash to solve a
perceived difficulty in the Hagiography but in doing so Lamentations Rabbah also implies the
statement that Hamrsquos descendents too were affected by Noahrsquos curse Elsewhere in the
aggadic midrash the irony of Egypt being depicted as slaves is clearer
R Pinehas the priest said that Moses argued lsquoI am not a man of words and moreover I see
no place for words here For the man to whom I am to go is a slave and will not accept
reproof as it says A servant will not be corrected by my words (Prov 2919) I will only go if
I can chastise him with suffering104
Here Moses refuses to approach Pharaoh in a plea for the sake of the Hebrew slaves because
Pharaoh himself is a slave Lehrman upon his translation of this episode notes that Pharaoh
being taken as a slave by the midrash is a result of the curse upon his ancestor Ham Pesikta
Rabati similarly reinterprets the description of Egypt as a ldquohouse of bondagerdquo to refer to the
Egyptiansrsquo status as slaves
R Tanhum bar Hanilarsquoi said in the name of R Berachiah only upon Canaan fell the curse of
being a bondman And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren (Gen 925) And whence the proof that all the families of Ham [besides Canaan] are
103 Lam R 57
104 Exod R 314 translated by Lehrman p 74
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 36
also called bondmen Because scripture says out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage (Exodus 202)105
By corollary this passage claims we can prove indeed that the cursersquos effects did not rest
only with the lineage of Canaan but the whole house of Ham This midrash seems to put
disconnected passages of the bible into a dialogue forming its characteristic intertextuality106
With a surprisingly analogous depiction of the cursersquos impact on Egypt the Christian writer
Origen comments on their society
Pharao easily reduced the Egyptian people to bondage himself nor is it written that he did
this by force For the Egyptians are prone to a degenerate life and quickly sink to every
slavery of the vices Look at the origin of the race and you will discover that their father
Cham who had laughed at his fatherrsquos nakedness deserved a judgement of this kind that his
own son Chanaan should be a servant to his brothers107
Origen here curiously finds no need to explain why Egypt is prone to slavery as a result of
Canaanrsquos designation as a servant to his brethren Justin on the other hand ldquosince the
punishment of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at his fatherrsquos
nakednessrdquo108 understands the curse falling upon Canaan as an arbitrary representative of his
brethren It was found above that many early Christian sources had identified Ham as the
direct subject of the curse some even to the extent of inserting his name in the Genesis
verse109 Goldenberg also lists numerous early Christian writers who indicate that Ham and
105 Pesikta Rabati 2122 translated by Braude vol 1 p 452
106 See Boyarin p 12 for the dialogical nature of intertextuality in midrash
107 Origen Homilies on Genesis 161 translated by R Heine in FC 1215 as quoted by Goldenberg
p 160
108 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 139 translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson For a longer
quotation of this passage see p 27
109 See sect 22 p 14
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 37
his descendents were all cursed110 So we see that among the patristic writers there was a
tendency to include Hamrsquos lineage in the result of the curse even by those for whom he is not
its direct target
Hence the overall impression we are given by the early rabbinic and Christian writers
is that independent of whether Noah actually cursed Ham his descendents are liable to its
effects111
5 Lessons from the narrative
Given the nature of the Bible text as a source of morality it is not surprising that a number of
commentators attempt to draw a message from Noahrsquos cursing of his son On one hand being
cursed is seen as disastrous and hence the association of some misdeed by Ham and curse
provides a moral connotation on the other hand a number of commentators seem to perceive
the act of cursing negatively as well and find polemic resolve in Noahrsquos actions Further
approaches implicitly explore the nature of curse and find evidence that the righteous can
escape it Morality commonly associated with the Bible is thus drawn out of the present
Genesis narrative and the impact of curse
110 Goldenberg pp 158f
111 It is curious to note that while our sources connect the Egyptians and the daughters of Canaan with
Noahrsquos curse we find that Cush is also listed as one of the sons of Ham in Gen 106 It may be surprising then
that no interpretation I have found connects Miriam and Aaronrsquos slander against Mosesrsquo Cushite wife in Num
121 as relating to the Cushites being cursed in Gen 925 This though may have been borne out of a necessity
to associate the Cushite in Numbers with Zippora of Midian or to absolve Moses of such wrongdoing
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 38
51 Respect for onersquos father
It is unclear what exactly was the sin Ham performed in ldquoseeing his fatherrsquos nakednessrdquo and
telling his brothers outside and we have already seen multiple instances of midrashic
interpretation that this was an act of emasculation112 Possibly due to this ambiguity or at
least despite it numerous sources understand that Canaan is cursed because he disrespected
his father Accordingly the most ancient among these sources Philo of Alexandria preaches
[Ham] dared to turn his father the cause of his safety into ridicule laughing at him and
mocking and reviling him because of an error which he committed unintentionally hellip
Therefore hellip he suffered all those evils which it was fitting for a man to suffer who had
disregarded all the honour due to his parents113
This discussion of Hamrsquos deed he places within a discussion ldquoon nobilityrdquo where he
highlights the virtue of humility despite nobility drawing from biblical narratives for a non-
Jewish audience He gives Ham as an example of one that mocked his parents who fell from
his nobility and thus suffered for his actions Elsewhere Philo is more concerned that Ham
ldquoridiculed the involuntary misfortune of a devoted disciple of wisdomrdquo114 rather than his
father Still the general perspective seems to be that the curse of Genesis 925 is a result of
disrespect which as we see from his disgusted attitude should be a lesson to all
While we later find in Josephus that Ham ldquoshowed him [Noah] mockingly to his
brothersrdquo115 there is no indication that the shaming of his father is the primary cause for the
curse and this too requires interpretation in order to be understood as a moral lesson In
112 See sect211 p 5 211
113 Philo On the Virtues 37202 translated by Yonge
114 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis 271 translated by Yonge
115 Josephus Judean Antiquities 1141 translated by Feldman (2000) p 50
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 39
contrast and in agreement with Philo the authors of the midrash are explicit ldquoWhat caused
this curse for him [Ham] It came about because he treated his father with contemptrdquo116
Similarly Tanhuma interprets a command from the book of Leviticus
If anyone insults his father or his mother he shall be put to death (Lev 209) And so he
[Moses] says He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death (Exod 2117)
And so said Solomon One who insults his father or mother light will fail himhellip Our sages
said Ham upon seeing his fatherrsquos nakedness although he did not insult him he and his
lineage were set far apart until the end of all the generations The one who insults his father
how much more so And the scripture says For there is no future for the evil man the lamp
of the wicked goes out117
This excerpt connects five texts from across the Bible in order to emphasise the statement of
the verse upon which it comments Most importantly it takes advantage of the elusiveness of
Hamrsquos sin as contrasted with the harshness of his punishment to render by a fortiori the
graveness of insulting onersquos parents Rather than connecting the incident to the negative
commandment as does Tanhuma Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer considers Hamrsquos misdeed with
relation to its positive counterpart alluding to the fifth commandment118
Ham entered and saw his nakedness He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (onersquos
father) But he told his two brothers in the market making sport of his fatherhellip119
So we see that for the midrash the significance of the incident with Ham was one of parental
disrespect associated closely and explicitly with the commandments of the Torah While
Philo derived the same social implications it seems that for him it was a question of universal
morals and appropriate behaviour rather than an example of disobedience of the Godrsquos
116 Tanhuma Noah 14 translated by Townsend 221 p 53
117 Tanhuma Kedoshim 9 My translation
118 ldquoHonour your father and your motherrdquo Exod 2011 Deut 515
119 Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer 23 translated by Friedlander p 170
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 40
command Epiphanius Constantiensis takes again a slightly different approach in his
Panarion
But his mocker received the curse for the punishment of those who offer insult to their
parents and of thoughts in us that rebel against the knowledge of God and his rightly decreed
ordinance120
As a Christian writer the obligation borne upon one regarding his parents is neither purely
philosophical nor is it clearly scriptural but its breach is a rebellion against God Hence by
way of the universality of the moral virtue to respect onersquos parents we find this reading
associated with the meaning of Noahrsquos curse in Hellenistic rabbinic and early Christian
literature each deriving the meaning within their own approaches to the issue121
52 The effects of wine
Another approach to the cursing of Canaan gives the impression that a curse is something
unnecessary and detrimental and presents the idea that the curse given in Genesis 9 was a
result of Noahrsquos intoxication Tanhuma on the portion of Shemini discusses twice and at
length the negative effects of wine The first stems from a discussion of the biblical quotation
ldquoAnd the Lord spoke to Aaron saying Drink no wine or other intoxicanthelliprdquo122 and so
includes quotations from Proverbs and Isaiah as well as of Noahrsquos drunkenness and the
resulting curse It concludes
Therefore guard yourselves from the wine for it is a sign of curse As he says in Noah he
drank of the wine and became drunk and he uncovered himself within his tent (Gen 921)
120 Epiphanius of Salamis Panarion 63 39 translated by Williams vol 2 p 130
121 It may also be through the disrespect to his father that we find the Sibylline Oracles affiliates Ham
with Greek mythology See note 5 above p 5
122 Lev 109
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 41
Ham entered and saw his nakedness What did he say to him He cursed his son as it is said
And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25) Therefore drink no wine or other intoxicant123
Although amid a discussion on the honour given to the elderly the other lengthy treatise
against wine in Tanhuma Shemini also extends from the prohibition to Aaronrsquos sons and
includes the emphatic exemplar of Noah
See what Noah did he began to err with it [wine] as it is said And Noah tiller of the soil
began and planted a vineyard (Gen 920) And it is written He drank of the wine and he
uncovered himself (ibid 21) What caused him to be spoilt The wine And it caused him to
bring curse upon his offspring as it is written And he said Cursed be Canaan (ibid 25)
And so be wary of wine for wine brings man to all the transgressions in the world to
harlotry to the spilling of blood to theft and to all the transgressions in the world124
It is interesting to note the form of both these commentaries Both are introduced by way of
other passages relating to wine and then interleave quotations from our narrative in Genesis
920 in order to produce the conclusion that one should avoid wine because Noahrsquos
drunkenness led to a curse Both are also very forceful in giving the intention of their
discussion as an invective against the excessive drinking of wine
The Midrash Rabbah sources that cite Genesis 925 in relation to the drinking of wine
are less extensive in their discussion and persuasion against its intoxicating effects In one
instance R Johanan warns to ldquoBeware of a passion for wine because in his passage on wine
is written fourteen timesrdquo125 The passage argument proceeds to count the 3rd person (woe) וי
converted-imperfect verbs used in sequence in Genesis 920ndash25mdashconcluding And he said
Cursed be Canaanmdashwith the understanding that this prefix implies woe and misfortune
123 Tanhuma Shemini 5 My translation
124 Tanhuma Shemini 11 My translation
125 Gen R 364 translated by Freedman p 293 See also Sanhedrin 70a where only 13 instances of וי
are listed by counting only Gen 920ndash24 and therefore stopping before our verse of interest
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 42
Drawing meaning from the sound or meaning of common particles and patterns of speech
seems arbitrary but it is also reflected elsewhere in amoraic literature126
Commonly associated in the midrash with the negative results of wine in the story of
Noahrsquos drunkenness is a passage from the book of Proverbs
Do not ogle that red wine hellip In the end it bites like a snake It spits like a basilisk127
The midrash takes license to understand the word יפרש with the meaning of a homophone
such that the last clause now becomes ldquoit separates like a basiliskrdquo Hence we find
Just as the basilisk parts death from life so wine parted Noah from his sons dooming the
latter to servitude as it is written And he drank of the wine hellip and he was uncovered in his
tent (Gen 921) as a result of which he said Cursed be Canaan etc (Gen 925)128
This midrash in Esther Rabbah proceeds to list numerous examples from the Bible that in
some manner pertain to alcoholism causing a regrettable separation129 Similarly we find in
Numbers Rabbah
As the serpent by enticing eve to drink wine was the cause for which the ground was
cursedmdashas it says Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 317)mdashso it was with Noah
Through wine his son a third of the world was cursed as it says And Noah awoke from his
wine hellip and he said Cursed be Canaan (Gen 924f)hellip As the basilisk divides between the
dead and the living so the wine causes man to take leave of the paths of life for the paths of
death130
126 It may be likened for instance to Shimon of Amson (or Nehemiah of Amson) expounding upon the
Biblersquos use of את (an object marker) in BT Pesahim 22b
127 Prov 2331ndash32
128 Est R 51 translated by Simon p 67 A parallel midrash is found in Lev R 121
129 See below p 49
130 Num R 102 translated in Slotki p 347 also 108 Similarly making derivation from Prov 2332
Tanhuma Shemini 5 also claims that ldquoa third of the world was cursed because of winerdquo
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 43
Hence we once again find that the midrash uses a liberal reading of verses within the Bible
and attempts to connect the messages found in many in this case in order to make a statement
Still as noted above the Rabbah midrash in contrast with Tanhuma does not lecture on the
topic but merely draws connections between passages and gives brief conclusions on that
basis The rabbis further do not seem concerned that this approach places some blame upon
the typically righteous figure Noah and ignores the potential premonitory nature of the curse
and the wickedness of its target For the sake of the moral and intertextual argument
therefore the midrash focuses only on the connection between wine and the unfortunate curse
and thus makes a persuasive claim regarding the dangers of intoxication131
53 Righteousness can un-curse the cursed
One of the more curious connections that can be found between rabbinic and non-Rabbinic
approaches to the cursing of Canaan is the concept that the curse particularly that of
servitude can be superseded by virtuous character Since the curse bore down upon the entire
progeny of Canaan or Ham commentators need to provide an exemption to exemplary cases
Although he does not explicitly take this position as noted above Philo applauds the biblical
author for associating slavery with foolishness and elsewhere had written that ldquoevery good
man is freerdquo while not directly teaching this message It is on the other hand quite blindly
apparent in two near-identical texts in Midrash Rabbah
131 The absence of non-Rabbinic texts from this discussion is readily apparent While they certainly do
write with polemic on drunkenness in relation to Noahmdashindeed it is the focus of Philorsquos On Sobriety and the
opening passages of On Drunkennessmdashthey connect it with his uncovering and not with the cursing presumably
because they do not see the cursing as a lamentable event As a result they do not enter into the present
discussion which pertains to the interpretive uses of Genesis 925
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 44
R Jose b Dosa said Eliezer was Canaan132 but through ministering to that righteous man he
escaped from the category of the cursed and entered the category of the blessed This is
indicated in what is written Cursed be Canaan (Gen 925) and Come in though blessed of
the Lord (Gen 2431) R Jacob in the name of R Judah in the name of R Nathan of Beth-
Gubrin used this homily as a message at leave-taking [saying] Seeing that Eliezer left the
category of cursed for the category of blessing through having ministered to that righteous
man the same must in greater degree be true for our brother Israelites who accord honour to
their great men133
The particular message here is one of respecting the ldquogreat menrdquo of Israel by which one can
be relieved of a curse Ironically in this case servitude itself brings about Eliezerrsquos release
from the curse of Canaan and designation as blessed Thus while the rabbis of the midrash
allow for the concept of one who ldquoleaves the category of the cursed for the category of the
blessedrdquo their primary concern lies with what we may learn from Eliezer who does so and
that is respect for worthwhile teachers and leaders
In contrast for early Christian writers the ability to throw of onersquos servitude is
centralised in their doctrine it can be enacted by acquiring faith in Jesus Hence although the
curse of Canaan is not explicit in the passage the reversal of their subjugation for faithful
individuals among them is expressed in this episode from the Gospel of Matthew
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him crying out Lord Son of David have
mercy on me My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession Jesus did not
answer a word So his disciples came to him and urged him Send her away for she keeps
crying out after us He answered I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel The woman
came and knelt before him Lord help me she said He replied It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to their dogs Yes Lord she said but even the dogs eat the
132 See above p 32
133 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220 Also found approximately in Gen R 607
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 45
crumbs that fall from their masters table Then Jesus answered Woman you have great
faith Your request is granted And her daughter was healed from that very hour134
Some of the early writers of Christianity bring from this an understanding that all slaves can
thus be freed To these writers the concept of reconciliation was an important result of
Christrsquos martyrdom as according to Paul Godrsquos enemies were reconciled through the death
of his son135 This attitude is clearly given by Justin Martyr who also has the role of
convincing the Jewish character Trypho of the superior ideals of Christianity
Now Leah is your people and synagogue but Rachel is our Church And for these and for
the servants in both Christ even now serves For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of
the third as servants now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His
commandments even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women
born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity And it was foretold what each should be
according to rank and according to fore-knowledge Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep and Christ served even to the slavery of the cross for the various and
many-formed races of mankind acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross136
Those cursed by Noah are hence released by Jesus if they are to follow his commandments A
curious twist is taken here though by comparing the servility instituted by Noah to that of
Jacobrsquos concubines linking allegory and narrative to the conclusion that Christ was a servant
of mankind and all would be released by serving him Earlier we saw this same idea played
out in MacKenziersquos understanding of Irenaeusrsquos list of those affected by the curse137 Chilton
134 Matthew 1522ndash28 translation of New International Version
135 Romans 510 See Grayston p 258
136 Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 134 Translated in Ed Roberts and Donaldson See above
another quotation of Justin Martyr to a similar end p 28
137 See p 30
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 46
further writes of Irenaeusrsquos role in defining the relationship between the Old Testament and
Jesus
In his treatise Against Heresies Irenaeus pressed the case for the unity implicit in the
fulfilment of ancient prophecies in Christ typology in Irenaeusrsquo treatment became a general
theory of the relationship between he Scriptures of Israel and Jesus It is no coincidence that
the second century saw the rise and triumph of the use of the phrase ldquoNew Testamentrdquohellip
The phrase implies another ldquoOld Testamentrdquo which embodies the theory that the Scriptures
of Israel are to be understood as types which are fulfilled in Christ138
The early Christian focus on the curse upon Ham in terms of a change in covenant with the
arrival of Christ exemplifies this idea of the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New While
the differences in approach between the rabbinic Patristic and Hellenistic Greek writers are
clear it is interesting to note the universality of the idea that through some form of good
deeds one is able to escape the curse of Canaan
54 Other moral lessons
Other commentators further supply lessons learnt from the curse of Canaan Leviticus Rabbah
asks why the Bible makes use of the expression ldquoThe Land of Canaanrdquo and not ldquoThe Land of
Israelrdquo
Seven nations [inhabited it] and you say lsquoThe Land of Canaanrsquo The Rabbis said The
scriptures gave you the following hint Just as when Ham castrated him [Noah] Canaan was
punished so too when Israel sin the land is cursed139
This explanation draws a parallel between the cursing of the Nation of Canaan and the cursing
of the Land of Canaan Furthermore the sin performed by one thing involves the curse of
138 Neusner and Chilton p 125
139 Lev R 175 translated in Israelstam p 220
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 47
something else The midrash therefore teaches those listening not to sin because it leads to the
land being cursed
Irenaus presents an understanding of our verse that is related to that of honouring onersquos
parents140 but takes an interesting spin He quotes the ldquopresbyterrdquo
With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and
prophets we ought not to inveigh against them nor become like Ham who ridiculed the
shame of his father and so fell under a curse but we should [rather] give thanks to God in
their behalf inasmuch as their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord
for He said that they gave thanks [for us] and gloried in our salvation141
The lesson here is not to speak against the heroic characters of the bible who the bible itself
does not blame for a transgression Here we find Noah drunken and revealed and yet
Irenaeus tries to persuade that such characters should not mocked as the curse upon Hamrsquos
descendents makes clear142
An anonymous Patristic writer also intended to prove from the text that onersquos own
transgressions do not affect others and so one is responsible in accounting for his own
Each one therefore of the laity is to render an account of his own sins and a man is not hurt
by reason of the sins of others For neither did Judas harm us at all when he was praying with
us but he alone perished And in the ark Noah and his two sons who were saved alive they
were blessed but Ham his other son was not blessed but his seed was cursed and the
animals that went in animals they came forth143
140 See sect 51 p 38
141 Irenaeus Aduersus Haereses IV chapter 31
142 Irenaeusrsquos attempt to wash over the negative actions of the patriarchs and prophets may be similar in
motivation to the rabbis in BT Shabbat 55b-56a who attempt to assign sin-free lives to biblical heroes
Nonetheless the approach differs where the rabbis try to find a logical argument to give no evidence against the
character Irenaeus seems to imply that one should assume them innocent despite what may seem as faults
143 Didascalia apostolorum 6 translated by Connolly
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 48
Ironically Didascalia apostolorum brings the cursing of Ham as an example which seems to
contradict his argument in this case Ham is not cursed alone but his descendents suffer
because of his sin and at least in the MT it is not Ham at all that is cursed for his sin but
another
Sometimes independent from the direct interpretation of the meaning of a text is its
application and here we have seen that in parental honour wine repentance and other moral
practice the Jewish and early Christian sources have found application for Genesis 925
6 Genesis 925 in midrashic lists
One approach often taken by the midrash is to find some pattern common to a number of
passages or episodes from across the Bible Such approaches are less about deriving meaning
from a particular verse but providing it interpretation through its membership in a class
pertaining to a pattern often itself defined by reading another verse from scripture Thus we
find an appearance of our verse in the Mekhilta
According as He Hath Promised And where did he promise ldquoAnd I will bring you into the
landrdquo etc (Ex 68) In like manner you interprethellip [etc] In like manner you interpret lsquoAnd
I will sell your sons and daughters hellip for the Lord hath spokenrsquo (Joel 48) And where had He
spoken lsquoAnd he said Cursed be Canaanrsquo (Gen 925) In like manner you interprethellip144
A list of many examples is brought out each beginning ldquo רכיוצא בדבר אתה אומ rdquo where an
antecedent reference seems to be required and the midrash provides for it In the instance in
which our verse is cited the referring text from Joel is ldquo דבר כי ה rdquo commonly found at the end
of prophetic passages and not usually assumed to be referring to any other antecedent than the
immediately-preceding prophecy Once again the midrash provides an unusual meaning for a
144 Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael Pisha 12 translated by Lauterbach vol 1 p 92
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 49
common expression by which it can provide additional interpretation and intertextuality145 By
forcibly doing so the midrash also provides further interpretation of Genesis 925 as a
statement of God as a prophecy and by implicitly considering the Philistines who are the
subjects of the prophetic quotation146 as cursed by Noah147
Another midrashic list focussing on patterns in the narrative is found in Tanhuma on
Vezot Haberakha
And this is the blessing (Deut 331) This is what the Scripture said Many women have done
well but you surpass them all (Prov 3129) This is the blessing of Moses since here each of
the forefathers blessed his generation and none was among them as the blessing of Moses
See Noah blessed his sons and there was a separation in it since he blessed one and cursed
onehellip Isaac blessed Jacob but there was a quarrel in his blessinghellip148
In order to determine Mosesrsquo blessing as the greatest of those in the Bible the midrash
provides a history of blessings that were imperfect in some way The example of Noahrsquos curse
is thus used to elevate Moses over his predecessors
In two other instances containing our verse these lists are formed to provide midrashic
meanings for verses from Proverbs In Boyarinrsquos words ldquothis is a reflex of the general
rabbinic principle that the lsquowords of Torah are poor in their own context and rich in another
contextrsquordquo 149 As quoted earlier Esther Rabbah relates Noahrsquos curse which separates him from
his son to wine which ldquoseparates like a basiliskrdquo150 Alongside this example it also suggests
145 See for instance the reading of וי- as ldquowoerdquo and note 126 thereupon p 42
146 See Joel 44
147 The Bible designates the Philistines as Hamitic in Gen 1014
148 Tanhuma Vezot Haberakha 1 My translation
149 Boyarin p 27
150 See p 42 and its reading of Prov 2332
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 50
that drink divided Adam and Eve151 parted lot from his daughters through incest separated
Aaron from his sons through death152 parted the Ten Tribes from Judah amp Benjamin153
Ahasuerus from Vashti154 and so on Here both a rhetorical message and an interpretive goal
in understanding the proverb are clear Similarly Tanhuma on Tzav interprets Proverbs 335
Take Aaron along with his sonshellip (Lev 82) This is as the Scripture said The wise will
inherit honour while fools bring about disgrace (Prov 335) This scripture applies from
eternityrsquos creation and until now The wise will inherit honour refers to Noah and his sons
While fools bring about disgrace refers to the generation of the flood The wise will inherit
honour refers to Shem as is said Blessed is the Lord God of Shem (Gen 926) While fools
bring about disgrace refers to Ham as it is written Cursed be Canaan The wise hellip refers to
Abraham fools hellip refers to the kings that fought with Abrahamhellip
Here the midrash is not applying an unusual meaning to the Proverbs text it is simply using
that verse to read the Leviticus text in relation to other biblical episodes Unlike the previous
example there also seems to be no rhetorical value in designating the wise and associated
fools who bring about disgrace except in declaring certain characters as honourable and
others not although generally this is inferable without the midrash The purpose of such a list
then seems primarily methodological in finding parallels between scriptural episodes or
phenomena and relating them to each other and to the exegetical task at hand Although
referring to a more specific category of lists the following quote from Neusner applies
The mode of thought brought to bear upon the theme of history remains exactly the same as
in the Mishnah list-making with the data exhibiting similar taxonomic traits drawn together
into lists based on common monothetic traits or definitions These lists then through the
power of repetition make a single enormous pint or prove a social law of historyhellip Since
151 Since the עץ הדעת טוב ורע purportedly bore grapes see bottom of Sanhedrin 70a Deut 3232
152 As understood from Lev 1029
153 See Isa 511-13
154 Est 110
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 51
biblical events exemplify recurrent happenings they lose their one-time character At the
same time and in the same way current events find a place within the ancient but eternally
present paradigmatic scheme155
To our verse these pattern-based lists provide new realms of interpretation by relating it to
verses and passages previously unconnected
7 Notable absences
As much as the commentary present upon our verse provides great interest it is worth noting
sources that retell the Genesis tale but miss mention of a curse upon Canaan From among the
Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes the exit of Noah and his family from the ark
They then planted the soil and put a vineyard on Mount Lubar that produced wine four years
later On the first day of the fifth year there was a feast at which the first wine was drunk
Noah gathered his family together and they went to the altar and thanked God for saving
them from the destruction of the flood156
Since the Genesis account is a direct result of Noahrsquos planting a vineyard it is surprising here
to find the planting narrated but the subsequent tale ignored all of the Genesis-retold texts in
DSS inexplicably ldquoretell only selected stories of the biblical tradition and omit othersrdquo157
Feldman also notes that Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities omits the incident158 It is likely
though that these omission has little to do with understanding the curse in 925 itself and
more likely hypotheses would relate to (a) the shaming of a righteous Noah (b) sexual
references or (c) narrative inconsistencies and vagueness
155 Neusner and Chilton p 109
156 1QapGen = 1Q20 frag 2 col 12
157 Froumlhlich p 82
158 Feldman (1988) p 54
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 52
8 Summary and conclusions Patterns in approach to exegesis
Our coverage of the pre-Geonic materials that comment on Genesis 925 has found many
similarities and differences both in content and genre In concluding we will take a vaguely
chronological sample of our sources to summarise their content and perspective
Pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls
Jubilees while essentially rewriting the Genesis text provides many additional details It
identifies the curse as an affliction for Ham by which he responds and separates from his
father It also foresees in the curse the conquering of Canaan and relates it to the prohibition
of Canaanite women While it somewhat akin to the later midrash connects distant scriptural
passages through rewriting the biblical does not provide homilies and moral lessons and thus
only connects narrative features by way of the curse
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs only makes mention that both Canaan and
Ham shall perish thus according (in opposition to Jubilees) with a perception that Ham was
affected by the curse
Pseudo-Philo fails to mention the incident See sect 7
4Q252 curiously presents the idea that Ham was not cursed because he had been
blessed by God and thus may have a common oral tradition with a variety of later sources
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Philo treats the text primarily with allegory seeing Ham and Canaan as two manifestations of
the same character and so were both cursed His allegorical method is heavily influenced by
Jewish and non-Jewish Greek allegorists The mention of Canaan in the verse is thus an
premonitory indication of Canaanrsquos conquest at the same time he shares parallels with
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 53
Jubilees in saying that the father would be exceedingly afflicted by a curse upon the son Philo
also connects the curse to other scripture in the manner of the midrash In other writings he
gives an opinion that our verse appropriately ascribes slavery to the wicked which is
appropriate both of his attitude to surrounding Egyptians and his ideas from a Greek-educated
background Among the philosophical lessons taught through allegory Philo also takes this
passage as a teaching against mocking onersquos parents
In attempting to document history for a Greco-Roman audience Josephusrsquos approach
to why Canaan was cursed is similar to Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls but simplified to a
matter of kin rather than blessing against curse possibly in order to avoid excessive rabbinic
forms of logic He seems to be the most particular in limiting the curse to Canaanrsquos
descendents although this may also be reflected in Jubilees and as a result of his goals does
not look for moral or philosophical lessons as Philo does
Textual translations
In general the textual translations only varied on the meaning of עבד עבדים as a matter of
difficulty translating idiom approached with different methods of literalness in translation
The significant exceptions are the Byzantine LXX text which replaced Canaan with Ham and
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which provided the most common midrashic readingmdashof Noahrsquos
impotence due to Hamrsquos actmdashto explain why Canaan was cursed and not Ham
Patristic writers
Like most other writers the patristic authors firstly attempted to find consistency within a
difficult biblical passage and in many cases this was by saying that Ham is cursed possibly
for ideological reasons but maybe because of a textual or oral tradition Justin as an earlier
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 54
writer seems to be an exception and follows the tradition given in 4Q252 Primarily though
the motives of the patristic authors are related to rereading the Old Testament in light of a
changed world with the coming of Christ Hence they tend to take a moral approach claiming
that the curse is ended for those who will take upon Jesus as their faith In contrast with
midrashic approaches they will rarely explicitly juxtapose two independent scriptural sources
although they allude to relevant ethics and historical concepts its intertextual nature is distinct
in style from the midrash
Rabbinic sources
Due to the nature of the material being interpreted there was a lack of halakhic rabbinic
sources such as Mishna or Tosefta Characteristic in Rabbinic texts is the appearance of the
same ideas in minor variation in multiple sources At the same time they also tend to allow
multiple contradictory solutions to the same problem in one source notably the parallel
passages in Gen R and Tanhuma Noah describing why Canaan was cursed As Goldin
explains
A verse may have a number of interpretations for in the revealed words are impacted many
intentions Nor is this to be overlooked We are dealing with a text which is nonhalakhic not
involved with formulation of public or private practice In short we are exploring a text of
the realm of human speculation and imaginativeness where the intellect or imagination is
free to suggest what it strikes as appropriatehellip159
There seem to be two main approaches of interpretation in the midrash (a) one
independent of other scripture that basically transmits interpretations of the text in its own
context as we find in the opinions of various Tannaim etc eg in Genesis Rabbah 367 and
Tanhuma Noah 14 as with the castration theory (b) one that aims to interpret one or multiple
159 Goldin p 274
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 55
verses within the scripture within the enriching context of another occasionally in the form of
a tale or a list of interpretive patterns in scripture Thus we have represented both
Heinemannrsquos ldquocreative historiographyrdquo and Boyarinrsquos ldquointertextuality in midrashrdquo not
entirely mutually exclusive but often so Associated with either or both of these approaches is
the midrash with an intended moral
The particular focuses and styles of each text have been hard to distinguish because of
lack of material in some sources and the inclusion of the same material in various sources
Nonetheless Tanhuma seems particularly involved in long homilies on specific topics
making use of midrashic lists of patterns to enhance the lesson We also find the midrash
building upon each other particularly in terms of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer that seems to
combine two schools of thought on why Canaan is cursed
Again as a result of the mixed variety of ideas present throughout the rabbinic sources
it is not worthwhile to summarise and delineate the content of the commentaries Of interest
rather may be the lack of allegorical interpretation as found in Philo the obsession with the
castration theory the perception of the curse as both detrimental to the recipient and to the
giver in terms of polemic against dishonouring parents and against intoxication
Concluding remarks
The commentary on Genesis 925 generally finds itself expressed in two manners it is either
(a) attempting to resolve a difficulty in the text (b) or it is trying to produce a lesson In the
case of midrash the lesson may not necessarily be clear but for the use of intertextual citation
and juxtaposition We see a variety of resolutions for the problems found in the text finding a
reason why Canaan was cursed and not Ham or simply explaining that Ham indeed was
cursed but then needing to excuse the reference to Canaan providing evidence that one or
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 56
another group was effected by the curse or that it had a prophetic role Lessons from the
passage too vary to include the immorality of wine or dishonouring onersquos father and the
ability to be redeemed from a curse We find that in many cases traditions have been passed
between different groups and generations of commentators and at the same time the choice of
commentary or genre is often chosen appropriately according to the background of the writer
Although it is unclear indeed who is to be understood ultimately as the subject of Noahrsquos
curse its interpretation over time indicates once again the overwhelming applicability of
scripture and its interpretation to each writer for his own needs
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 57
References
Texts and translations
ldquorsquoAbadimrdquo Trans Maurice Simon In The Minor Tractates of the Talmud ed A Cohen London Soncino Press 1965 Vol 2 pp 623-630
The Babylonian Talmud Seder Neziḳin Trans I Epstein London Soncino Press 1935
The Dead Sea Scrolls Trans Wise Abegg amp Cook San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco 1996
Didascalia Apostolorum Trans R Hugh Connolly Oxford Clarendon Press 1929 lthttpwwwbombaxocomdidascaliahtmlgt
Epiphanius of Salamis The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Trans Frank Williams Lieden EJ Brill 1994
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoDemonstration of the Apostolic Preachingrdquo In Iain M MacKenzie Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Trans J Armitage Robinson Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Irenaeus Lugdunesis ldquoAduersus Haeresesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_008gt
ldquoJubileesrdquo Trans O S Wintermute In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Justin Martyr ldquoDialogue with Tryphordquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 1 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf001indexhtmsection_007gt
Lactantius ldquoThe Divine Institutesrdquo In Ante-Nicene Fathers Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson Edinburgh T amp T Clark Vol 7 lthttpwwwsacred-textscomchrecf007section_002gt
Megilat Talsquoanit Vilna lthttpwwwshechemorgtorahmegtangt
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 58
Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Trans Jacob Z Lauterbach Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1949
Midrash Rabbah Exodus Trans S M Lehrman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Esther Trans Maurice Simon London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Genesis Trans H Freedman London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Lamentations Trans A Cohen London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Leviticus Trans J Israelstam and Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Midrash Rabbah Numbers Trans Judah J Slotki London Soncino Press 1939
Pesikta Rabbati Trans William G Braude New Haven Yale University Press 1968
Philo The Works of Philo Judaeus Trans C D Yonge London Henry G Bohn 1855 lthttpwwwearlyjewishwritingscomphilohtmlgt
Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer Trans Gerald Friedlander New York Hermon Press 1970
The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Trans Lancelot C L Brenton Peabody Hendrickson Publishers 1986
(Septuagint) A New English Translation of the Septuagint Genesis Trans Robert J V Hiebert Provisional Edition lthttpccatsasupennedunetseditiongenpdfgt
Tanhuma No publishing details given lthttpwwwtselorgtorahtanhumagt
Tanhuma Genesis (S Buber recension) Trans John T Townsend Hoboken NJ Ktav Publishing House
(Targum) Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon databases Targumic Studies Module Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion lthttpcal1cnhucedutargumstartpagehtmlgt
ldquoSibylline Oraclesrdquo Trans J J Collins In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 317ndash472
ldquoTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchsrdquo Trans H C Kee In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 1 pp 775ndash828
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 59
Secondary sources and general references
Borgen Peter Philo of Alexandria An exegete for his time Lieden Brill 1997
Boyarin Daniel Intertextuality and the reading of Midrash Bloomington Indiana University Press 1990
Colson F H Philo Cambridge Harvard University Press 1929
Dawson David Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria Berkeley University of California Press 1992
Feldman Louis H (1988) ldquoJosephusrsquo Portrait of Noah and its Parallels in Philo Pseudo-Philorsquos Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashimrdquo PAAJR 5531-57 Jerusalem 1988
Feldman Louis H (1998) Josephusrsquos Interpretation of the Bible Berkeley University of California Press 1998
Flavius Josephus Judean Antiquities 1-4 Trans Louis H Feldman In ldquoFlavius Josephus Translation and Commentaryrdquo ed Steve Mason vol 3 Leiden Brill 2000
Froumlhlich Ida ldquolsquoNarrative Exegesisrsquo in the Dead Sea Scrollsrdquo In Biblical Perspectives Early use and interpretation of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ed Michael E Stone and Esther G Chazon Lieden Brill 1998
Goldenberg David M The Curse of Ham Race and Slavery in Early Judaism Christianity and Islam Princeton Princeton University Press 2003
Goldin Judah Studies in Midrash and Related Literature Ed Barry L Eichler and Jeffrey H Tigay Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1988
Grayston ldquoAtonement and martyrdomrdquo In Early Christian thought in its Jewish context Ed John Barclay and John Sweet Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996
Heinemann Isaak Darkhe Ha-Agadah Jerusalem Magnes 1970
Jacobs Irving The Midrashic Process Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995
Jellicoe Sidney The Septuagint and Modern Study Oxford Clarendon Press 1968
MacKenzie Iain M Irenaeusrsquos Demonstration of the apostolic preaching a theological commentary and translation Aldershot Hants England Ashgate 2002
Neusner Jacob and Bruce Chilton The intellectual foundations of Christian and Jewish discourse The philosophy of religious argument London Routledge 1997
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142
Joel Nothman Cursing Canaan 60
Rokeacuteah David Justin Martyr and the Jews Lieden Brill 2002
Stemberger Gunter and H L Strack Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Edinburgh Scotland T amp T Clark 1991
Tov Emanuel The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research Jerusalem Simor 1981
Wevers John W Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press 1993
Wintermute O S ldquoJubileesrdquo In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha ed James H Charlesworth Garden City NY Doubleday amp Company 1985 Vol 2 pp 35ndash142