05.014. Chapter 9
Genesis 9:3 suggests that men were now permitted to eat meat for the first time. Eating of blood was forbidden, however, because the blood is the life of the flesh, and the life belongs to God. The institution of capital punishment (Genesis 9:8) presupposes the establishment of governmental authority. It would be chaos if anyone and everyone avenged a murder. Only duly appointed governments may do so. The New Testament perpetuates capital punishment, when it says concerning the government, “… it does not bear the sword for nothing” (Romans 13:4 NASB). The rainbow was given as a pledge that God would never again destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9:8-17). In spite of God’s grace to Noah, he sinned by becoming drunk and then lying nude in his tent. When Ham saw him and reported the matter to his brothers, they hid their father’s shame without looking on his naked body. When he awoke, Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan. The question arises, “Why did the curse fall on Canaan instead of Ham?” One possible explanation is that the evil tendency which was manifested in Ham was even more pronounced in Canaan. The curse was thus a prophecy of his immoral conduct and its fitting punishment. Another explanation is that Canaan himself committed some vulgar act against his grandfather, and that Noah later became aware of it. Noah “knew what his youngest son had done to him” (Genesis 9:24 NASB). It may be that Genesis 9:24 refers to Canaan as Noah’s youngest grandson, rather than to Ham as his youngest son. In the Bible, son often means grandson or other descendant. In this event, Canaan was not cursed for his father’s sin, but for his own.
Canaan was cursed to serve Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:26-27). The Canaanites’ servitude to the Israelites may be seen in Joshua 9:23 and Judges 1:28. This passage has been used to suggest the slavery of the black people, but there is no support for this view. Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanites, who dwelt in the Holy Land before Israel arrived. There is no evidence that they were black people. Shem and Japheth were blessed with dominion. Genesis 9:27 may suggest Japheth’s sharing in spiritual blessings through Shem’s descendants, the Israelites.
There is a dispute as to whether Shem or Japheth was the eldest son of Noah. Genesis 10:21 may read “Shem … the brother of Japheth the elder” (KJV) or “Shem … the older brother of Japheth” (NASB). The latter is the preferred reading. Shem appears first in the genealogies of Genesis 5:32 and 1 Chronicles 1:4.