Genesis 9:22
in Genesis 9And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
KJV
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
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This verse in Genesis 9
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFor 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 son's 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 father's nakedness, he made the curse originate with his son.
This site's exposition
a man of the soil
on Genesis 9:20-23
Noah plants a vineyard, drinks its wine and lies uncovered inside his tent. Ham sees his father's nakedness and goes out to tell it, while Shem and Japheth walk in backward and cover him without looking. The garment they carry on their shoulders answers the garments of skin God made at 3:21, and the beats of Eden run again here, a planting, a fruit, a nakedness and a covering. Canaan was already born, so this falls years after the ark.
This site's exposition
saw his father’s nakedness
Ham sees, then carries the story outside. Adam Clarke held that Canaan probably joined his father in treating Noah with contempt. That reading would account for the curse falling on Canaan at verse 25.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
When Christ says, "I am the true vine," the blood of Christ is assuredly not water but wine. We are redeemed and made alive by his blood. But in the cup it is not wine as such that redeems but his blood. This is declared by the sacrament and testimony of all the Scriptures. For we find this even in Genesis also, in respect of the sacrament prefigured in Noah. That he drank wine was to them a precursor and figure of the Lord's passion.
A commentator
IrenaeusThe Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, Sections 19-21 · Written before 202.
proposed
Now the three sons of Noah were Shem, Ham and Japheth, from whom again the race was multiplied: for these were the beginning of mankind after the flood. Now of these one fell under a curse, and the two (others) inherited a blessing by reason of their works.
Noah cursed Canaan, saying, "Cursed be Canaan. A slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers." But what sin could Canaan have committed even if he had been right behind his father when Ham observed the nakedness of Noah?
The Medieval Church1 voice
When Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father's nakedness was uncovered, he told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a cloak, laid it upon their shoulders, and walking backward, covered their father's nakedness; their faces were turned away, and they …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But charity rejoices not in iniquity, nor can true penitents that are sorry for their own sins rejoice in the sins of others. He told his two brethren without ( in the street, as the word is), in a scornful deriding manner, that his father might seem vile unto them. It is very wrong, (1.) To make a jest of sin ( Prov. xiv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father,....
But charity rejoices not in iniquity, nor can true penitents that are sorry for their own sins rejoice in the sins of others. He told his two brethren without ( in the street, as the word is), in a scornful deriding manner, that his father might seem vile unto them. It is very wrong, (1.) To make a jest of sin ( Prov. xiv.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And Ham, the father of Canaan, etc. - There is no occasion to enter into any detail here; the sacred text is circumstantial enough. Ham, and very probably his son Canaan, had treated their father on this occasion with contempt or reprehensible levity. Had Noah not been innocent, as my exposition supposes him, God would not have endued him with the spirit of prophecy on this occasion, and testified such marked disapprobation of their conduct.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֗רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| חָ֚ם | cham | Ham | H2526 → | 16 times |
| אֲבִ֣י | ʾavi | [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| כְנַ֔עַן | khenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֶרְוַ֣ת | ʾervat | [the] nakedness of | H6172 → | 54 times |
| אָבִ֑יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַיַּגֵּ֥ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לִשְׁנֵֽי־ | lishnei- | to [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| אֶחָ֖יו | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| בַּחֽוּץ׃ | bachutz | on the outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
וַיַּ֗רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
חָ֚םHam
chamH2526 →16 times
אֲבִ֣י[the] father of
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
כְנַ֔עַןCanaan
khenaanH3667 →94 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
עֶרְוַ֣ת[the] nakedness of
ʾervatH6172 →54 times
אָבִ֑יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וַיַּגֵּ֥דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
לִשְׁנֵֽי־to [the] two
lishnei-H8147 →768 times
אֶחָ֖יוbrothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
בַּחֽוּץ׃on the outside
bachutzH2351 →164 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 6:1Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 3:15
Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
- 2 Timothy 2:25
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- James 5:19–20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
- Jude 1:22–23
And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt;
- 2 Thessalonians 3:15
Through
1 Corinthians 13:6Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.
it leads to
- Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
- Romans 12:9
Through
Matthew 18:15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:17
You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
- Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
- Leviticus 19:17
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Cyprian, Epistle LXII.2-3; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 7.3.1-2; Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, Sections 19-21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter CXXXIX and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.