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18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. Ham would become the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah, and from these [men] the whole earth was populated and scattered with inhabitants.

20 And Noah began to farm and cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay exposed inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw [by accident] the nakedness of his father, and [to his father’s shame] told his two brothers outside. 23 So Shem and Japheth took a robe and put it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine [induced stupor], he knew what his younger son [Ham] had done to him. 25 So he said,

“Cursed be Canaan [the son of Ham];
[a]A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”(A)

26 He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of [b]Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.
27 
“May God enlarge [the land of] Japheth,
And [c]let [d]him dwell in the tents of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.”

28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 9:25 The words of Noah are prophetic. God later found the disobedience of the Canaanites to be repulsive and replaced them with the descendants of Shem.
  2. Genesis 9:26 The Jewish people are the descendants of Shem. Through Shem’s lineage came the Messiah and salvation.
  3. Genesis 9:27 Note that “let” in this verse represents a command, as in “Let there be light” (1:3).
  4. Genesis 9:27 The antecedent of the word “him” could be Japheth, but it could also be “God,” thus making Him (the Messiah) dwell in the tents of Shem indicating the incarnation in the Semitic line.

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