What happened between Noah and Ham? Why was Ham cursed by his
father?
Genesis 9:19-25 "These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole
earth overspread. And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
And he drank of the wine, and was drunken [passed out dead drunk]; and he was
uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness
[this word nakedness refers to having had sex] of his father, and told
[bragging] his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and
laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness
of their father [what of their fathers was naked that they had to go in
backwards]; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's
nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew [wife or sons
alerted him] what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed
be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren."
The Book of Jubilees 7:7-10 "And it was evening, and he went into his tent, and
being drunken he lay down and slept, and was uncovered in his tent as he slept.
And Ham saw Noah his father naked, and went forth and told his two brethren
without. And Shem took his garment and arose, he and Japheth, and they placed
the garment on their shoulders and went backward and covered the shame of their
father, and their faces were backward. And Noah awoke from his sleep and knew
all that his younger son had done unto him, and he cursed his son and said:
'Cursed be Canaan; an enslaved servant shall he be unto his brethren."
If all he had done was look at his father one would think that scripture would
have stated that.
So, where do we prove the meaning of "saw the nakedness of his
father" as a sexual context? Let’s go to the scriptures to find
interpretation of scriptures.
Leviticus 18:6-14 " None of you shall approach to any
that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the
LORD. The nakedness of thy father, or the
nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is
thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy
father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's
nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother,
whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their
nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of
thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter,
even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is
thine own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's
wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt
not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the
nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near
kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the
nakedness of thy mother's sister; for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness
of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she
is thine aunt."
Leviticus 18:15-19 " Thou shalt not uncover the
nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover
her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the
nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the
nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou
take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter,
to uncover her nakedness;
for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. Neither shalt thou take a
wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness,
beside the other in her life time. Also thou shalt not approach
unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her
uncleanness."
Leviticus 20:11 " And the man that lieth
with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of
them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
Leviticus 20:20 " And if a man shall lie with his
uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness:
they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless."
Ezekiel 22:9-11 " In thee are men that
.... in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they
humbled her that was set apart for pollution [monthly period]. And one hath committed abomination
with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter."
Habakkuk 2:14-16 " For the earth shall be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Woe unto him that
giveth
his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to
him, and makest him drunken also,
that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy
foreskin
be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and
shameful spewing shall be on thy glory."
Get that? These verses specifically tell us that to lie with, or have sex
with, is referred to as "uncovering their nakedness". It seems that
these verses are speaking of all the sexual sins committed, as well as the
premeditation leading up to the committing of these sins.
If we allow scripture to interpret scripture, the scriptures tell us that to
lie with, or have sex with, is referred to as "uncovering their
nakedness".
So it appears that Ham, most likely being drunk with his father, raped his
mother, and went out to tell his brothers about what he did. Then, knowing that
in her distress she needed clothes to cover herself, the brothers backed into
the tent (in order to not view her distress and show respect for their mother)
and covered her.
