Genesi 9:25 Commento

Both the world and the church were now again reduced to a family, the family of Noah, of the affairs of which this chapter gives us an account, of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance because from this family we are all descendants. Here is, I. The covenant of providence settled with Noah and his sons (Gen 9:1-11). In this covenant, 1. God promises them to take care of their lives, so that, (1.) They should replenish the earth (Gen 9:1, Gen 9:7). (2.) They should be safe from the insults of the brute-creatures, which should stand in awe of them (Gen 9:2). (3.) They should be allowed to eat flesh for the support of their lives; only they must not eat blood (Gen 9:3, Gen 9:4). (4.) The world should never be drowned again (Gen 9:8-11). 2. God requires of them to take care of one another's lives, and of their own (Gen 9:5, Gen 9:6). II. The seal of that covenant, namely, the rainbow (Gen 9:12-17). III. A particular passage of story concerning Noah and his sons, which occasioned some prophecies that related to after-times, 1. Noah's sin and shame (Gen 9:20, Gen 9:21). 2. Ham's impudence and impiety (Gen 9:22). 3. The pious modesty of Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:23). 4. The curse of Canaan, and the blessing of Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:21-27). IV. The age and death of Noah (Gen 9:28, Gen 9:29).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 9 In this chapter we have an account of God's blessing Noah and his sons, being just come out of the ark, with a renewal of the blessing of propagating their species, and replenishing the earth, the dominion over the creatures, and a freedom from the fear of them; with liberty to eat flesh, only it must not be eaten with blood; with a providential care and preservation of their lives from men and beasts, by making a law that that man or beast should die that shed man's blood, Gen 9:1 and after repeating the blessing of procreation, Gen 9:7 mention is made of a covenant God made with Noah, his sons, and all the creatures, that he would drown the world no more, the token of which should be the rainbow in the cloud, Gen 9:8 the names of the sons of Noah are observed, by whom the earth was repeopled, Gen 9:18 and seem to be observed for the sake of an event after recorded; Noah having planted a vineyard, and drank too freely of the wine of it, lay down uncovered in his tent, which Ham seeing, told his two brothers of it, who in a very modest manner covered him, Gen 9:20 of all which Noah being sensible when he awoke, cursed Canaan the son of Ham, and blessed Shem and Japheth, Gen 9:24 and the chapter is concluded with the age and death of Noah, Gen 9:28.

And he said,.... Not in a drunken fit, as some profane persons would suggest, for he was awaked from his wine; nor in the heat of passion, but by inspiration, under a spirit of prophecy: cursed be Canaan; or, "O cursed Canaan", or rather, "Canaan is", or "shall be cursed" (q); for the words are either a declaration of what was his case, or a prediction of what it should be. It may seem strange that Canaan should be cursed, and not Ham, who seems to he the only aggressor, by what is said in the context; hence one copy of the Septuagint, as Ainsworth observes, reads Ham, and the Arabic writers the father of Canaan; and so Saadiah Gaon supplies it, as Aben Ezra relates; and the same supplement is made by others (r): but as both were guilty, as appears from what has been observed on the former verses, and Canaan particularly was first in the transgression; it seems most wise and just that he should be expressly named, since hereby Ham is not excluded a share in the punishment of the crime he had a concern in, being punished in his son, his youngest son, who perhaps was his darling and favourite, and which must be very afflicting to him to hear of; and since Canaan only, and not any of the other sons of Ham were guilty, he, and not Ham by name, is cursed, lest it should be thought that the curse would fall upon Ham and all his posterity; whereas the curse descends on him, and very justly proceeds in the line of Canaan; and who is the rather mentioned, because he was the father of the accursed race of the Canaanites, whom God abhorred, and, for their wickedness, was about to drive out of their land, and give it to his people for an inheritance; and in order to which the Israelites were now upon the expedition, when Moses wrote this account, and which must animate them to it; for by this prediction they would see that they were an accursed people, and that they were to be their servants: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren; the posterities of Shem and Japheth, who stood in the relation of brethren to Canaan and his posterity; and to those he and his offspring were to become the most mean abject servants, as the phrase implies: this character agrees with the name of Canaan, which may be derived from "to depress", "humble", and "make mean and abject". (q) "maledictus erit Cenahan", Junius & Tremellius. (r) So some in Vatablus.

For 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. Now, in what he said, he foretold that the descendants of Shem would keep in retention the property and dwellings of Canaan: and again that the descendants of Japheth would take possession of the property of which Shem's descendants had dispossessed Canaan's descendants; and spoil the descendants of Shem, even as they plundered the sons of Canaan. 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. And it is manifest that the sons of Japheth, having invaded you in turn by the judgment of God, have taken your land from you, and have possessed it. Thus it is written: "And Noah awoke from the wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him; and he said, Cursed be Canaan, the servant; a servant shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. May the Lord enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the houses of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant."

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. For the younger of them, who was called Ham, having mocked his father, and having been condemned of the sin of impiety because of his outrage and unrighteousness against his father, received a curse; and all the posterity that came of him he involved in the curse; whence it came about that his whole race after him were accursed, and in sins they increased and multiplied. But Shem and Japheth, his brothers, because of their piety towards their father obtained a blessing. Now the curse of Ham, wherewith his father Noah cursed him, is this: Cursed be Ham the child; a servant shall he be unto his brethren. 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 judgment. For the Canaanites and Hittites and Peresites and Hivites and Amorites and Jebusites and Gergasites and Sodomites, the Arabians also and the dwellers in Phœnicia, 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 ungodly.

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? Some say that because Ham had been blessed along with those who entered the ark and came out of it, Noah did not curse Ham himself, even though his son, who was cursed, grieved him greatly. Others, however, say from the fact that Scripture says, “Noah knew everything that his youngest son had done to him,” it is clear that it was not Ham who observed his nakedness, for Ham was the middle son and not the youngest. For this reason they say that Canaan, the youngest, told of the nakedness of the old man. Then Ham went out and jokingly told his brothers. For this reason then, even though it might be thought that Canaan was cursed unjustly in that he did what he did in his youth, still he was cursed justly for he was not cursed in the place of another. Noah knew that Canaan would deserve the curse in his old age, or else he would not have been cursed in his youth.

First of all, let us show great reverence to our parents, as we read in Genesis 9:25-27, that whoever was blessed by their father, was blessed, and whoever was cursed by their father, was cursed! Therefore, God has granted this grace to parents, so that the piety of their children may be provoked. Therefore, it is the duty of children to obey their parents. Honor your father, so that he may bless you.

To be sure, some will say, this shows that the reason he did not curse Ham was that he had enjoyed blessing from God. Nevertheless, why is it that though Ham was the sinner, Canaan had to pay the penalty? This does not happen idly either. Ham did not endure less punishment than his son. He too felt its effects. You know well, of course, how in many cases fathers have begged to endure punishment in place of their children. Seeing their children bearing punishment proves a more grievous form of chastisement for the fathers than being subject to it themselves. Accordingly, this incident occurred so that Ham should endure greater anguish on account of his natural affection, so that God’s blessing should continue without impairment and so that his son in being the object of the curse should atone for his own sins. You see, even if in the present instance he bears the curse on account of his father’s sin, nevertheless it was likely that he was atoning for his own failings. In other words, it was not only for his father’s sin that he bore the curse but perhaps also for the purpose of his suffering a heavier penalty on his own account. After all, for proof that parents are not punished for their children, nor children for their parents, each being liable for the sins he has committed, you can find frequent statements among the inspired authors—as, for instance, when they say, “The teeth of the one eating sour grapes shall be set on edge,” “The soul that shall die is the soul that sins,” and again, “Parents shall not die for their children, nor children for their parents.”

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

But Noah, awakening from his wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him, said: Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers. Awakening from wine, Noah curses his offspring by whom he was mocked; however, he rewards with due blessing those who honored him as their father; and the Lord, according to the voice of the psalm (Psalm 3:6), having slept in death and risen immortal, smote all who opposed him without cause, and shattered the teeth of sinners; but upon his own people he poured the blessing of eternal salvation. Not only is Canaan subjected to a curse, but also to the servitude of his brothers. For what else is that nation today, but a certain scribe of Christians, bearing the law and the prophets as testimony to the affirmation of the Church, so that we might honor through the sacrament what it announces through the letter.

God blesses Noah and his sons, Gen 9:1. The brute creation to be subject to them through fear, Gen 9:2. The first grant of animal food, Gen 9:3. Eating of blood forbidden, Gen 9:4. Cruelty to animals forbidden, Gen 9:5. A man-slayer to forfeit his life, Gen 9:6. The covenant of God established between him and Noah and the whole brute creation, Gen 9:8-11. The rainbow given as the sign and pledge of this covenant, Gen 9:12-17. The three sons of Noah people the whole earth, Gen 9:18, Gen 9:19. Noah plants a vineyard, drinks of the wine, is intoxicated, and lies exposed in his tent, Gen 9:20, Gen 9:21. The reprehensible conduct of Ham, Gen 9:22. The laudable carriage of Shem and Japheth, Gen 9:23. Noah prophetically declares the servitude of the posterity of Ham, Gen 9:24, Gen 9:25; and the dignity and increase of Shem and Japheth, Gen 9:26, Gen 9:27. The age and death of Noah, Gen 9:28, Gen 9:29.

Cursed be Canaan - See on the preceding verses. In the 25th, 26th, and 27th verses, instead of Canaan simply, the Arabic version has Ham the father of Canaan; but this is acknowledged by none of the other versions, and seems to be merely a gloss.

COVENANT. (Gen 9:1-7) And God blessed Noah--Here is republished the law of nature that was announced to Adam, consisting as it originally did of several parts. Be fruitful, &c.--The first part relates to the transmission of life, the original blessing being reannounced in the very same words in which it had been promised at first [Gen 1:28].

Cursed be Canaan--This doom has been fulfilled in the destruction of the Canaanites--in the degradation of Egypt and the slavery of the Africans, the descendants of Ham.

These divine purposes of peace, which were communicated to Noah while sacrificing, were solemnly confirmed by the renewal of the blessing pronounced at the creation and the establishment of a covenant through a visible sign, which would be a pledge for all time that there should never be a flood again. In the words by which the first blessing was transferred to Noah and his sons (Gen 9:2), the supremacy granted to man over the animal world was expressed still more forcibly than in Gen 1:26 and Gen 1:28; because, inasmuch as sin with its consequences had loosened the bond of voluntary subjection on the part of the animals to the will of man-man, on the one hand, having lost the power of the spirit over nature, and nature, on the other hand, having become estranged from man, or rather having rebelled against him, through the curse pronounced upon the earth-henceforth it was only by force that he could rule over it, by that "fear and dread" which God instilled into the animal creation. Whilst the animals were thus placed in the hand (power) of man, permission was also given to him to slaughter them for food, the eating of the blood being the only thing forbidden.