The Curse of Ham: Biblical Justification for Racial Inequality?

The story of the drunkenness of Noah that caused him to remove his clothing and thus provided the opportunity for his son, Ham, to “see” him (Genesis 9:20‒27), has never received an interpretation that has been unanimously adopted by interpreters over the centuries. By examining the concept of “nake...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Socio-historical examination of religion and ministry
Main Author: Isbell, Charles D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wipf and Stock Publishers 2020
In: Socio-historical examination of religion and ministry
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Summary:The story of the drunkenness of Noah that caused him to remove his clothing and thus provided the opportunity for his son, Ham, to “see” him (Genesis 9:20‒27), has never received an interpretation that has been unanimously adopted by interpreters over the centuries. By examining the concept of “nakedness” as it functions in biblical legislation, this article argues that the most plausible understanding of the passage is that Ham committed incest with the wife of his father, Noah. Concomitantly, it becomes clear that the literalist idea of “race” used to undergird either slavery or any comparable form of white supremacy cannot be derived exegetically from the passage.
ISSN:2637-7500
Contains:Enthalten in: Socio-historical examination of religion and ministry
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.33929/sherm.2020.vol2.no2.01