Bible Study Seattle

“Well, Noah took up farming and he planted some grapes. [Then, one day], Noah was drinking some wine while he was naked in his house, and he got drunk. Meanwhile, Ham (CanaAn’s father) saw his father’s nakedness, and he went outside and told his brothers about it. Then Shem and JaPheth grabbed a robe, put it over their backs, and walked backward to cover their father’s naked body. And because they were looking away, they didn’t see their father’s nakedness.
Well after Noah recovered from the wine, he realized what his [grand]son had done to him. So he said: ‘The servant CanaAn is cursed, and he will be a slave to his brothers.’ Then he added: ‘May Jehovah (the God of Shem) bless him… but let CanaAn be his houseboy. Yes, may God make room for JaPheth and allow him to live in the tents of Shem… and may CanaAn become his.’ Genesis 9:20-27

It appears that Ham’s sin was merely seeing his father’s nakedness, but why then was Canaan cursed? There are many instances of simple nakedness that are not condemned in the Old Testament. Canaan was the four born of Ham’s. Ernest L. Martin suggested that Ham actually castrated Noah to prevent him from having any more children. Thus the inheritance of the world wouldn’t be further diluted. Or could it be that Ham merely discovered what Canaan did to his grandfather? Or was this a plot between Canaan and Ham? We don’t know. Noah had three sons; he couldn’t have a fourth, so Noah cursed Ham’s fourth son. A very interesting theory. If it’s true, it underscores how understated the scriptures can be!