Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: “May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”
- KJV And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
- BSB he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
- NKJV Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.”
- NASB So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan, that he would be the lowest of servants to his brothers. Ham's dishonor bears consequences in his descendants.
Overview
Noah's words fall on Canaan, Ham's son, foreshadowing the later subjugation of the Canaanite peoples by Israel. The curse concerns the historical destiny of nations, not any racial group, and must never be twisted to justify mistreatment. It anticipates the just judgment that comes upon the wicked and the deliverance God provides through the line of blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- Josh 9:23Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you will never fail to be slaves, both wood cutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.”
- Judg 1:28–30When Israel had grown strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.
- Josh 9:27That day Joshua made them wood cutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for Yahweh’s altar to this day, in the place which he should choose.
- John 8:34Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.
- 1 Kgs 9:20–21As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel;
- 2 Chr 8:7–8As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel;
- Gen 9:22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
- Deut 28:18The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock will be cursed.
- Gen 49:7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
- Matt 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
- Gen 4:11Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
- Gen 3:14Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 9:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.