T he Curs e of Ham is a mi sn om e r[1] fo r t he curse up o n C a na an t ha t wa s imp os ed by th e bib lic al pa tri arc h No a h. The re levant(i a n) na rr ati v e oc cur s in t he Boo k o f Ge nes i s an d con cern s No a hs drunk en ness an d the ac com pan ying sh a me ful act pe rp et rated b y hi s so n Ham th e f at h er of Can a an (Ge n. 9:20–27).[2] T he co nt ro vers ie s raised b y thi s s tor y re ga r din g th e nature of Ha ms trans g re ss i on, an d the question o f why No a h curs ed Can a an w hen Ham ha d sin n ed, h ave bee n de bate d fo r ov er tw o t ho us an d y ear s.[3] Th e s tor ys original o bj ect ive wa s t o ju s tify th e su bj ect i on o f the C ana a nite s to the Is ra elite s,[4] b ut in later c ent uries, t he na rr a ti v e wa s inter p ret ed b y so me Mu slim s, Jew s[5] an d Chr i st i a n s as a curse o f, an d an exp lana ti on fo r, b l a ck skin, as well as s lavery.[6] Never the less, mo st C hr i s ti an deno mi n a tion s an d all Jewish denom in a tio ns str on g ly disagree w it h su ch interpret a ti on s du e t o t he fact t ha t i n the biblical t ext, Ham hi ms elf i s n ot curs ed a nd ra c e o r s kin co lor i s never mention ed.[7]
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 10:22:35 +0000
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