In previous posts, I showed how Canaan was cursed because of what his father Ham had done to Noah ( Ham, Noah, and the Canaanites ) . In another post I showed the line of Shem through Abraham and how Noah and Shem were both alive when Abraham was an adult and how Abraham could have studied with both Noah and Shem and Isaac could have studied with Shem ( Shem, Noah, Abraham, and Job ). Commentaries state this happened (IE: book of Jasher)
Noah's son Japeth was older than Shem and Ham was the youngest:
Genesis 9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him.
Genesis 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
In middle eastern custom, those who are guests in the tent or home of someone is under their protection and the guests will be protected even at the cost of the lives of the household members. This is shown by when Lot offered his daughters to the sodomites when the angels were in his home and under his protection
Genesis 19
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him: 'Where are the men that came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.'
6 And Lot went out unto them to the door, and shut the door after him.
7 And he said: 'I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters that have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; only unto these men do nothing; forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof.'
This protecting a guest is also shown when the daughter (and the guest's concubine) was offered to the men in Gibeah who wanted to rape the Levite guest (which nearly led to the extermination of the tribe of Benjamin) I posted about in an earlier post ( Benjamites of Gibeah, King Saul, and Judah ) which is found in Judges 19-21 .
After the incident with Ham, Noah cursed Canaan (Ham's son) and blessed Japeth and Shem:
Genesis 9
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him.
25 And he said: Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be their servant.
27 God enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be their servant
This is VERY interesting. The oldest son was the one who inherits the blessing ------ The older serving the younger and a younger son being the one chosen over the eldest by Yahweh is throughout the Old Testament:
- Jacob inherits the blessing instead Esau.
- Judah is the ruling line and not Reuben (who sinned against Jacob) or Simeon
- Joseph gave the blessing to his youngest grandson
- Gideon was the youngest.
- King David was the youngest son.
- etc.
This is important that Messiah Yeshua was the first born Son - the first born being the rightful heir who also received the blessing of Yahweh. I'm sure there is more here although have not discovered it yet. Good topic for discussion.
As shown in the table of nations, Genesis 10, Japeth's descendants were the gentile nations:
Genesis 10
2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
As shown in the post about Shem, Shem is the line of Abraham, David, and Messiah. It is interesting that the elder Japeth's ancestors, the gentile nations which Noah said would be greatly enlarged, will dwell under the protection of - in the tents of - a younger son which is the line of Messiah! I find that the blessing of Japeth and Shem to be highly prophetic regarding the Messiah and how the gentiles will be saved through the Jewish Messiah. It also speaks against British Israelism and other forms of the demonic replacement theology that has become widely accepted.
Very interesting making connections in the Old Testament that you don't see others mention - probably because they are too busy looking for hidden messages and getting their ears tickled by false prophets they have no time to actually read let alone study the bible for their selves.
Reading the generations after the flood, you can see some very strong connections with what happened and how it seems their are blood lines that are predisposed to certain characteristics (I am NOT speaking of serpent seed or anything heretical like that) due to prophecies spoken against individuals and their offspring.
After the flood, there was an incident that many theologians have debated the exact meaning of:
Genesis 9
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
The 1899 Douay-Rheims bible gives an indication what the correct meaning, which is widely debated and commented on, may be:
Genesis 9
20 And Noe a husbandman began to till the ground, and planted a vineyard.
21 And drinking of the wine was made drunk, and was uncovered in his tent.
22 Which when Cham the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit, that his father's nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two brethren without.
23 But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him
Clearly Noah knew what Ham HAD DONE to him - something happened - what it exactly was is debated. Some commentaries say that Ham sodomized Noah, Leviticus 20:11 seems to indicate it could have been Ham had sexual relations with his mother although that is not stated and his mother was not mentioned. It is reasonable to believe that Ham sodomized Noah although the debate on that is not (directly) what this post is about.
Leviticus 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Why did Noah curse Canaan, Ham's son, for what Ham had did to him?
Genesis 9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
Would a curse of Ham's SON be given if the sin of Ham had just been to see his father naked? Why curse Canaan -ONE of Ham's sons- (he had several sons mentioned in scripture) and not Ham or ALL of his sons?
Genesis 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
It is very interesting that Ham's son Canaan was the line of sodom and gomorah which were wiped out by Yahweh for their wickedness - which included homosexuality. Exactly what part, if any, did Canaan have to do with what Ham had done to Noah?
Genesis 10
15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Canaanites were enemies of Israel and Yahweh had commanded Israel to destroy them. While not implicit, one can deduce that the Amalekites were of the line of Caanan and led to Haman trying to destroy the Jews (book of Esther) because King Saul allowed Agag to survive.
Deuteronomy 20
16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
Just some interesting observations. Worthy of a deeper bible study if I can find anyone who is interested in studying the bible.
