Kejadian 9:22

9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, ¹  saw his father’s nakedness ²  and told his two brothers who were outside.

Kejadian 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ³  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ⁴  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Kejadian 24:21

24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine ⁵  if the Lord had made his journey successful ⁶  or not.

Kejadian 25:33

25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁷  So Esau ⁸  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁹  to Jacob.

Kejadian 26:11

26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ¹⁰  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ¹¹ 

Kejadian 50:22

50:22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family. ¹²  Joseph lived 110 years.

[9:22]  ¹ sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.

[9:22]  ² tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).

[9:22]  sn Saw the nakedness. It is hard for modern people to appreciate why seeing another’s nakedness was such an abomination, because nakedness is so prevalent today. In the ancient world, especially in a patriarchal society, seeing another’s nakedness was a major offense. (See the account in Herodotus, Histories 1.8-13, where a general saw the nakedness of his master’s wife, and one of the two had to be put to death.) Besides, Ham was not a little boy wandering into his father’s bedroom; he was over a hundred years old by this time. For fuller discussion see A. P. Ross, “The Curse of Canaan,” BSac 137 (1980): 223-40.

[19:1]  ³ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[19:1]  sn The expression sitting in the city’s gateway may mean that Lot was exercising some type of judicial function (see the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 19:8; Jer 26:10; 38:7; 39:3).

[24:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “to know.”

[24:21]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).

[25:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ⁹ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[26:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ¹¹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[50:22]  ¹² tn Heb “he and the house of his father.”