Who were the sons of Noah [Gen. 9:18-19]?
From Noah’s three sons [Shem, Ham, and Japheth] descended the people of the world.
What was Ham’s sin [Gen. 9:20-23]?
His sin was seeing his father’s nakedness and then telling his brothers about it. This showed a lack of respect toward his father.
What was the curse on Canaan, one of Ham’s descendants [Gen. 9:24-27]?
Noah gave prophetic utterance as to the nature of his three sons that would be perpetuated in their descendants. Canaan, one of Ham’s four sons, would serve the other brother’s descendants. Noah could probably see already in Canaan the same ungodly attitudes that had surfaced in Ham. This curse of servitude was upon Canaan and the Canaanites and had nothing to do with skin color. Many believe that the black race were descendants of Ham’ son, Put [Gen. 10:6], or either Cush, who located in the upper Nile region. Notice the curse was not on Put or Cush, but on Canaan. Neither Ham nor Canaan was black, but Caucasian.
Who were the descendants of Japheth [Gen. 10:1-5]?
Japheth’s sons made up the Gentile nations north and west of Canaan. They were Greeks, Romans, Persians, and the Babylonians. What is called the European nations today.
Who were the descendants of Ham [Gen. 10:6-20]?
Ham’s son Canaan made up the Canaanites that were in the Promised Land or near the Promised Land, and fought with Israel. They made up Palestine, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Philistine, Libya, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Babylon, and all the other “ites.”
Who were the descendants of Shem [Gen. 10:21-32]?
Shem’s sons made up the Godly line of the Jews. This was the lineage of Abraham [Gen. 11:12-26]. Notice that chapter 10 is a record of the nations divided by their languages [Gen. 10:31] after the Tower of Babel account [Gen. 11:1-9]. Chronologically chapter 11 is before chapter 10. As the peoples of the world were divided in different regions according to their languages, they adapted certain physical characteristics and skin pigmentation that we identify with their race. One would be hard-pressed to get black skin as a curse, but rather the curse was servitude.
