Why Noah Cursed His Step-Grandson Revealed

The story of Noah’s illegitimate grandson begins in the Book of Genesis with the fall of Adam. God allowed Satan to tempt Adam for virtue. Adam ate a forbidden fruit and failed the test. Satan assumed God would cast Adam and Eve into Sheol to await judgement and end this grand experiment. This is what He had done with the angels that rebelled against Him (II Peter 2:4). So it would seem logical that He would do the same with rebellious Adam. But instead, while God cursed Adam and the earth, He said He would allow a human Savior to be born and redeem man (Genesis 3:15, 17-19).

Adam and Eve then had twins named Cain and Abel. Satan assumed, as did Eve, that one of the boys would be the prophesied Savior, so he set about to have them hopefully kill one another (Genesis 4:8).  Please see Paper: Why Cain Killed Abel. While Cain did kill Abel, Satan was disappointed that God only banished him from Eden (Genesis 4:16). Then, to make matters worse, Eve began to have more and more children (Genesis 4:25). Now Satan understood that God was going to allow a race of sinful mankind to exist. And while all would sin and die, God would hold their intelligent spirits in Sheol until a time when the Saviour would be born and bring salvation to both the living and the dead. So now Satan devised a plan to spoil or corrupt the gene pool of all humans so that an unblemished human Saviour could not be born.

To accomplish this goal, he apparently convinced approximately two hundred Guardian angels, also known as Watchers, to descend down to the earth in the area of Mount Hermon in Israel. There they selected and took as wives the daughters of men (Genesis 6:1-2, 4). These women were pagan worshipers in the direct lineage of Cain. And, these unions produced a hybrid race called Nephilim or giants. While it is natural to assume that angels cannot breed with humans, the Bible clearly states the opposite. However, we can know that the angels were commanded by God not to mate with humans because He immediately confined these Guardian angels down into the lowest and darkest depths of Sheol in chains. There they await their judgment of eternal destruction (Jude:6-7). While God did create a Saviour for rebellious mankind, He did not do the same for the angels. It seems they should have known better than to have rebelled having served in the very presence of the Godhead.

This hybrid race of Nephilim began to quickly flourish throughout the lands around Mount Hermon. However, God cut short this plan of Satan by causing a flood to destroy them leaving no trace of their existence (Genesis 6:5-7). God selected a man named Noah to build an ark so that he, his family and certain animals would survive the coming yearlong flood. This plan to save Noah’s family by having them float safely above the flood waters, was a shadow prophecy of a future Great Tribulation period. At that same time, God’s chosen will be raptured up and off the planet while the unrighteous are tested during the Great Tribulation period down below. So it seems at this point that God had successfully countermanded all the schemes of Satan. But not so fast.

While Scripture states that Noah was found righteous in the eyes of God (Genesis 6:8-9), it does not say that Noah’s wife nor his sons nor their wives were found righteous (Genesis 6:10; 7:13). Noah was righteous while his immediate family was considered genetically pure. Meaning, they were the only people free from the corrupted Nephilim genome and as such, fit to repopulate the earth after the flood. We also learn from Scripture that Noah and his three sons were all long-lived (Genesis 10). Once again, this was because God needed them to produce as many children as possible in order to repopulate the earth (Genesis 9:7). Scripture does not tell us if the wives also all lived to extremely old ages. But they probably did as they were genetically pure and there were no other women left after the flood to help with population growth.

Noah lived to the ripe old age of 950 and it appears he must have been married three times. The Bible does not mention much about the wives of the patriarchs. So it is not unusual that we know very little about the names of Noah's wives, how long they lives or what caused their deaths. But we do have some information about Noah's sons which helps us piece together some information about their mothers. We can reason that Noah’s first two sons, Shem and Japheth, were fair complexed like their father and obviously his first wife. We can know this because Scripture tells us that the Spiritual or Jewish race came from Shem. And ancient Jewish texts describe some of the founding fathers of the Jewish race as being fair complexed with blue eyes and reddish hair. Please see related: "What Did Jesus Look Like Revealed". Scripture tells us that the caucasian or European race came from Noah's son Japheth. However, Noah's third or youngest son Ham was dark complexed. Scripture tells us that Ham was the father of the people of color (Genesis 10). These three races with their unique cognitive predispositions produced specialized talents, each specifically designed by God to work in tandem with the others in order to bring the earth under the control of mankind (Genesis 9:2). So, for Noah to have had sons of two different colors, he had to have had children by at least two different wives. Therefore, it would appear that Ham’s mother was Noah’s second wife who survived the flood because of the ark. But Scripture tells us this was not the case.

The Book of Genesis only gives the name of seven matriarchs all of whom played major roles in the families of the founding patriarchs. The fact that Genesis lists the name of Noah’s wife is reason for one to take notice of her. The name of Noah’s wife at the time of the flood is one of these rare seven names. Noah’s wife was named Na’amah (Genesis 4:22). This name is spelled in a variety of ways according to the writer. She was a very curious choice for Noah’s third wife. She is listed as the great, great granddaughter of Cain the first born son of Adam. She is the only descendant of Cain to survive the flood. She was the daughter of Lamech and her brother was the famous Tubal-Cain, the creator of metal crafts including the first weapons of war. So, Noah picked a wife whose blood line was both noble, as it went back to the first born of Adam and Eve, but ignoble in that Cain was the first person ever cursed by God for killing his twin Abel, thus committing the first act of fratricide. Second, it was the descendants of Cain that first began to worship false idols (I John 3:11-12; Hebrews 11:4). Third, it was Cain’s female offspring that mated with the Guardian angels to create a race of giants that would cause God to create a flood to destroy them (Genesis 6:4). Today, many scholars believe that in death, the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim did not automatically go down into Sheol or Hell. Instead, they were cursed to roam the earth indwelling those humans who were spiritually susceptible. And in some cases, the Bible records hundreds of demonic spirits indwelling people. Please see related: “Jesus the Demon Hunter” . So, Na’amah was indeed a curious pick to accompany Noah on his ark.

Scripture tells us that the patriarchs lived extremely long lives but does not state that the general population of the earth was long-lived. The patriarchs were blessed by God in order to accomplish two important goals. First, they were able to accurately pass down eyewitnesses story of creation for two thousand years. Methuselah lived 969 years, and personally knew Adam for over 243 years. He told his grandson Noah stories as related to him by Adam. Noah then told these accounts to his three sons. Shim lived to be 600 years old and personally knew and outlived Abraham c. 2,000 B.C. So the story of the Creator God was told with authority and accuracy for over two thousand years using only four people (Adam, Methuselah, Noah & Shim). Second, God wanted the patriarchs to father as many righteous children as possible in order to keep the unrighteous of the earth in check for as long as possible. Please see related: “Age Chart of the Patriarchs”.

Noah’s first two sons, Shim and Japheth were both light complexed and his third son Ham fathered the African race. So Noah's second wife must have been dark complexed. This would make Na’amah, Noah’s third wife, the stepmother of his three grown sons. She will also be the wife that survives the flood safely on the ark. We can know she was of light complexion as she was a granddaughter or direct descendant of Cain whose father Adam was light completed. We can know Adam was light complexed because God prophesied that, "the seed {Jesus} of the woman {Mary} would crush the head of the serpent {Satan}" (Genesis 3:15). Eve was cloned from Adam (Genesis 2:22-23) and Mary's lineage can be traced back to Adam (Luke 3: 23-38). And we can know Noah was light complexed because he was a direct descendant of Adam and had two light complexioned sons by his first wife.

Perhaps this would be a good time to expand on this light and dark complexion issue. It is only relevant here to show that Noah had two wives with Na’amah being his third. Anthropologists refer to the modern human race by the term Modern Man. This distinguishes Modern Man from previous ancient humanoid like species such as Neanderthal Man and Cro-Magnon Man. Scripture tells us that Modern Man began with the creation of Adam and Eve. Anthropologists cannot explain how Modern Man suddenly appeared on the scene and was so superior to the previous two prehistoric races. But all are in agreement that all humanoid like creatures quickly went extinct with the arrival of Modern Man.

At that time, there was only one race, one religion and one language (Genesis 11:1). There was a time period of 1,656 years between the creation of Adam and the birth of Noah. But by the time of Noah, this original homogeneous group had grown so large that separate family groups or tribes had formed and ventured out from the Land of Eden into the unknown surrounding lands known simply as Nod. This was out of necessity as they needed more land to raise more food to feed more hungry mouths. It was by this time that physical recessive genetic traits began to appear among these various tribes. God did not care what color a person’s eyes, hair or skin was. He created these traits because it pleased him to see diversity among mankind. The appearance of these traits is not evolution but adaptation. Today we know that under the right conditions, these traits can start to develop in only a few generations. Scripture primarily distinguishes people by their tribal or national affiliations and not by skin color or other physical features. The DNA difference between various ethnic groups is only 0.2%. And, while anthropologist classify all races of people into four categories, all groups come from the same origins. That being Adam and Eve. Most evolutionists are now in agreement that Modern Man likely came from a single pair of similar individuals. We can know this because all races of modern man can interbreed and produce healthy offspring. In fact, interbreeding among the races appears to strengthen people on a genetic level.

On an interesting note, Scripture is clear that the race descended from Adam never lived in caves (Genesis 4:17). The prehistoric remains of Neanderthal Man show this race lived in caves as did Cro-Magnon Man. But both species reached a God ordained genetic dead end and went extinct. The remains of Cro-Magnon Man, while more similar to Modern Man, are not descendants of Adam. These two human like species have two possible explanations. They were pre Adamic races that, for reasons known only to God, were destine to go extinct to make way for the race of Adam. Some Biblical scholars believe that these ancient races were related to a great civilization before Adam that sinned against God and caused the earth to be flooded. It was after this flood and the lifting of this curse that the Bible's creation story begins (Genesis 1:2). Or, they may be the remains of early Adamic tribes who wandered too far into the wilderness and became permanently detached from their much larger and genetically diverse tribes. As such, they began to inbreed and over time began to suffer from the same horrific genetic deformations that inevitably occur within all such groups. All that remains of their having existed are skeletal fragments that exhibit human like features and somewhat similar DNA, but with major malformations of the skull along with body size and shapes. Then anthropologists, with the best of intentions, try to fit these poor wretches into a graduation scale from ape to human in order to find the so called missing link. But there is no missing link. Modern Man was specifically created by God and the Bible follows only the race of Adam to it zenith which was the birth of Jesus. To this point, some geneticists now believe that Neandertal Man and Cro-Magnon man were not genetically compatible with Modern Man. Therefore, they could not have interbred. And, if they could not have successfully interbred with Modern Man, this is proof that they cannot be from the same species as Modern Man. That said, one day we will know the answer as to why God created a short lived species that, in some ways, closely resembled Adam’s race.

The rains that accompanied the flood began to fall and the fountains of the deep broke up. This caused the dry land to instantly turn to quicksand (Genesis 7:11). All life in the flood kill zone was destroyed. Some drowned, but most sank quickly into the deep mud. Ultimately, the hybrid race of the Nephilim was now nowhere to be found. Mission accomplished?

Well, unfortunately not so. Genesis tells us that, “there were giants in the land both before and after the flood” (Genesis 6:4; Numbers 13:33). So how was this possible? There are two theories as to how this could have happened. The first and most obvious is the flood did not affect the entire earth, but was instead confined to the Middle East. Please see related: “Did the Flood Effect the Entire World?”. Meaning that giants living is some other part of the earth were not drowned. But if this was the case, why would God destroy the giants in one part of the earth only to leave others to continue to infect mankind’s genome system. The answer is, He would not have done so. Therefore, this theory is ill founded. A second theory is that more angels came down and mated with more human women and created a second epidemic of an alien race. But again, why would God allow a second infection when He had destroyed the earth trying to rid it of the first infection. So yet another false and illogical theory.

But there is a third way this could have happened, and as far as I am aware, it has never been considered. It starts with the end of the flood and the ark resting somewhere in the mountain range of Mount Ararat (Genesis 8:4). Noah, his wife and this three sons with their wives, all leave the ark and walk down the mountain side to the nearest valley. They no doubt initially stayed close to the ark as it was still loaded with supplies, especially plants and seeds that they had stored for this occasion. The families then started to plant crops near rivers and stream that would provide fresh water. The soil was rich but still had ocean salt deposits, so access to fresh water was imperative. The families planted a wide variety of crops from both saplings and seeds. They lived that first season primarily from the supplies stored on the ark.

In the Fall, they began to harvest the crops. Scripture tells us that Noah planted a vineyard (Genesis 9:20). No doubt his sons also planted grapes. The juice was nutritious and as wine a welcomed treat after a long laborious day in the fields planting, weeding and watering. Noah had fermented some of his grape juice. The process of fermentation is incredibly old and incredibly simple. A juice with a high content of sugar, if allowed to sit, will naturally collect yeast from the air. The yeast absorbs the sugar and excretes alcohol. The longer the yeast is left in the juice, the higher the alcohol content. Eventually the alcohol content will naturally kill the yeast. Still, the ancients were able to produce wine with an alcohol content of between 10% to 12%.

Scripture tells us that one day Noah went into his tent. He had no doubt spent the day working in his fields. We might assume that Na’amah followed him having also worked in the fields. After entering the tent, he apparently started drinking his wine. It is not clear if Na’amah joined him, but in all probably she did. Then, at some point, Noah decide to disrobe. Whether this was to clean up, or go to bed we are not told. But we are told that at some point he passed out naked on the floor due to the effects of the wine (Genesis 9:21). This could also have occurred because he was very old and very tired. Scripture does not tell us if this was a one-time event, or if it had become a regular occurrence.

Next we are told that Ham, Noah’s youngest son by his deceased second wife, enters the tent for an unknown reason. It was then that Ham saw his father naked and unconscious. (Genesis 9:22). There is no mention of Na’amah or her condition. There is no mention that Ham was concerned about his father and his condition nor that he tried to help him. We only read that at some point, Ham left the tent and reported to his two brothers that their father had passed out naked on the floor. Noah’s two sons, Shem and Japheth, go into the tent and cover their father (Genesis 9:23). The fact that Na’amah had not helped her husband may point to the fact that she too was intoxicated and unable to help, or perhaps asleep. This then would seem to be the end of this embarrassing yet curious story. It is startling that the writer, thought to be Moses, decided to include this story of a righteous and heroic person like Noah getting drunk and passing out. It is not a remarkable event by itself, so not worthy of mentioning. Therefore, why include this story and sully the reputation of Noah and all he had accomplished up to this point? Here is why.

We next read that when Noah awoke and, “knew” what his younger son Ham had done to him, he became so enraged that he cast a God ordained curse. So what did Noah learn? Who did he learn it from? How could it have been so terrible that he could righteously cast a curse on one of his own children? And which child, Ham? And, did he do this just because Ham saw him naked? Remarkably, Scripture tells us that Noah did not curse Ham, nor his two sons, nor Na’amah. Instead he cursed Ham’s son named Canaan (Genesis 9:24-25). Wait! Why did he not curse Ham, who is this mysterious child named Canaan, and where did he suddenly come from? Ham did not have a son when he went aboard the ark, and a son is not mentioned leaving the ark one year later. We know that Noah’s sons had many sons and daughters, but Canaan was apparently unique. So unique that Noah was casting a curse on this particular child. But the children of Noah were tasked by God to repopulate the earth (Genesis 9:1). So how could Noah legitimately put a curse on one of Ham’s children? Unless, Canaan was not legitimately related to Noah?

There are two major clues that allow us to further understand what Scripture is telling us. The first clue is that the child was named Canaan. This name is a derivative of the name Cain which has always been a name of derision among God’s people. This is because Cain not only killed his brother, but Abel was his twin. Thus Cain was the world’s first murder and committed the heinous crime of fratricide. Second, why would Ham, or any father name his son after Cain? And why would Noah pass Ham and curse his son? Unless, the sin that was perpetrated against Noah is centered on Canaan. We now need to look at the Hebrew word concerning what Noah “knew” when he awoke. And this now brings Na’amah, Noah’s third wife and stepmother to his three grown children into the story.

The word “knew” in Hebrew is yada. This word can describe two different events. The first is when it is used to describe the act of castration. The second is when it is used to describe a sexual act of some sort. We can rightly assume that Ham did not castrate his father in the tent. While the act of castration is rather simple on animals, it is difficult on a human male and is often deadly. So, the second use of the term better explains how Canaan came to be and it involves Na’amah.

After Noah awoke from his alcoholic induced stupor, Na’amah apparently told him that Ham had taken advantage of her sexually. This could have happened while she was also in a state of inebriation, or in bed asleep. This would explain the use of the Hebrew word knew as being sexual in nature. If Na’amah had been a willing participant with Ham, then Noah would have included her in the curse, or she would have at least been noted as such in the event. But apparently Ham took advantage of Na’amah in such a way as it qualified as rape either by force, or while in a semi unconscious state. This news of Na'amah being raped is what caused Noah to become outraged at Ham. It would have been at this time that Noah would have declared that, should any illegitimate child be conceived from this unholy union, a curse would be imposed on it.

You see, Noah needed to separate the offspring of Canaan from the off spring of Ham. He needed Ham, as chosen by God, to continue to produce children with his wife to repopulate the earth. Canaan, on the other hand, now inherited the tainted gene pool of Na’amah that she received from her ancestral association with the Nephilim or giants. As long as she and Noah did not have children, the “seed of the serpent” would remain crushed by the flood. But now, Canaan carried the Nephilim gene given to him by Na’amah and would eventually recreate the great Canaanite nation complete with giants. The Canaanites would be partially destroyed by Joshua c. 1500 B.C., and then completely destroyed by King David c. 1,000 B.C. David would also take on a mission consigned to him by God to destroy all remaining giants. Please see related: "Giants and Their Genes Revealed", “Mystery of Golgotha Revealed”. Noah’s curse was that the lineage from this child would forever be in a state of servitude to Noah’s other two sons and their offspring (Genesis 9:24-27; Deuteronomy 27:16).

Apparently Na’amah did become pregnant and gave birth to a son. Normally the father named his child, but in this case, Ham had been dishonored and banished while Noah had cursed the child. Therefore, Na’amah apparently named him Canaan in honor of her and his great, great grandfather Cain. And while Canaan was cursed, he was also none the less officially Noah’s stepson by way of his wife. The idea that Na’amah was raped is born out in a single sentence that sums up the perpetrator, crime, outcome, opportunity and alibi. Scripture tells us, “Ham {perpetrator}, who fathered {by rape} Canaan {outcome}, saw his naked unconscious father while in his tent {opportunity} and told his two brothers outside (alibi}”. (Genesis 9:22).

One might ask, what in the world was Ham thinking? Well first, Na’amah was young and perhaps close to his age. Second, her name meant lovely so he may have been attracted to her. Third, she was not a blood relative to Ham. Forth, Ham had been locked in a watertight floating wooden box filled with animals that needed tending and no ventilation for one full year. So, he may very well have suffered from PTSD. Fifth, after leaving the ark, he found himself in a world with only four women. Sixth, He had accidentally walked into a situation in his father’s tent that presented an opportunity that may have previously crossed his mind and thus, made a rash decision. It is what the courts today call a crime of convenience. It was not necessarily premeditated, but only a circumstance that Ham took advantage of. And last, but not least, it may have been that Ham was young and sick and tired of being ordered around by his father and brothers. He may have decided to strike back by sleeping with his elderly father’s young servant wife. This was known in ancient time as part of a coup in which a son attempts to take over his father’s rule. This act typically involved first taking command of the army which controlled the kingdom. Then the son would take command of the ruling family’s line of succession and symbolically castrate his father by sleeping with his father’s wife(s). This was done by Absalom when he conducted a coup to overthrow his father King David by commanding the army and sleeping with David’s wives (II Samuel 16:22). This also meant that Ham would now receive an extra portion of inheritance at Noah’s death as his biological son was also Noah’s stepson.

So, the flood that was designed to destroy the hybrid race of Nephilim was now foiled. Instead of being destroyed, the giant genome had been safely carried over the waters by Na’amah. She was the only relative of Cain left alive after the flood. And this mongrel Nephilim strain was now genetically imbedded in her son who she rightfully named Canaan as he was now the only living male in the direct blood line of Cain. Noah may have known or at least suspected that she carried the Nephilim gene, but since he was old and had no intention on having other children, this would not prove to be a factor in his marrying her. Na’amah was simply a wife to assist him in his old age. The idea that one of his sons might rape their stepmother would not have occurred to such a righteous old man.

Once Noah realized that Ham was capable of raping his wife, he knew Ham could no longer be trusted and would have to be shunned and exiled from the family homestead. It should be noted that Jewish law did not exist until Moses had his meeting with God on Mount Sinai c.1,500 B.C. Jewish law imposes the death penalty in some murder and rape cases. It also imposes the death penalty for adultery (extramarital relations between two married people). This is why God did not sentence Cain to death for killing his brother. Instead, he gave him a period of seven generations from Adam to repent. Cain refused to repent, so God used the hand of Lamech, Cain’s grandson five times removed, to execute Cain. Please see related : “Who Killed Cain Revealed”.

Ham, who was not cursed, traveled south to the African continent and fathered  a race that would fearlessly explore and tame the entire earth. Canaan knew that if he stayed in the land of his stepfather Noah, he and his offspring would forever be relegated to positions of servitude and not leadership roles. So, rather than follow his father into unknown lands, he traveled directly west and settled on the Mediterranean coast. There he founded the tribe known as the Canaanites. And that's why Scripture states, "There were giants in the earth in those days {before the flood}; and after that,{after the flood} …" (Genesis 6:4).

It is very interesting that this area along the Mediterranean coast was chosen by Canaan to call home. Scripture does not say if he was satanically inspired when he made this decision. But we do know that God had reserved this territory to be the homeland of Shem and his tribe the Shimites. So, it is not surprising to read that when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt c. 1500 B.C. and back to the land promised to Abraham and his seed, they found that the territory known as Canaan Land, was filled with ten pagan tribes many containing giants (Exodus 6:4; Numbers 13:33). Demon possession was also now rampant throughout the area. Satan had been very busy for the past 400 years throwing up as many barriers as he could to stop God’s children from resettling the land. The children of Israel were too scared to fight against giants and would not follow Moses’ order to enter into this land (Numbers 13:32-33). God had promised to drive the squatters from the land using millions of stinging hornets (Exodus 23:28). Then, as the population of the Israelites grew, He would gradually continue to open up more and more of the land for their use. But the people had no faith in God’s promises and refused to go forward. So, that generation was cursed by God and force marched into the Sinai wilderness for the next forty years until that generation had died out. It would be their children that would inherit the land. And it would be Joshua who would lead the nation into the land. But first he had to defeat King Og of Basham a giant and his army that included giants. Only then would he have direct access to cross the Jordan and attack Jericho, the capitol of the Canaanite nation (Joshua 6:1-5).

On an interesting note, Scripture tells us that the giant King Og was killed in battle and that his bed of iron, 6 feet wide and 13 feet long, was put on display in the town of Rabbath as a souvenir of victory (Deuteronomy 3:11). 

So here we see where the “seed of the serpent”, which was literally the giants, originally came from and how it was destroyed. We now know how this seed survived the flood, and how it reemerged in the land of God’s people.

In closing, we know that because Joshua had God on his side, he could defeat any tribe that he decided to fight. But, because of the carnage involved, he chose not to fully execute God’s command to expel or kill all the squatter tribes in the Promise Land. Some he defeated, but some he allowed to intermarry and become part of the Jewish nation. This was not what God had commanded and this decision continues to plague the nation of Israel to this very day.