2218 B. C.] "And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine and was drunken: and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 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. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him: and he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem;—and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." [Gen. ix. 20-27.]
The Prophetical part of the above, and its accomplishment, will be proved in the last Chapter of this Volume, and in support of the present Theory:—the Malediction will here be especially noticed as belonging to this history. It is singular that Noah's curse is not cast upon the Son (Ham) who foully wronged his person, but upon that Son's youngest male child,—viz., Canaan. Ham had four Sons only, Shem five, and Japheth seven.
"And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan."
The cause why the Curse was not bestowed upon all the children of Ham, and their descendants, may be as follows:—viz., Noah's last grandson was Canaan, and being born in the very dotage of Noah (for he had no child of his own after the Deluge), it is natural, therefore, that his youngest grandson (and which was the sixteenth) would be the object of his aged fondness,—(as Jacob loved Joseph, being "the son of his old age,")—this must have been known to his Sons and their children, and when his person was violated by his own and youngest son—the Patriarch—to give greater power to his curse of indignation, cast it upon the dearest object of his doting love,—reasoning thus: viz., "My youngest son hath wronged me,—therefore, his youngest son shall suffer." We do not say his youngest child, for that might have been a Daughter,—and the Daughters of Noah, or those of his three Sons are not mentioned in the Bible, although Noah's "Wife" "and his Sons' Wives" are. The same Sacred Historian has omitted any mention of the immediate Daughters of Adam,—and it is evident they must have been born before the birth of Eve's third son,—Seth,—for "Cain knew his Wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch." Now the Wife of Cain must have been his own Sister,—while the grandsons of Noah must have married their Cousins,—or perhaps Sisters. Some sceptical writers have believed that many "Adams and Eves" were placed simultaneously in different parts of the globe:—if not, they say, "they (people) must have married their Sisters." If such disbelievers had travelled through even the paths of history, they would have found that such was actually the custom, even after the Deluge. Abram's Wife,—Sarah,—was his own Step-Sister. It was practised in Egypt, and thought no crime,—from the monarch to the peasant:—but, the progress of Religion and Civilization, with their attendant radiant blessings dispelled the darkness, and destroyed the degenerating custom. Intellect was, also, thereby rescued from gradual but certain decay: for experience has proved, that the nearer the blood relationship of man and wife, the more distant are children of such marriages from intellectual or physical endowments. This slight digression is introduced merely to shew that Moses omitted, in more than the instance of Eve (previous to the birth of her third son), to mention the birth of Daughters,—they are understood to have been born,—attendant upon Nature,—like the bright beams from the Sun!—but, the first Historian was anxious only to record the Sons of Men,—as being the recognised founders of the several branches of the human family. However unjust must be viewed Noah's curse upon an innocent object,—viz., his grandson—Canaan,—most truly and terribly has that malediction been accomplished.
The Arabs at the present day have an ancient law apparently founded upon the above, though in a reverse position and partaking of a strong moral obligation,—viz., If a descendant of "Hagar's offspring"—Ishmael—shall commit a murder, among his own race, the Father of the assassin is given to the executioner,—upon the ground of argument, that the Father had not educated his son correctly,—for if he had, the child would not have committed the homicide! This law has a strong tendency to prevent crime, for the Son would not only give his Father to the sword, and thus become a parricide,—but, worse (in the estimation of the Arabs), he would cast upon his Sire's memory, the lasting infamy of having neglected his own offspring. To prevent this hazard, the Spartan child was educated by the State.
Noah's sentence upon his youngest grandson, for the crime of that child's father, has never been repeated from that day to the present period, or imbodied in a code of laws,—yet has that sentence been literally accomplished upon Canaan and his descendants. The scriptural reader may, however, believe that the principle of the above is again repeated in the Decalogue;—it is true that a curse is there placed in contrast to a blessing,—but (with humility we submit) that is upon a point of Religious worship only.
"Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image [statue], or any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above [Sun, Moon, or Stars], or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.—Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them [i. e. Idols], nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me [i. e. worship other Gods], and shewing mercy unto thousands [i. e. of generations] of them that love me, and keep my commandments." [i. e. not to worship Idols.] (Ex. xx.)
We repeat that the above sentence concerns Religious worship only, and not for any personal act,—for that is covered by the after-laws upon the same Tablets,—and in regard to the crime committed by the father of Canaan, it is especially alluded to in Leviticus [xviii. 7].
Of the Sons of Ham:—Cush, the eldest, was the father of Nimrod, the founder of the Babylonian and Assyrian families: the second son, Mizraim, was the founder of the Egyptian empire,—thence the ancient name of Mizraim being applied to that country.—Phut, the third son, apparently died without issue,—at least there is no scriptural record of his descendants; but, as this would be very improbable in that early date, immediately following the Deluge,—we will venture the suggestion, whether the third Son was not the founder of the great African family—known as Negroes; for this is the only race not defined (apparently) by Moses,—and Phut is the only child of the "accursed" branch of Noah's "house," whose descendants are not mentioned. Canaan—the fourth and youngest son—was the founder of the Canaanites. Canaan had eleven children, all of whom (except one) established Nations known under one general name—Canaanites:—who, as a people were subsequently conquered, and their lands possessed by Moses, Joshua, and the Israelites. The first Child of Canaan, however, was not included with his brethren in founding the Canaanitish family.
"And Canaan begat Sidon, his firstborn." [Genesis x. 15.]