Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. Following the Great Flood, what does the Lord say about man? See Genesis 8:21 (printed below). Compare this statement with what is recorded in Genesis 6:5 (printed below). What does this tell us about man’s heart?
And Jehovah smelled the sweet aroma and said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again destroy every living creature, as I have done. (Genesis 8:21)
And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every conception of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
Following the Great Flood, the Lord declares, “the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (8:21). Compare this statement with Genesis 6:5 that is describing the state of the human race just prior to the flood: “And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every conception of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) What we learn is that not even a cataclysmic flood could change the nature of man’s heart.
2. Compare and contrast Genesis 9:1-3 (printed below) with Genesis 1:28-29 (printed below).
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth. (2) The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens. All the creatures with which the land teems, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand. (3) Everything that lives and moves shall be food for you. Just as I have given you the green plants, so now I give you all things. (Genesis 9:1-3)
And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. (29) And God said, I have given you every seed-bearing plant that is upon the surface of the whole earth, and every tree that bears fruit with seed in it; to you they shall be for food. (Genesis 1:28-29)
Genesis 9, (as did Genesis 8), is describing a renewed creation, but with some modifications when compared with the original creation. Genesis 9:1, God blessed Noah, giving to him and his sons the commandment to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth—compare this with Genesis 1:28a. Genesis 9:2, God renews man’s dominion over all the creatures of the world, but this time it is a dominion by fear: “the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth”—compare this with Genesis 1:28b. Genesis 9:3, the Lord again gives to man permission to eat of all the creation, but this time He includes the eating of meat—compare this with Genesis 1:29. Noah and his family now find themselves the sole inhabitants of a renewed creation, but one that bears the scars of sin.
3. What law does God institute in Genesis 9:5-6 (printed below?) What does He establish for Noah and the creation in Genesis 9:8-17 (printed below?) Why does He do so?
And surely for your lifeblood will I require an accounting; from every beast will I require it, and also from man. From each man I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. (6) Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; because God made man in the image of God. (Genesis 9:5-6)
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, (9) I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; (10) and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you—all that come out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. (11) I establish my covenant with you; never again shall all mortal life be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth. (12) And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature that is with you, a perpetual covenant for all generations to come. (13) I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (14) Whenever I bring a cloud over the earth, the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud, (15) and I will remember my covenant, that is between me and you and every living creature of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all mortal life. (16) When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it, and so be reminded of the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is upon the earth. (17) So God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all mortal life that is upon the earth. (Genesis 9:8-17)
As pointed out, Noah and his family now find themselves the sole inhabitants of a renewed creation, but one that bears the scars of sin. It is now necessary for the Lord to state the prohibition against murder and institute capital punishment as the penalty for violating the prohibition (Genesis 9:5-6). God also establishes a covenant with Noah and the creation (Genesis 9:8-17), pledging to preserve it from “premature” universal judgment (note Genesis 8:22) until the final day—so that the Lord’s work of redemption can be accomplished. Noah and his family are now living in a renewed creation, but one that needs divine protection: protection from man’s own violence and protection from the outbreak of God’s righteous judgment.
4. Contrast the actions of Ham with those of Shem. What does this tell us about each of them respectively? See Genesis 9:20-22 and Genesis 9:23 (printed below)
Now Noah became a tiller of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. (21) Then he drank of the wine produced by his vineyard, and he became drunk. And he lay naked in his tent. (22) Then Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers who were outside. (Genesis 9:20-22)
And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon their shoulders, and walking with their backs toward their father, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. (Genesis 9:23)
Ham is not only not repelled by the sight of his father’s lewdness, he has a desire to exploit it: he informs his brothers (in the evil spirit of inviting them to come and see). Here is the spirit of the devil; not only indulging the sinful desires, but tempting others to do so also. In the case of Ham there is demonstrated the inheritance of the sinful nature and the natural heart under the dominion of sin. In the case of Shem there is the evidence of a new heart, recreated by God and no longer under the dominion of sin. Shem resists the temptation to entertain any lewd and perverse passion and to further dishonor his father. Shem takes the initiative (“Shem and Japheth”) in covering his father. Shem is identified with the Lord (verse 26; “Jehovah, the God of Shem”) as one who has been regenerated and brought into the covenant of redemption.
5. Why does Noah pronounce a curse upon Ham’s son Canaan (Genesis 9:24-25?) Hint: take into account Exodus 20:5 (printed below).
Then Noah awoke from his sleep induced by the wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him. (25) Then he said, Cursed be Canaan. The lowliest of servants shall he be to his brothers. (Genesis 9:24-25)
I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquities of the fathers to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me (Exodus 20:5)
The curse falling upon the offender’s son is in keeping with the principle expressed in Exodus 20:5 that declares that the Lord punishes “the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” The whole episode involving Noah, Ham and Canaan emphasizes the fact that the sinful nature is passed on from generation to generation and the natural heart is under the dominion of sin. The sinful nature continues to reside in the heart of each succeeding generation, carrying out its evil intentions, unless there is conversion. We must honestly recognize the need for a new heart, because the old heart, apart from the saving work of God, is under the dominion of sin (cp. Matthew 15:19-20).
