Noah and his sons: the origin of grape growing and winemaking, the drunkenness and the nakedness of the patriarch (commentary of gen. 9:18-21)

There is an interesting fragment in the Book of Genesis - 9:18-27, concerning Noah’s drunkenness, his sons’ actions and the subsequent curse and blessings which Noah pronounced on his children, having predetermined the destiny of their descendants. This episode remains puzzling, at the same time there is still no detailed Orthodox commentary in Russian, which would address all of the issues associated with the interpretation of the given episode. A cycle of three articles considering the specified fragment is submitted to a reader’s attention. The present article analyzes the introduction remarks 9:18-19 as well as the initial fragment 9:20-21, which depicts Noah planting a vineyard and making wine and the following drunkenness of the righteous man and his nakedness in the tent. The rapt attention is paid to the analysis of the questions at issue: whether Noah was the first grape grower and winemaker and to what degree one can speak about Noah’s guilt in what happened to him. A special feature of our commentary is wide use of the Holy Fathers’ interpretations as well as traditional Judaic ones.