Noah and his sons: the crime of ham, the goodness of Shem and Japheth (commentary of Gen. 9:22-24)

The present article is the second part of the cycle of three articles which consider the fragment of Gen. 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. The present article analyzes the act of Ham, who saw his father’s nakedness and told his brothers about it, and the virtue of Shem and Japheth who covered their sleeping father with clothes. Separately, attention is drawn to the fact that the commandment to honour parents is a congenital imperative for a person and it had been actual long before the Sinai legislation. A special emphasis is made on the analysis of Judaic views on the sin of Ham and possible participation of Canaan in this incident. We also consider in detail the question of who is called “the younger son of Noah” at 9:24. Finally, the article provides an interesting comparison of Noah and Adam. As usually, a special feature of our commentary is wide use of the Holy Fathers’ interpretations as well as traditional Judaic ones.