Who
One of Noah’s three sons, saved in the ark. “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside” (Genesis 9:22); his brothers covered Noah, and Noah’s curse fell not on Ham but on his son Canaan. In the table of nations, “The sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan” (Genesis 10:6), the peoples of Africa and of Canaan; the Psalms call Egypt “the land of Ham” (Psalm 105:23). The Fathers took the contrast between Ham’s mockery and his brothers’ reverence as a lesson in honouring one’s father.
Key verses
- Genesis 5:32
Noah was five hundred years old, then Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
- Genesis 9:22
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
- Genesis 10:6
The sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
- 1 Chronicles 1:4
Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Where the Bible names him
Family
Discussed by
Comments on the verses that name him.
- Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virgins I.9
Other passages from the Song of Songs are considered with relation to the present subject, and St. Ambrose exhorting the virgin to seek for Christ, points out where He may be found. A description of His perfections…
- Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy I.18
On the different functions of modesty. How it should qualify both speech and silence, accompany chastity, commend our prayers to God, govern our bodily motions; on which last point reference is made to two clerics in…