Genesis 45:22

45:22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them, ¹  but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes. ² 

Genesis 45:1

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, ³  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained ⁴  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

Genesis 1:5

1:5 God called ⁵  the light “day” and the darkness ⁶  “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. ⁷ 

Genesis 9:22-24

9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, ⁸  saw his father’s nakedness ⁹  and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment ¹⁰  and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned ¹¹  the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.

9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor ¹²  he learned ¹³  what his youngest son had done ¹⁴  to him.

[45:22]  ¹ tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”

[45:22]  ² tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”

[45:1]  ³ tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

[45:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “stood.”

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “he called to,” meaning “he named.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the darkness he called night.” The words “he called” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Another option is to translate, “Evening came, and then morning came.” This formula closes the six days of creation. It seems to follow the Jewish order of reckoning time: from evening to morning. Day one started with the dark, continued through the creation of light, and ended with nightfall. Another alternative would be to translate, “There was night and then there was day, one day.”

[9:22]  ⁸ sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.

[9:22]  ⁹ tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).

[9:23]  ¹⁰ tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?

[9:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”

[9:24]  ¹² tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.

[9:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “he knew.”

[9:24]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) carries too general a sense to draw the conclusion that Ham had to have done more than look on his father’s nakedness and tell his brothers.