Genesis 9:25

9:25 So he said,

“Cursed ¹  be Canaan! ² 

The lowest of slaves ³ 

he will be to his brothers.”

Deuteronomy 27:18

27:18 ‘Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Jeremiah 48:10

48:10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!

A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction! ⁴ 

Malachi 1:14

1:14 “There will be harsh condemnation for the hypocrite who has a valuable male animal in his flock but vows and sacrifices something inferior to the Lord. For I am a great king,” ⁵  says the Lord who rules over all, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”

[9:25]  ¹ sn For more on the curse, see H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS), and J. Scharbert, TDOT 1:405-18.

[9:25]  ² sn Cursed be Canaan. The curse is pronounced on Canaan, not Ham. Noah sees a problem in Ham’s character, and on the basis of that he delivers a prophecy about the future descendants who will live in slavery to such things and then be controlled by others. (For more on the idea of slavery in general, see E. M. Yamauchi, “Slaves of God,” BETS 9 [1966]: 31-49). In a similar way Jacob pronounced oracles about his sons based on their revealed character (see Gen 49).

[9:25]  ³ tn Heb “a servant of servants” (עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים, ’eved ’avadim), an example of the superlative genitive. It means Canaan will become the most abject of slaves.

[48:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “who withholds his sword from bloodshed.” This verse is an editorial aside (or apostrophe) addressed to the Babylonian destroyers to be diligent in carrying out the work of the Lord in destroying Moab.

[1:14]  ⁵ sn The epithet great king was used to describe the Hittite rulers on their covenant documents and so, in the covenant ideology of Malachi, is an apt description of the Lord.