Genesis 9:25

9:25 So he said,

“Cursed ¹  be Canaan! ² 

The lowest of slaves ³ 

he will be to his brothers.”

Genesis 10:15

10:15 Canaan was the father of ⁴  Sidon his firstborn, ⁵  Heth, ⁶ 

Genesis 37:1

Joseph’s Dreams

37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ⁷  in the land of Canaan. ⁸ 

Genesis 45:25

45:25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ⁹ 

[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.

[10:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathered.”

[10:15]  ⁵ sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.

[10:15]  ⁶ tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[37:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”

[37:1]  ⁸ sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob – that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.

[45:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they entered the land of Canaan to their father.”