Genesis 9 Analysis
Genesis 9 is an extremely important chapter in the book of Genesis. It introduces the idea of capital punishment, tells the story of Noah and his sons, and introduces God’s covenant with all life on earth. It is very important because this chapter is the relatable to Genesis one through three, because it is a new beginning for the earth and all the life that inhabits it adter the flood. Through all of the information given in this chapter, we are given a lesson on right and wrong. At the beginning of Genesis 9, God blesses Noah and his sons after the flood. He tells them to be fruitful and multiply, just as God told man in Genesis 1. The flood in the previous chapters was meant to be a “reset” for the earth, so after the flood God restated
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In the story Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk off of the wine that was produced from it. When he became drunk from the wine he lied naked in his tent. The youngest of Noah’s sons walks in and sees him lying naked and goes to tell his two brothers, Shem and Japheth about it. When they hear of their father’s situation, they cover him with a cloak as they have their faces turned away so that they do not see him naked. When Noah wakes and hears of what occurred, he curses Canaan, Ham’s son. The question then lies, “why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham?” In The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis Leon R. Kass has the idea that because Ham showed disrespect to his father, Noah, Noah curses Canaan so that Canaan disrespects Ham. This idea can be related back to the idea of capital punishment when it is first introduced in Genesis 9. When it is stated that “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” it also implies somewhat of an “eye for an eye” policy. If man kills another man, then he too shall be killed by man. This relates to Noah cursing Canaan, because if Noah did curse Canaan so that he would disrespect Ham as Ham disrespected Noah, the idea of an “eye for an eye” policy is still shown. Noah also Blesses Shem and Japheth in the story because they covered him. This shows that if you do a good deed, you may be
In the story Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk off of the wine that was produced from it. When he became drunk from the wine he lied naked in his tent. The youngest of Noah’s sons walks in and sees him lying naked and goes to tell his two brothers, Shem and Japheth about it. When they hear of their father’s situation, they cover him with a cloak as they have their faces turned away so that they do not see him naked. When Noah wakes and hears of what occurred, he curses Canaan, Ham’s son. The question then lies, “why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham?” In The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis Leon R. Kass has the idea that because Ham showed disrespect to his father, Noah, Noah curses Canaan so that Canaan disrespects Ham. This idea can be related back to the idea of capital punishment when it is first introduced in Genesis 9. When it is stated that “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” it also implies somewhat of an “eye for an eye” policy. If man kills another man, then he too shall be killed by man. This relates to Noah cursing Canaan, because if Noah did curse Canaan so that he would disrespect Ham as Ham disrespected Noah, the idea of an “eye for an eye” policy is still shown. Noah also Blesses Shem and Japheth in the story because they covered him. This shows that if you do a good deed, you may be