Early Christian Views on Noah, Ham, and Canaan

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

...lves, but took names from those who were first born and had lived there. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. From these the whole human family increased, and every region of the earth first received its inhabitants from them. For the word of God to them took effect when the Lord said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth." That one word had such great power that from the three sons of Noah, 72 children were begotten in the family: from Shem, 25; from Japheth, 15; and from Ham, 32. To Ham, however, these 32 children were born according to earlier declarations. Among Ham's children are Canaan, from whom came the Canaanites; Mizraim, from whom came the Egyptians; Cush, from whom came the Ethiopians; and Phut, from whom came the Libyans. According to the language commonly used among them, they are still to this day called by the names of their ancestors. Yes, even in the Greek language they are called by the names by which they have now been identified. But even if these places had not been inhabited before, and even if it could not be proved that a human race had existed there from the beginning, still these sons of Noah, a worshipper of God, are enough to prove

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

...Deucalion. And this Noah had three sons, as we mentioned in the second book. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japhet. They also had three wives, one wife for each man, each man with his wife. Some have given this man the surname Eunuchus. Therefore, all eight persons who were found in the ark were preserved. And Moses showed that the flood lasted forty days and forty nights. Torrents poured from heaven, and the fountains of the deep burst open, so that the water rose fifteen cubits above every high hill. And so the whole human race that existed at that time was destroyed, and only those who were sheltered in the ark were saved. As we have already said, these were eight. And the remains of the ark can still be seen to this day in the Arabian mountains. This, then, is the summary of the history of the flood.

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness

And God Most High ordered him to come down from the holy mountain, he and his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, and to build a ship with three levels. The lowest level was for fierce, wild, and dangerous beasts. Between them there were stakes or wooden beams, to separate them from each other and prevent them from having intercourse with each other. The middle level was for birds and their different kinds. Then the upper level was for Noah himself and his sons, for his own wife and his sons' wives.

Genesis 7:13 Direct teaching

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

Genesis 10:1 Direct teaching

Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.

Genesis 8:18 Direct teaching

And Noah came forth, and his wife and his sons, and his sons’ wives with him.

Genesis 7:6 Supporting witness

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water was upon the earth.

Genesis 7:7 Direct teaching

And then went in Noah and his sons and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him into the ark, because of the water of the flood.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Direct teaching

...h, which you may not know. It is this: in the blessings Noah bestowed upon his two sons, and in the curse pronounced on his son's son. The Spirit of prophecy did not curse the son who had been blessed by God along with his brothers. But because the punishment for the sin would follow the entire line of the son who mocked his father's nakedness, he directed the curse to begin with his son. In what he said, he predicted that the descendants of Shem would retain the property and homes of Canaan, and that the descendants of Japheth would eventually seize the property that Shem's descendants had taken from Canaan's descendants; and they would plunder the descendants of Shem, just as they had plundered the sons of Canaan. Listen to how it has occurred. You, who are descended from Shem, invaded the land of the sons of Canaan by God's will and took possession of it. It is clear that the sons of Japheth, by God's judgment, have in turn invaded you and claimed your land. It is written: 'And Noah awoke from the wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him; and he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant; a servant shall he be to his brothers. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; a

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

... as he flew in the air in an unnatural manner, was dashed against the earth. Moreover, Noah and his sons were with him in the ark. But Ham, who alone was found wicked, received punishment in his son. But if fathers are not punished for their children, nor children for their fathers, then it is clear that neither will wives be punished for their husbands, nor servants for their masters, nor one relation for another, nor one friend for another, nor the righteous for the wicked. But everyone will be required to give an account of his own doing. For neither was punishment inflicted on Noah for the world, nor was Lot destroyed by fire for the Sodomites, nor was Rahab slain for the inhabitants of Jericho, nor Israel for the Egyptians. For not living together, but agreement in their mindset, alone could condemn the righteous with the wicked. We ought not, therefore, to listen to such persons who call for death, and hate mankind, and love accusations, and under fair pretenses bring men to death. For one man shall not die for another, but everyone is held with the chains of his own sins. Proverbs 5:22. And, behold, the man and his work is before his face. Isaiah 62:11. Now we ought to he

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

...criptures themselves blame the patriarchs and prophets, we should not criticize them or become like Ham, who mocked his father's shame and thus fell under a curse; instead, we should give thanks to God on their behalf, since their sins have been forgiven through the advent of our Lord. For He said that they gave thanks for us and gloried in our salvation. Regarding those actions on which the Scriptures do not pass judgment, but merely report as having happened, we should not become accusers of those who committed them, for we are not more exact than God, nor can we be superior to our Master; instead, we should search for a meaning in them. For nothing recorded in Scripture without condemnation is meaningless." An example is found in the case of Lot, who led his daughters out of Sodom, and they then conceived by their own father; who left his wife behind within the land, who remains a pillar of salt to this day. Lot, not acting on his own will or due to carnal desire, nor having any knowledge or thought of such things, indeed fulfilled a symbolic meaning. As Scripture says: "And that night the elder went in and lay with her father; and Lot did not know when she lay down or when s

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

and let Canaan be his servant.’ Accordingly, as two peoples were blessed,—those from Shem, and those from Japheth,—and as the offspring of Shem were decreed first to possess the dwellings of Canaan, and the offspring of Japheth were predicted as in turn receiving the same possessions, and to the two peoples there was the one people of Canaan handed over for servants;

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

And when one of his sons, whose name was Cham, had seen this, he did not cover his father's nakedness, but went out and told the circumstance to his brothers also.

Genesis 9:25 Direct teaching

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Genesis 9:22 Direct teaching

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:26 Supporting witness

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Genesis 9:27 Supporting witness

God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Genesis 10:32 Direct teaching

These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.

Genesis 9:19 Supporting witness

These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

...g the mystery of the cross; just as Noah was saved by wood when he floated over the waters with his family. So, when the prophet says, 'I saved you in the times of Noah,' as I've already mentioned, he is addressing those who are equally faithful to God and bear the same signs. For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led your nation through the sea. And you believe this was spoken only to your nation or to the land. However, the entire earth, as Scripture states, was flooded, and the water rose fifteen cubits above all the mountains, making it clear that this was not spoken to the land, but to the people who obeyed Him: for whom He had prepared a resting place in Jerusalem, as previously shown by all the symbols of the flood; meaning that by water, faith, and wood, those who are prepared beforehand and repent of the sins they have committed will escape from the coming judgment of God."

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

...n that baptism of the world, when its ancient wickedness was washed away, the person who was not in Noah's ark could not be saved by water, so also a person cannot seem to be saved by baptism if he has not been baptized in the Church, which is established in the unity of the Lord according to the sacred mystery of the one ark.

Tatian, The Diatessaron Supporting witness

For as it was in the days of Noah, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Before the flood, they were eating and drinking, taking wives, and giving wives to men, until the day Noah entered the ark. They did not realize it until the flood came and took them all away. So the coming of the Son of Man will be. And as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day Lot went out from Sodom, the Lord rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. So it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, whoever is on the roof, with his garments in the house, must not go down to take them. And he who is in the field must not turn back behind him. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever desires to save his life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life will save it. Truly I say to you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken, and the other left. Two women will be grinding at one mill; one will be taken, and the other left. And two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other left. They answered and said to him, "To what place, our Lord?" He said to them, "Where the bod

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...east from it. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; but they alone would be delivered themselves." Ezekiel 14:13-14 Thus, not everything that is asked depends on the expectation of the one asking, but on the free will of the one giving. Nor can human judgment claim or seize anything for itself or for us, unless the divine good pleasure approves it.

Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness

...ed and uncovered, that his second son saw his father's nakedness and told it publicly, but that two sons, the oldest and the youngest, covered it. There are other details that it is not necessary to trace out, since this alone is enough for us to hold: Noah, presenting a type of the future truth, did not drink water, but wine, and in this way expressed the figure of the Lord's passion.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...red righteous Noah from that flood by an ark, 1 Peter 3:20, with eight souls, the end of the former generations and the beginning of those who were to come. You kindled a fearful fire against the five cities of Sodom, and turned a fruitful land into a salt lake because of the wickedness of those who lived in it, but snatched holy Lot out of the fire. You are He who delivered Abraham from the impiety of his forefathers, appointed him to be the heir of the world, and revealed Your Christ to him; who beforehand ordained Melchizedek as a high priest for Your worship; who made Your patient servant Job the conqueror of that serpent who is the patron of wickedness; who made Isaac the son of the promise, and Jacob the father of twelve sons, and increased his posterity into a multitude, and brought him into Egypt with seventy-five souls. You, O Lord, did not ignore Joseph, but granted him, as a reward for his chastity for Your sake, rule over the Egyptians. You, O Lord, did not ignore the Hebrews when they were afflicted by the Egyptians on account of the promises made to their fathers, but You delivered them and punished the Egyptians. And when men had corrupted the law of nature, and h

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

who brought the great flood upon the world by reason of the multitude of the ungodly, and delivered righteous Noah from that flood by an ark, 1 Peter 3:20 with eight souls, the end of the foregoing generations, and the beginning of those that were to come;

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge, i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power.