Ham
“Hot or warm, possibly related to the sun-burnt complexion of African peoples”
Summary
Ham was one of Noah's three sons, progenitor of the peoples who settled in Africa and parts of Asia, including the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Canaanites.
☩Identity and Family
Ham was one of Noah's three sons, along with Shem and Japheth. He was married at the time of the Flood and with his wife was saved from the general destruction in the ark. His sons were Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. The general opinion is that all the southern nations derive their origin from Ham, to which the Hebrew root meaning "to be hot" lends some force. This meaning seems confirmed by the Egyptian word KEM (Egypt), believed to be the Egyptian equivalent of Ham, which as an adjective signifies "black," probably implying warmth as well as darkness.
☩The Incident with Noah
Having provoked the wrath of his father by an act of disrespect toward him when Noah was intoxicated, Noah cursed Ham's descendants to be slaves to his brothers' descendants. The curse, however, was directed specifically against Canaan (Ham's fourth son) and his race, thus excluding from it the descendants of Ham's three other sons. How that curse was accomplished is taught by the subsequent history of the Canaanites, who were displaced by the Israelites.
☩The Land of Ham
Egypt is recognized as "the land of Ham" in Scripture. The Psalms refer to Egypt by this designation when recounting God's dealings with Israel: His wonders performed in the land of Ham, Joseph being sold into the land of Ham, and Israel dwelling as strangers in the land of Ham. This connection between Ham and Egypt is strengthened by the relationship of the name to the Egyptian word for their own land.
☩Hamitic Civilization
The three most illustrious Hamite nations—the Cushites, the Phoenicians, and the Egyptians—produced remarkable civilizations. Solid grandeur characterizes Hamitic architecture, as seen in the earliest structures of Egypt, Babylonia, and South Arabia. The first steps in arts and sciences seemingly are due to the Hamites, and the earliest empires were theirs, their power of organization being great. However, material rather than moral greatness was theirs, and their civilization, though early, decayed sooner than that of the Semitic and Japhetic races.
☩Place Names
Besides referring to the patriarch and his descendants, Ham appears as a place name. According to Genesis 14:5, Chedorlaomer and his allies smote the Zuzim in a place called Ham, probably in the territory of the Ammonites (Gilead), east of the Jordan. The Simeonites, in searching for pasture for their flocks, came to a place where "they of Ham" had dwelt of old, possibly an Egyptian settlement connected with the southern part of Palestine.
Related Verses17 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Ham," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Ham," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 3.George Morrish, "Ham," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Ham," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).