20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
Ge 9:20–25, ESV
Through the Bible: Genesis 8-11
The story of Noah cursing his son Ham in Genesis 9 is one of the first “What was that about?” moments in Scripture. If you trying to read the Bible through this year, get used to it. We’re gonna have a lot of those.
The flood is over. The ark has come to rest. Humanity has been given a second beginning. Noah—described just chapters earlier as a righteous man—plants a vineyard, drinks from it, and lies uncovered in his tent. His son Ham sees his father’s nakedness and tells his brothers. Shem and Japheth take a garment, walk backward, and cover their father’s nakedness without looking.
After that, Noah curses Ham, and when you read about his descendants in the following verses, you see the lineup of Israel’s enemies for the remainder of the Old Testament. The Bible seems to be establishing that the source of Israel’s troubles was the curse Noah laid upon his middle son.
It’s a super awkward scene, and it has led to a lot of speculation about what’s left unsaid in the story. Is there more to the story?
I think there is, but I don’t think it’s so much about Ham’s shameful actions as it is about God’s righteousness and mercy. Here’s why:
A second Adam
Genesis is quietly inviting us to read Noah as a second Adam.
Both men stand at the head of humanity. Both live in cultivated spaces—a garden for Adam, a vineyard for Noah. In a way, both partake of forbidden fruit– Adam because God commanded him not to eat the fruit from the tree, and Noah because of what Scripture later names and prohibits as drunkenness (Leviticus 10:9).
So both sin. And in both stories, sin is followed immediately by nakedness and shame.
That parallel is not incidental. Genesis wants us to feel the echo. The flood did not negate man’s fallen nature. Judgment did not cure the human heart. Even after a fresh start, humanity still bends toward exposure and shame.
Nakedness after the fall
Before sin, nakedness was innocent. After sin, nakedness becomes shameful.
Adam and Eve realize they are naked and try to cover themselves with fig leaves. It’s a human attempt to manage shame—thin, fragile, insufficient. God responds by doing something Adam and Eve cannot do for themselves. He kills animals and clothes them with skins. (File this away for later: Shame is covered, but at a cost. Blood had to be shed. This too looks toward the cross. According to Hebrews 9:22, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin.)
That moment becomes one of the quiet theological anchors of Scripture: sin exposes, but God covers.
Noah’s shame and two responses
Ham sees his father’s vulnerability and tells his brothers. Whatever else is going on in that act—and scholars have debated it for centuries—it is at least this: a refusal to protect dignity. Ham turns weakness into spectacle.
Shem and Japheth respond with restraint and reverence. They do not deny Noah’s sin. They do not excuse it. But they refuse to exploit it. Just as God did for Adam and Eve, Noah’s sons do for their father: they cover what should not be exposed.
That contrast is the heart of the story.
This is not only about what Noah did. It’s about what his sons did when confronted with another person’s failure.
God’s righteousness expressed through human obedience
Here’s where the story deepens.
In Eden, God himself provides the covering. In Noah’s tent, God is not visible in the scene at all. Instead, righteousness shows up through the obedience of two sons who act in a God-like way.
The covering still happens. Grace is still extended. But this time, it comes through human hands.
The story of Shem and Japheth prefigures the priesthood. God remains the one who covers shame, yet he increasingly chooses to do so through people who mirror his mercy.
What the story is really about
Don’t hear me saying this passage isn’t at all about sin. It is. Ham’s actions matter. Noah’s failure matters. Sin is never trivialized in Scripture. But it would be an equally serious mistake to say the story is mainly about Ham’s wickedness.
The crux of the story is the covering.
The story does not end with shame. It ends with dignity restored and God’s purposes moving forward. Shame does not get the last word.
This pattern runs all the way through Scripture. Sin exposes. Shame follows. God covers.
Sometimes God covers shame directly, as he did for Adam and Eve. Sometimes God covers shame through priests. It is no coincidence that the Hebrew word for cover– kaphar, and the Hebrew word for atonement– kippur, share the same etymology.
Ultimately, God covered our shame through Christ himself.
The gospel does not deny sin. It deals with it honestly. But it refuses to let shame reign unchecked. In Christ, the covering becomes complete—not a garment, not a cloak, but righteousness itself.
Genesis shows us the problem early, but it also gives us the answer early.
The question it keeps asking us is not only, What do you do when you sin?
But also, What do you do when you see someone else’s sin?
Expose—or cover.
Mock—or restore.
Exploit vulnerability—or mirror the mercy of God.
From Eden to Noah, and from Noah to the cross, Scripture keeps insisting on this truth:
Sin may be exposed—but in the hands of a righteous God, shame does not have to be.
Related Content for this Day
- Day 003: Without the Shedding of Blood…(Genesis 8:20-22)
- Day 003: Is God Threatened by Human Progress? (Genesis 11:6-7)
This blog will always be a free resource for anyone who wants to grow in their love for God’s Word. If it has blessed you and you would like to support the ministry of 66in52, please consider a one time or recurring donation. Thank you!
Leave a ReplyCancel reply