Noah's Drunken Nakedness

In this excerpt from our discussion of the theology of Genesis, Caleb Lewis, host of the Bible in Context podcast, joins JM to talk about the infamous “drunk, naked Noah” passage!

Stay tuned for the full episode coming soon!

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[israelrivera]

When a difficult passage has a simple logical biblical explanation like this one we say; *"Yes!, that makes much more sense, why nobody including me could see this?!!"* Im definetely buying this Book !!

[drbill-rf]

John Bergsma and Scott Hahn published an article in the JBL in 2005 presenting the same interpretation of the relationship between uncovering the nakedness of Noah and the Cursing Canaan. This is the most persuasive explanation I've heard about explaining why it was Canaan who was cursed for what Lot did. I'm sure this book is a more expansive explanation of the pericope. I look forward to reading it.

[spacemanspiff]

Dr Heiser has taught this interpretation years ago on his Naked Bible podcast. The product of this unholy union was Canaan, and the reason he received the curse, not Ham.

[rdowdy]

This passage makes for a good test for Bible commentaries. Most portray the scene as a simple case of schadenfreude at Noah being drunk and naked. Some mention the theories that Ham castrated Noah or had sex with him. The best explanation of the theory in this video I've seen in a commentary is in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible:
"the expression is an idiom for maternal incest, where (1) a father’s nakedness is an indirect way of referring to the nakedness of his wife (as in Lev 18:7), and (2) “seeing” nakedness is synonymous with “uncovering” the nakedness of a close relative to engage in sexual relations (as in Lev 20:17). So understood, Ham is guilty of having sexual relations with his mother, and this explains why a curse falls, not on himself, but on his son, Canaan, who would seem to be the child conceived of this sinful union (9:25)."

[AlexanderosD]

Recently heard Sam Shamoun go over this same theory. He lays out a perfect connection between scriptures on the one flesh of marriage, the nakedness revealed, and punishments/consequences.

I cannot believe I didn't make that connection before!
Noah's response with such a drastic curse even onto his own next generation, only makes sense in light of "Noah's nakedness" being his own wife.

[Jewell-]

I've heard a Catholic say that's what happened; The Catholic and this guy(at least in this video) don't explain the brothers talking a blanket to cover the nakedness while looking away.

I don't really have an opinion of it was nudity, raping Noah, or raping Noah's Wife.

The Leviticus argument supports the Raping of Noah or Noah's Wife.

But the Brothers taking a blanket and averting their eyes heavily supports the Noah just being naked,
Unless there is some explanation for that.

[gabriellehoffman]

God's Word is soooo precisely inspired! He has His perfect reasons for choosing the expressions He inspired the authors to use.

[RobertGrif]

In the comments of another YouTube video on the book of Genesis with a mixed religious-secular audience, someone had remarked that Noah cursing Canaan was really stupid, and so I responded by pointing out this interpretation. The original commenter and multiple other people emphatically said I was wrong and stupid for even suggesting it. It truly stunned me to see that some people can be so incurious and prefer to read the Bible in the most uncharitable way.

[ShaneZettelmier]

Well, he didn’t get his mom pregnant and create the curse of Canaan from just seeing his dad naked.

[briteddy]

Agree with your interpretation. Maternal rape resulting in the son Canaan has the better explanatory power. I like that your statement that this is not PG-13.

[NicholasMcClure]

I can see the merits of this line of thought - however, what I think undercuts this idea is what the other two brothers did "Shem and Japheth took the garment[h] and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way[i] so they did not see their father’s nakedness." If his nakedness was being used as a euphemism for some sort of sexual misconduct, either to him or his wife, what would be the point of the other brothers going in with averted eyes and re-covering their father? What would that symbolically represent? For that reason, I'm not sure I can get on board with this interpretation.

[dalerobinson]

Wow! You just had C.S. Lewis on your program!

[JohnDelong-qmiv]

Noah s misadventures are memorialized in saturnalia, bachus, Dionysus and in many idols which portray him sleep and naked . Bhudda is also memorialized as sleeping in a boat

[timhickman]

Just to note: there is absolutely NO evidence or statement that Noah’s wife was actually Ham’s mother.

[israelrivera]

Moreover, Noah had prior and precise instructions from God to populate the earth with his descendants. Therefore, in order to curse his son's descendants, he would have necessarily needed a valid and indisputable biblical basis. In the context of the entire scripture up to that point in Genesis, there is not a single convincing argument to consider it a serious offense for a son to see his father naked, even if he mocked his father's nakedness with disdain and ridicule. On the other hand, there are convincing arguments in Genesis against having relations with your father's wife, even if she is not your own mother."

[XYGamingRemedyG]

Pretty sure there's a verse that clarified uncovering father's nakedness as sleeping with the mom.

[عبدالله-نهص]

I advise you to host Dr. Haitham Talaat, he has a lot of information about the prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad in the Holy Bible

[monicadiazrivera]

Finally, someone gets this, the Bible did answer this in Leviticus. Plus how would God curse Ham when he had blessed him! Caanan obviously produced by an unholy union.

[deanfry]

So, how long did Ham live after the incident. Maybe Noah cursed Canaan because Ham was already dead by the time Noah woke up. What would you do if someone told you they were misusing your mother and there was no restraint on your actions?

[missmouse]

I don't understand, I am using the NKJV and no females are mentioned in this at all, it only says it was Noah (Genesis 8:21-24)
I have heard that the interpretation that the issue was that Ham saw his father doing something shameful and he went and gossiped about it whereas the other two sons went and took care of the father and didn't even look so in order to spare him from further shame when he sobered up