Noah’s Blessings and Curses (Gen 9.25-27)
“Cursed be Canaan;
lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”He also said,
“Blessed by the LORD my God be Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.May God make space for Japheth,
Gen 9.25–27
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.”
Background
Most of the prayers in the Bible are one of four types: praise, thanksgiving, petition, or intercession. Yet the second prayer that appears in the Bible is one of the rare types: a curse and blessing.
Noah asked for a curse on his son Canaan, and blessings on his sons Shem and Japheth. Why? The previous events show that Canaan had acted with disrespect towards his father, while the other two protected and honored him. Showing disrespect for a parent was a great crime in the ancient world—some cultures punished it by death. Because Canaan broke this essential rule of ancient societies, he was condemned.
Most people pray for blessings, but rarely, if ever, pray for a “curse” upon someone.1 Sermons or church classes about prayer seldom mention curse-prayers. Yet there are curse prayers in the Bible. What do we make of this genre?
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