1. Noah’s blessings and curses (9:18-29)

It is not long before the new world of Noah experiences again the effect of sin. The particular nature of the sin here is unclear. The incident described is surely a euphemism for some sexual indiscretion. The point of the story is simply to compare the faithfulness of Shem and Japheth with the dishonor of Ham and leads into a curse on Canaan (vv.25-27). It is probable that etiological purposes are at work here, and the references to Noah’s sons suggest future conflict between Israel anticipated in Shem and the Canaanites.