Ham

9This is the story of Noah. Noah was a good and fair man. Among the people of his time, no one could find fault with him. Noah walked with God.

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Note"Walked with God" does not mean going on a walk. It is a way of saying Noah stayed close to God every day.

10Noah had three sons. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth had gone bad in God's sight. It was full of violence, people hurting one another.

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12God looked at the earth and saw that it had gone bad. Every living thing on the earth had ruined its way of living.

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13God said to Noah, "The end of all living things has come before me. The earth is full of violence because of them. Look, I will destroy them along with the earth.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

11Noah was six hundred years old. It was the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month. On that very day all the springs of the deep waters burst open. The windows of the sky were opened.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

NoteLong ago people pictured a huge sea under the ground. Springs were the places where that water pushed up. They also pictured water above the sky, kept behind windows.

12And the rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13On that very same day Noah went into the ark. His sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth went in. Noah's wife and his three sons' wives went in with them.

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

14They went in, and every kind of wild animal. Every kind of farm animal went in. Every kind of crawling thing that moves on the ground went in. Every kind of bird went in, birds of every sort.

They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

NoteCrawling things means small animals that move low on the ground. Think of lizards, mice, and bugs.

15They came to Noah and went into the ark, two by two. Every kind of creature that breathes came.

And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

16The ones that went in were the male and the female of every kind, just as God had told Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

NoteThis means God himself closed the big door of the boat.

18Noah's sons who came out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

NoteCanaan was Ham's son. Later a whole land and its people were named after him, so his name comes up again and again.

19These were Noah's three sons. All the people of the earth came from them.

These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20Noah began to work the ground as a farmer. He planted a vineyard, a field of grape vines.

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

NoteA "husbandman" is an old word for a farmer. A vineyard is a field where grapes grow on vines.

21He drank some of the wine and got drunk. He lay with no clothes on inside his tent.

And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

NoteWine is a strong drink made from grapes. Drinking too much made Noah drunk, so he could not think or act clearly.

22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father lying with no clothes on. He told his two brothers outside.

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

NoteBack then, seeing your father with no clothes on was shameful. A good son would look away and cover him, not go tell others.

23Shem and Japheth took a robe and laid it across both their shoulders. They walked in backward and covered their father. Their faces were turned away, so they did not see him.

And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

NoteThey held the robe behind them and walked in backward on purpose. That way they could cover their father without seeing him.

24Noah woke up from the wine. He found out what his younger son had done to him.

And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25He said, "A curse is on Canaan. He will be the lowest servant to his brothers."

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

NoteA curse is words spoken to wish trouble on someone. "A servant of servants" is a way of saying the very lowest servant.

26He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! And may Canaan be Shem's servant.

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

NoteWhen you see LORD in capital letters, it stands for God's own special name. The Hebrew writers used it for God alone.

27May God give Japheth more room. May he live in the tents of Shem. And may Canaan be his servant."

God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Note"Enlarge" here means to give more room and more land. Families back then lived in tents they could pack up and move.

28After the flood, Noah lived 350 years.

And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29Noah lived 950 years in all. Then he died.

And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

1These are the family lines of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

NoteA family line is a list of who was born from whom. This chapter is a big list like that. The flood was the huge water that covered the earth in Noah's time. Noah and his family were kept safe in a big boat.

2The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

NoteMost of these names are people who each started a whole family group. Later the group and the land were called by that man's name. So the list is really about peoples and places too.

3The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

NoteTarshish and Kittim were far away lands across the water. Boats had to sail a long way to reach them.

5From these men came the peoples by the sea, spread out in their own lands. Each group had its own language, its own families, and its own nation.

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

Note"The isles of the Gentiles" in the old words means lands by the sea. A nation is a big group of people with its own land. Each group here had its own way of talking.

6The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan.

And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

NoteMizraim is the old name for Egypt. Cush was the land south of Egypt. Canaan was the land where Abraham would later live.

7The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

8Cush was the father of Nimrod. Nimrod began to be a mighty man on the earth.

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

Note"A mighty man" means a strong leader that people talked about. He was famous for being brave and powerful.

9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. That is why people say, "Like Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the LORD."

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

Note"Before the LORD" means out where God could see him. When LORD is printed in big letters, it stands for God's own special name. People made up a little saying about Nimrod and repeated it for years.

10His kingdom began with Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

NoteA kingdom is a land with a king over it. Babel was a city that later grew into the great city of Babylon. Shinar was flat land between two rivers, far to the east.

11Out of that land went Asshur, who built Nineveh, the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

NoteNineveh was a huge city that people knew about for a very long time.

12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah. That is a great city.

And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

Note"A great city" means a big and important one, with many people in it.

13Mizraim was the father of the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim,

And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

NoteThese names all end the same way because they are groups, not one man each. It is like saying "the Egyptians" instead of one person's name.

14the Pathrusim, the Casluhim (the Philistines came from them), and the Caphtorim.

And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

NoteThe Philistines lived by the sea near Israel. Later in the Bible they fight against Israel many times.

15Canaan was the father of Sidon, his oldest son, and of Heth,

And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,

NoteSidon was a busy city right on the sea. The oldest son had a special place in the family. Heth is the father of the people called Hittites.

16and of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgasites,

And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

NoteThe Jebusites lived in the town that later became Jerusalem. The Amorites and Girgasites lived in that same land.

17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite families spread out far and wide.

And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19The land of the Canaanites went from Sidon toward Gerar, as far as Gaza. It also went toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, as far as Lasha.

And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

NoteThis tells where the Canaanites' land started and stopped. Gaza was a town near the sea. Sodom and Gomorrah come up again later in Abraham's story.

20These are the sons of Ham. They are listed by their families and their languages, in their countries and their nations.

These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

23Then Israel came into Egypt. Jacob lived as a stranger in the land of Ham.

Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

Note"The land of Ham" is another way of saying Egypt. Ham was a son of Noah long before.

24God gave his people many children. They grew stronger than the people who hated them.

And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

25He turned the Egyptians' hearts to hate his people. They made sly plans against his servants.

He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

26So he sent Moses, who served him. He also sent Aaron, whom he had chosen.

He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

NoteMoses was the man God chose to lead his people out of Egypt. Aaron was his brother, and he spoke for Moses.

27They showed God's signs to the Egyptians. They did wonders in the land of Ham.

They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

NoteSigns and wonders were amazing things only God could do. God sent ten of them on Egypt.