6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Now Cush fathered Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Mizraim fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines), and Caphtorim.

15 Canaan fathered Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth, 16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, 18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. 19 The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon going toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; and going toward Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations. 

Genesis 10:6- 20 (NASB) 

Ham

Continuing with Noah’s descendents, we move from Japeth, the youngest, to Ham, the middle child. Remember he’s the one who sinned in some way which led to a prophetic curse on his son Canaan. This record of the lineage of Ham shows it came to pass. 

Canaan

Two of Ham’s descendants are noteworthy. One is Canaan, who received the prophetic curse from Ham’s sin in chapter 9. As we mentioned, the exact reason for Canaan receiving the curse is not told. This site provides some additional ideas. Canaan’s descendents became most of the nations of peoples living in the promised land.  They, because of their idolatry and grievous sexual misconduct, were ordered by God to be killed by the Israelites as they took possession. Some, due to Israel’s failure, became subjugated to the Israelites, whom are descendents of Shem.

Canaan’s descendents built Sodom and Gomorrah, known for their gross sexual sin even to today. “The length of these Hamite Canaanite lists indicates the importance of these people and places in Israel’s later history.” (planogiblechapel.org)

Nimrod

The other interesting descendent of Ham is Nimrod, who “became a mighty one on the earth” and built many cities. But that doesn’t mean godly. In a few days we’ll read about one city, Babel, which rebelled against God. Nineveh (remember Jonah), another city he built, was known for wickedness. Most commentators believe, “Mighty hunter before the Lord”, means hunter of men, not animals. “Nimrod was undoubtedly a powerful, charismatic hero-figure of the ancient world who actually attempted to build a tower to heaven, hoping to thwart the plans of God.” (gotquestions.org)

RЯeflection

• What can we learn from this lineage? God keeps track of and cares about ancestries – especially as it relates to His called people, especially as it relates to the lineage of Jesus. Ham’s don’t lead to Jesus but they affect the Israelites.