The Meaning of Genesis 9:22 Explained

Genesis 9:22

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

YLT: And Ham, father of Canaan, seeth the nakedness of his father, and declareth to his two brethren without.

Darby: And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren outside.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Genesis 9:22 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 9:18-29 - Noah's Three Sons
Noah's sin reminds us how weak are the best of men; liable to fall, even after the most marvelous deliverances. The love of strong drink will drag a preacher of righteousness into the dust. But if our brethren sin, let us not parade or tell their faults, but cover them with the mantle of divine love. We may abhor the sin, but let us restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, remembering that we also may be tempted. See Galatians 6:1-18 :l-4. The Semitic races have been the source of religious light and teaching to the world. God has been known in their tents. The Japhetic races are the great colonizers and populators of the world, overflowing their own boundaries, and participating in the religious privileges of the Shemites. The progressive ideas of the race of Japheth, which, of course, includes the Indo-European race, have also pervaded the world. The Hamitic races, of which Canaan was one, have always gravitated downward. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 9

1  God blesses Noah and his sons, and grants them flesh for food
4  Blood and murder are forbidden
8  God's covenant, of which the rainbow was constituted a pledge
18  Noah's family replenishes the world
20  Noah plants a vineyard,
21  Is drunken, and mocked by his son;
25  Curses Canaan;
26  Blesses Shem;
27  Prays for Japheth, and dies

What do the individual words in Genesis 9:22 mean?

And saw Ham the father of Canaan - the nakedness of his father and he told two his brothers outside
וַיַּ֗רְא חָ֚ם אֲבִ֣י כְנַ֔עַן אֵ֖ת עֶרְוַ֣ת אָבִ֑יו וַיַּגֵּ֥ד לִשְׁנֵֽי־ אֶחָ֖יו בַּחֽוּץ

וַיַּ֗רְא  And  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
חָ֚ם  Ham 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָם  
Sense: 2nd son of Noah, father of Canaan and of various peoples which were inhabitants of southern lands.
אֲבִ֣י  the  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
כְנַ֔עַן  of  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
אֵ֖ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
עֶרְוַ֣ת  the  nakedness 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֶרְוָה  
Sense: nakedness, nudity, shame, pudenda.
אָבִ֑יו  of  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וַיַּגֵּ֥ד  and  he  told 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
לִשְׁנֵֽי־  two 
Parse: Preposition-l, Number, mdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
אֶחָ֖יו  his  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
בַּחֽוּץ  outside 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חוּץ  
Sense: outside, outward, street, the outside.