Pertanyaan: 595. Apakah Kutukan Ham Berlaku bagi Semua Keturunannya?
Ham, anak bungsu dari Nuh, memiliki empat orang putra, yaitu Kush, Mesir, Put, dan Kanaan (Kej. 10:6). Nama, ras, atau kewarganegaraan istrinya tidak disebutkan. Dari Ham, keturunan orang Etiopia dan mungkin juga bangsa-bangsa berkulit gelap di Afrika, serta orang Kanaan di Palestina dan Fenisia, bahkan orang Mesir sendiri. Seperti saudara-saudaranya, Ham menikah pada saat Banjir Besar, dan dia dan istrinya diselamatkan dalam bahtera dari kehancuran umum. Mesir diakui sebagai tanah Ham" (lihat Mazm. 78:51 dan ayat-ayat lainnya). Dengan demikian, di antara keturunan Ham terdapat beragam ras dan tingkat warna kulit yang berbeda, mulai dari orang Kaldia primitif hingga orang negro di khatulistiwa. Narasi Alkitab menunjukkan bahwa kutukan Nuh ditujukan bukan kepada Ham, tetapi kepada putra keempatnya, yaitu Kanaan, dan beberapa orang berpendapat bahwa kutukan (Kej. 9:25) terwujud melalui penaklukan dan pemusnahan orang Kanaan oleh orang Yahudi selama penaklukan Palestina."
Question: 595. Did the Curse of Ham Apply to All His Descendants?
Ham, the youngest son of Noah, had four sons, Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan (Gen. 10:6). The name, race or nationality of his wife is nowhere given. From Ham were descended the Ethiopians and probably the dark-skinned nations of Africa, as well as the Canaanites of Palestine and Phoenicia and even the Egyptians themselves. Like his brothers, Ham was married at the time of the Deluge, and was saved in the ark, together with his wife, from the general destruction. Egypt is recognized as "the land of Ham" (see Psa. 78:51 and other passages). Thus among Ham's descendants there was a wide variety of races and different grades of complexion, from the primitive Chaldeans to the negroes of the equator. The Bible narrative shows that Noah's denunciation was directed not against Ham, but against his fourth son, Canaan, and some have held that the curse (Gen. 9:25) was accomplished by the subjugation and extermination of the Canaanites by the Jews during the Palestinian conquest.
