Ham, son of Noah
The name Ham means “hot; heat; brown.” Ham is mentioned in 14 verses of the Bible, first in Genesis 5:32.
Family of Ham
Who was Ham?
Warm, hot, and hence the south; also an Egyptian word meaning “black”, the youngest son of Noah (Gen. 5:32; comp. 9:22,24). The curse pronounced by Noah against Ham, properly against Canaan his fourth son, was accomplished when the Jews subsequently exterminated the Canaanites.
One of the most important facts recorded in Gen. 10 is the foundation of the earliest monarchy in Babylonia by Nimrod the grandson of Ham (6, 8, 10). The primitive Babylonian empire was thus Hamitic, and of a cognate race with the primitive inhabitants of Arabia and of Ethiopia. (See ACCAD.)
The race of Ham were the most energetic of all the descendants of Noah in the early times of the post-diluvian world.
Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.
Key verses about Ham
- Genesis 5:32
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
- Genesis 9:18
And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
- Genesis 10:1
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
- Genesis 10:6
And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
- Psalms 78:51
And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
- Psalms 105:23
Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
Timeline of Ham's life
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2347 BC | The Great Flood begins |
| 2347 BC | The Great Flood |
| 2347 BC | Water covers the earth |
| 2346 BC | The flood subsides |
| 2346 BC | Leaving the Ark |
| 2345 BC | Noah gets drunk and Canaan is cursed |