Ham's son
"Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers." - Genesis 9:25
A descendant of Ham and father of the Canaanites through the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. (Genesis 10:16-18)
- Father: Ham (Genesis 9:18, 10:6)
- Siblings: Cush, Egypt, Put (Genesis 10:6)
- Sons: Sidon, Heth (Genesis 10:15), the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. (Genesis 10:16-18)
Noah curses Canaan and blesses Shem and Japheth
From Noah's sons, Shem, Ham (father of Canaan), and Japheth, the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
Noah became a man of the soil and planted a vineyard. He became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. Ham saw his father's nakedness and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards to cover the nakedness of their father without looking upon him.
When Noah awoke and knew what his youngest son did, he said, “Cursed be Canaan; / a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; / and let Canaan be his servant. / May God enlarge Japheth, / and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, / and let Canaan be his servant.”
(Genesis 9)
Canaanites
From Canaan, the Canaanites descended, and their territory extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha. (Genesis 10:15-19)
Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarai from Ur to go into the land of Canaan. They settled when they came to Haran, though. (Genesis 11:24-32)
The Promised Land
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. - Genesis 13:14-15
The Lord told Abram to go to a country that He will show him. So Abram left Haran with Lot at 75 years old. He took Sarai, Lot, and all their possessions and people to Canaan. Abram passed through the land to Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Despite the Canaanite inhabitants, the Lord promised the land to Abram's offspring, so Abram built an altar. He continued on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east and built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord. He continued toward the Negeb until a severe famine drove him to Egypt. (Genesis 12)
When Abram and Lot split ways, the Lord told Abram to look in all directions because all the land he can see is given to him and his offspring. He instructed him to walk its length and breadth. (Genesis 13)
The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:18-21)
The burial place of Sarah
Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Then he bought the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre for the fair price of 400 shekels of silver from Ephron the son of Zohar before the Hittites at the gate. He buried his wife in the cave there. (Genesis 23)