The children of Ham are the most numerous of the sons of Noah. For the purposes of this wiki, only the biblical record suffices to prove this fact. Discussion on the Talk Page can delve further into what this looks like in the world outside of the Bible.
Ham is known for the disrespect he showed his father Noah. Though interpreters have made much of the incident, the Bible only states that Ham saw his father and talked about it. Noah somehow knew "what his son had done to him," and proceeded to curse Ham's son Canaan with a prophecy of servitude[1].
Perhaps the most famous Hamite was Ham's grandson, Nimrod, son of Cush. A hunter and warrior, Nimrod set out to keep the people together, though God had told them to spread out. This effort may have succeeded had God not performed the miracle of language diversity[2]. Another famous nation builder founded the nation of Mizor, or Mizraim (that is, Egypt). That progenitor of that tribe may have been named "Mizor," though that in itself describes a fortified city (not thought probable in the second generation after the flood). Interestingly, the "Egyptians" seem to have sent the "Philistines" up the coast[3].
As with Mizraim, there are a lot of tribal designations listed as "children of Canaan" that paint a picture of a very hard life in the land "lent" to them before Abraham was promised the land. Only two sons are mentioned by name: Sidon and Heth[4]. All the rest end in "ite" (English), or in the original simply "i," meaning "people of." Sometimes this can be a person, but often it seems to describe a place.
The most notorious among the Canaanites were the Amorites, a name drawn from the word meaning "to say." It was because the "iniquity of the Amorites" had to play out for four more centuries that Abraham's descendants were to live in the land[5]. It is easy to postulate that the religious teachings ("sayings") that were so abhorred by Yahweh were causing the people of the land to live much as were the populations of the cities on the plain, which God destroyed early in Abraham's time in Canaan.
Genealogy of Ham[]
1. Ham
- 2. Cush
- 3. Seba
- 3. Havilah
- 3. Sabtah
- 3. Raamah
- 4. Sheba
- 4. Dedan
- 3. Sabteca
- 3. Nimrod (Cush was either the father or ancestor of Nimrod)
- 2. Mizraim (His descendants were the Egyptians)
- 3. Ludim
- 3. Anamim
- 3. Lehabim
- 3. Naphtuhim
- 3. Pathrusim
- 3. Casluhim
- Philistines
- Abimelech king of Gerar
- Phicol the commander of Abimelech's forces
- Ahuzzath Abimelech's personal advisor
- Philistines
- 3. Caphtorim
- 2. Put
- 2. Canaan
- Hamor
- 3.
- Arkites
- 3.
- Sinites
- 3.
- Arvadites
- 3.
- Zemarites
- 3.
- Hamathites
- 3.
Canaanites of Unknown Descent[]
- Shua