The Curse of Ham is not a Biblical expression. The Bible actually describes the incident as a curse on the son of Ham, i.e. Canaan. The reference is found in Genesis 9 where Ham, one of the sons of Noah, saw his father’s nakedness as he slept after drinking wine, and likely made fun of Noah as he related it to his brothers. When Noah awoke, he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham. Over the past centuries this incident has been used by some to justify the enslavement of people in black Africa, believed to be descendants of Ham. This booklet explains the falsity of this assumption and describes what the curse actually meant.
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The booklet The Bible Does Not Teach the Curse of Ham addresses and thoroughly refutes the widespread historical belief that Black people were cursed based on the so-called “Curse of Ham” from Genesis 9. The author, Kenneth Rawson, responds to questions raised by African brethren about this claim and sets out to demonstrate that the idea has no scriptural basis and has been misused for centuries to justify slavery, racism, and inequality.
Rawson begins by clarifying that the phrase “Curse of Ham” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The actual curse mentioned in Genesis 9:25 is directed at Canaan, one of Ham’s sons—not Ham himself or Ham’s other descendants (Cush, Mizraim, and Phut). The author emphasizes that the Bible never says Ham or his sons were Black, nor does it claim that they were destined to be slaves. Rawson insists that the misinterpretation has been used to distort Scripture for racial purposes.
The booklet outlines the story of Noah’s drunkenness and how Ham mocked his father’s nakedness while his brothers, Shem and Japheth, respectfully covered Noah. When Noah awoke, he cursed Canaan—not Ham—because he foresaw that Canaan would inherit Ham’s perverse tendencies. Rawson suggests that the curse on Canaan was about moral character and eventual destruction, not race or skin color.
Rawson dismantles the idea that Hamites were cursed by showing that Ham’s descendants founded some of the most powerful and advanced civilizations in ancient history:
Cush (Nubia/Sudan): Founded powerful Black kingdoms like Nubia and later Aksum (Ethiopia), which thrived in architecture, commerce, and religion.
Mizraim (Egypt): Founded Egypt, one of the earliest and most sophisticated empires in the world, well-known for its engineering marvels like the pyramids.
Phut (Libya): Also contributed to African civilization.
Canaan: Though eventually destroyed, Canaanites were not defined by their skin color, but by their immoral practices.
Several chapters explore the accomplishments of these ancient Hamitic civilizations:
Nimrod (grandson of Ham): Founded Babylon and Assyria, demonstrating leadership and empire-building far beyond Africa, again undermining the idea of a racial curse.
Egyptian Empire: The author highlights that the Egyptians, descendants of Ham, were light to dark-skinned and created one of the world’s earliest superpowers.
Nubian/Kushite Empire: The Black pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty ruled over Egypt, advanced architecture, and were praised for their justice and humanity.
Aksumite Empire: Located in modern Ethiopia, Aksum was a dominant trade empire that converted to Christianity early and developed monumental architecture, including massive stelae.
In a powerful reversal of the narrative, Rawson devotes a chapter to white slavery, especially in the Mediterranean where Muslims enslaved up to 1.5 million white Europeans between the 16th and 18th centuries. This historical fact dismantles the racial justification for Black slavery based on the Bible and shows that slavery transcended race and geography.
The booklet is particularly critical of how Christianity, especially in colonial America, used Genesis 9 to argue that Black people were divinely ordained to be slaves. This belief was institutionalized in both the North and South before and during the Civil War and even lingered after the abolition of slavery.
Rawson calls this interpretation a "man-made conspiracy" and condemns the suffering it has caused. He praises Christian leaders like William Miller and Charles Taze Russell for rejecting the false curse and promoting a more biblical and humane view of race and history.
The booklet concludes by affirming that:
The curse was on Canaan, not Ham or all his descendants.
Black people are not biblically cursed.
Ham’s descendants founded some of the greatest ancient empires.
Slavery, while historically real and brutal, is a human institution—not one ordained by God against any race.
The “curse of Ham” is not scriptural but a harmful myth that has led to centuries of injustice.
Rawson ends by appealing to Acts 17:26, which teaches that God made all nations from one blood, highlighting the unity of humanity and the unfounded nature of racial superiority doctrines.
