The Story of Noah’s Drunkenness: A Critical Historical Study of Genesis 9:18-27

Abstract

Noah was an Old Testament figure described in the book of Genesis who lived righteously and was blameless among his contemporaries, he lived in association with GOD. In the midst of moral decline and human evil at that time, Noah was not affected, in fact he was chosen by GOD to build the ark because GOD wanted to destroy the earth which was full of violence. Noah was originally a righteous and blameless person (Gen. 6:9) but was sued in the passage, Noah was even drunk and naked. Such behavior is inversely proportional to Noah’s character as a righteous and blameless person. It’s not just a shift in character, being drunk and naked triggers other actions from everyone who sees it. On the other hand, it is also necessary to re-examine what kind of actions Ham took, which triggered Noah to curse Canaan and this is strengthened by verse 24, when Noah woke up from his drunkenness and “heard what his youngest son was doing”, indicating that there were deviant actions committed by Ham. Starting from here, it will be revealed why Ham “saw his father’s nakedness” amidst Noah’s drunkenness. The story of Noah’s drunkenness which will be described in this article includes the life of Noah and his children after leaving the ark and the curses and blessings that Noah conveyed to his descendants

Keywords

Noah, drunkenness, kinship