May the mumbling commence!
Noah was human. So were his sons. They were held in high esteem… but they were
also fallen people. Read from Peterson’s
The Message:
The sons of Noah who came out of the ship were Shem, Ham,
and Japheth. Ham was the father of
Canaan. These are the three sons of
Noah; from these three the
whole Earth was populated.
Noah, a farmer, was the
first to plant a vineyard. He drank from its
wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham,
the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers
who were outside the tent. Shem and Japheth took a
cloak, held it between them from their
shoulders, walked backward and covered their
father’s nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their
father’s exposed body.
When Noah woke up with
his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said,
Cursed be Canaan!
A slave of
slaves,
a
slave to his brothers!
Blessed be God,
the God of Shem,
but Canaan shall be
his slave.
God bless Japheth,
living spaciously in
the tents of Shem.
But
Canaan shall be his slave.
Noah
lives another 350 years following the flood.
He lived a total of 950 years.
And he died. (Genesis 9:18-29)
Now read from the NIV translation
of the same passage:
The sons of Noah who came out of the ark
were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from
them came the people who were
scattered over the earth.
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded
to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his
tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his
father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's
nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see
their father's nakedness.
When Noah awoke from his wine and
found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
"Cursed be Canaan!
The
lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers."
He also said,
"Blessed be the Lord, the
God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
May God extend the
territory of Japheth;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be his slave."
After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he
died.
(Genesis 9:18-29)
Again there is not a whole lot
different between the two. Most of the
differences are wholly acceptable updates of older language. But there are a few differences that would
benefit from some more attention.
First,
I’m not sure that the Hebrew warrants the thought that Noah was the first to
plant a vineyard. There seems to be an
even split between including this thought.
Interestingly enough, the NRSV includes this thought. And the NRSV is known as a more literal
word-for-word translation. So I’ll let
this one go.
Another instance is when it
talks about Noah being hung over from the wine.
Though it was undoubtedly true, I’m not certain that it is one for one
with “awoke from his wine” in the NIV translation. Even so, it’s nit-picking.
What can be most troubling to me is
the change in tone from the words of Noah about his sons from a may it be so to
more of a prophetic tone. But I find
Peterson, once again, in line with the NRSV tone.
The bottom line in this passage is not to
allow being righteous and good to lull you into sleep. Be vigilant and respecting of all people. Or a fall from grace will come.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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