Noah's curse

[radhead]

I've always wondered whether there was any power in Noah's curse. The curse Noah gave to his son after his son found him drunk.

Whenever I hear anyone speak about this passage, it's as if Noah had some kind of power. (Or in other Bible passages, a blessing seems to have power.) Like, the kind of power God has.

When God cursed Adam and Eve, you knew there was power in it.

When a man today curses someone, it's more like it's a fault in the one giving the curse.

What kind of category did Noah's fit into?

 

[radhead]

No one has ever thought about it?

Were you as confused as me?

 

[Nazaroo]

Historically, (and rather foolishly), the curse of Noah has been interpreted various ways, including 'racially'.

This does not tell us much about the scripture itself so much as it tells us about the state or condition of those people studying the bible.

Much of how this part of scripture is interpreted hinges on other parts of the story and how they are understood.

For instance, some have suggested that the story of Noah's son 'uncovering his nakedness' is a euphemism for his son having intercourse with Noah's wife (the son's own mother). Others taking the story more literally do not allow for this interpretation.

The case for a 'euphemism' loses credibility when people over-enthusiastically attempt to apply such conjectural methods to other parts of scripture, with unacceptable results.

If Noah was indeed drunk, and angry, his 'curse' was likely NOT inspired of the Holy Spirit, but rather an all-too-human outburst, regardless of the actual details of the nature of his son's offence. We might look no further than this, as to the significance of the father's seemingly inappropriate statements.

On the other hand, it is also known that untimely and mean-spirited words themselves can be harmful, and it is surely reasonable to say that having his own father curse him in this manner would have had some devastating effect on the person, even if no other consequences followed.

Food for thought, however, the Genesis account is too brief to allow certainty regarding many questions which the passage raises.

 

[radhead]

Thanks. I guess it was more human than I had thought.

I think now I'm understanding it more than when I first studied it.

I wonder if it's sort of the same thing (in reverse) when Isaac blessed Jacob.

 

[Nazaroo]

Actually, yes. The story of various blessings reads partly as a tragecomedy, and partly as a human story of redemption and reconciliation.

Obviously the Spirit of the Lord is working in the background in these stories,but the characters themselves are often not very 'inspired' to say the least.