‘And he said, “cursed be Canaan. A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers”.'
It is possible that Noah kept what Ham had done in his heart and that this series of curse and blessing was given some time after the event, possibly even on Noah's death bed. Thus Ham may by then have died and this would explain why the curse is levelled at Canaan. Alternately it may be that Noah wanted Ham to see the consequences he had brought, not only on himself but on his children. Perhaps he saw something in Canaan he did not like, inherited from his father, and knew what the consequences would be for Canaan's children with regard to their future sexual behaviour. Certainly the Canaanites would later be renowned for their sexual depravity. Curses and blessings were thought to have a powerful effect on the lives of descendants, especially when given on the deathbed. Ham was to be punished through the consequences which resulted to his son who would be ‘a servant of servants', the lowest of the low.