In Genesis, what was the name of Noah’s grandson who was cursed after the vineyard episode?

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In Genesis, Noah’s grandson Canaan is the person named in the curse after the vineyard episode.

After the Flood, Genesis 9 says that Noah planted a vineyard, drank wine, and became uncovered inside his tent. Ham saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers, Shem and Japheth, who covered Noah without looking at him. When Noah awoke, he pronounced a curse on Canaan, Ham’s son, saying that Canaan would be a servant to his brothers.

The passage does not state that Noah cursed Ham by name. This is the central point that readers often misremember, because Ham is the son who sees Noah and reports what happened. The text’s explicit target is Canaan.

Canaan later becomes the biblical name of the land associated with the Canaanites. That later geographic use should not be confused with the immediate family relationship in Genesis: Canaan is Noah’s grandson and Ham’s son.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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