In Genesis, Ham is the son of Noah associated with Canaan’s ancestry.
Genesis 9:18 identifies Ham as the father of Canaan. The passage then tells of an incident involving Noah and Ham, followed by Noah’s pronouncement concerning Canaan. In the biblical genealogy, Canaan is therefore connected directly to Ham, while Shem and Japheth are Ham’s brothers.
This story is often called the “Curse of Ham,” but that label can be misleading. The text specifically describes a curse on Canaan, not a blanket curse on Ham or all of Ham’s descendants. Later interpreters used the passage in ways that supported racialized slavery, but those interpretations are historically consequential distortions rather than a simple statement of the passage’s wording.
The three sons have important roles in Genesis genealogies. Shem is linked to several peoples of the ancient Near East, Japheth to other nations, and Ham to Canaan and several African and Near Eastern groups.