Ham is the son of Noah described as the father of Canaan in Genesis.
Genesis 9:18 identifies Ham as the father of Canaan after the Flood. The passage then recounts an incident involving Noah, Ham, and Ham’s brothers Shem and Japheth. Genesis 10:6 later lists Canaan among Ham’s sons, alongside Cush, Mizraim, and Put.
Ham is one of Noah’s three named sons, together with Shem and Japheth. The genealogical material in Genesis connects these figures with peoples and territories known to the biblical writers. It should not be confused with the separate question of which son is linked to Abraham’s family line: that tradition is associated with Shem.
Later interpreters used the episode in Genesis 9 to construct claims about race and slavery, but those later “curse of Ham” interpretations are not the same as the wording of the biblical text. Genesis specifically says Noah cursed Canaan, not Ham, and does not describe a racial curse.