Commentary - Genesis 9:18-19

Bird's-eye view

In these transitional verses, the sacred historian Moses brings us out of the ark and sets our feet on the ground of the new world. The Flood was a cataclysmic baptism of the earth, a judgment that was simultaneously a salvation. But as we see immediately, the problem of sin was not left behind in the watery grave of the old world. The human heart, desperately wicked, was carried onto the ark in the persons of Noah and his family. This short passage serves as a crucial hinge. It formally introduces the three sons of Noah, not just as survivors, but as the wellsprings of all subsequent humanity. This is the headwaters of the Table of Nations in the next chapter. And with a deft, almost ominous touch, Moses spotlights one son in particular, Ham, and connects him immediately to his own son, Canaan. This is not a throwaway detail; it is a literary signpost pointing to the next great conflict in the story of redemption, a conflict that will unfold in Noah's vineyard and have consequences for all of human history.

This passage, then, is a reset. The world has been washed clean, but the stage is being set for the same drama of sin and grace to play out again. God's covenant with Noah established a stable order for the world to continue, but the story of man remains a story of rebellion. The introduction of Shem, Ham, and Japheth is the introduction of the three great streams of the human race that will flow out from Ararat. One of these streams, the line of Shem, will carry the seed of the woman, the promise of the Messiah. The other lines will be defined by their relation to that promise, either in rebellion or, by grace, as partakers of it. This is the beginning of the post-flood world, a world still groaning under the curse, but also a world in which God is sovereignly orchestrating all things toward the coming of Christ.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 9:18-19 sits immediately after God establishes His covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy the earth with a flood and setting the rainbow as a sign (Gen 9:1-17). This covenant, often called the Noahic Covenant, is a covenant of common grace that provides the stable platform upon which redemptive history can unfold. The world has just been "re-created," and Noah and his family are the new Adam and Eve, commanded to be fruitful and multiply. These verses, therefore, pivot from the universal covenant of preservation to the particular history of the men who will fill this preserved world. They act as the introduction to the account of Noah's drunkenness and Ham's sin (Gen 9:20-27), which in turn explains the prophetic blessings and curses that will shape the destinies of their descendants. This section is the bridge between the global judgment of the Flood and the scattering of the nations at Babel (Gen 11), setting the stage for God's call of one man, Abram, out of the line of Shem (Gen 12).

Key Issues

The Unwashed Heart

The Flood was a baptism. Peter tells us as much, that eight souls were saved through water, which corresponds to the baptism that now saves us (1 Pet. 3:20-21). The old world, corrupt and violent, was judged and washed away. But the ark, a type of Christ, carried the remnant safely through the waters of judgment to a new world. This is a glorious picture of salvation. But we must never forget that salvation is not the eradication of our sinful nature in this life, but rather the beginning of a war against it. The men who stepped off the ark were the same men who stepped on. They were saved by grace, but they were still sinners.

This is the profound realism of Scripture. There are no fairy-tale endings here. Judgment falls, grace preserves, a new world dawns, and the first thing the Bible does is set the stage for the next tragic failure. Why? Because the Bible is telling one long story about the utter inadequacy of man and the absolute sufficiency of Jesus Christ. The Flood could wash the filth from the face of the earth, but it could not wash the filth from the human heart. Only the blood of the Lamb can do that. These verses remind us that every new beginning in Scripture, short of the final consummation, is an opportunity for man to demonstrate his need for a Savior all over again. The problem wasn't in the water; the problem was in the man.

Verse by Verse Commentary

18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth;

The historian begins by formally listing the dramatis personae for the next era of human history. These are the patriarchs of the entire post-diluvian world. The order is significant, though scholars debate whether it is by age or prominence. What is not debatable is that these three men, with their wives, are the bottleneck through which the entire human race has passed. This is a profound statement about the unity of mankind. Every tribe, every nation, every ethnicity, from the aboriginal tribes of Australia to the investment bankers on Wall Street, all of us are cousins. We all trace our lineage back to this single family. This foundational truth demolishes every form of racism or ethnic pride at its root. God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26). That one man was Adam, and after the flood, that principle was funneled through Noah and these three sons.

and Ham was the father of Canaan.

Moses inserts what appears to be a simple genealogical fact, but in narrative, there are no throwaway lines. This is a spotlight. Of the three sons, one is singled out, and he is identified not by his own accomplishments but by his relationship to his son, Canaan. This is literary foreshadowing of the highest order. The story that is about to unfold will involve a sin committed by Ham, but the curse will fall upon Canaan. By telling us this here, Moses is preparing us for what is to come. He is connecting the dots for us ahead of time. The subsequent history of Israel, the recipients of this book, would be dominated by their conflict with the Canaanites. This little clause, tucked away here, is the seed of the conquest of the promised land under Joshua. It tells the Israelites that their conflict with the Canaanites is not a mere territorial dispute, but is rooted in the moral order of the world, established by God in the prophetic utterances of Noah.

19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was scattered abroad.

This verse serves as a summary and a thesis statement for what is to come. First, it reiterates the foundational point: these three men are the source of all humanity. The repetition is for emphasis. Do not miss this. The human race is one family. Second, it introduces the theme of the next major section of Genesis: the scattering. The word here, napats, means to be scattered or dispersed. This looks forward to the judgment at the Tower of Babel (Gen 11), where God confused the languages and scattered mankind across the face of the earth in order to restrain their prideful, unified rebellion. But it also looks forward to the great commission. God's command was to "fill the earth," and what man refused to do in obedience, God accomplished through judgment. And in the gospel, this scattering is redeemed. At Pentecost, the curse of Babel is reversed as the apostles speak in many tongues, and the scattered nations are gathered into the one family of God through faith in Jesus Christ, the true seed of Shem.

Application

The first and most obvious application is the fundamental unity of the human race. In an age torn apart by ethnic strife, tribalism, and the wicked sin of racism, the Christian must stand firmly on the truth of Genesis. There is only one race, the human race, and we are all of Adam's house, and all descendants of Noah. Any ideology that seeks to build walls of permanent hostility or claim inherent superiority based on ethnicity is a direct assault on the biblical doctrine of creation and providence. We are all one blood.

Second, we must recognize the stubborn persistence of sin. A world-altering judgment did not solve the sin problem. This should warn us against utopian political or social schemes. You cannot fix man by fixing his environment. You can wash the whole world, but if you don't give man a new heart, he will just start making mud pies again. The only solution to the human condition is the radical, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The problem is not "out there," it is in here, in the unwashed heart of every man, woman, and child. Our only hope is not a new start in a new world, but a new heart in this one.

Finally, we see the sovereign hand of God in history. From these three sons, God will bring forth all the nations of the world, each with its own part to play in the grand drama of redemption. He is not the author of sin, but He is the master director of the play. He sovereignly weaves even the rebellion of Ham and the judgment of Babel into His ultimate purpose of bringing forth a Savior from the line of Shem. This gives us confidence that no matter how chaotic the world appears, God is still on His throne, and He is working all things, even the sins of men and the rise and fall of nations, toward that final day when the scattered children of God will be gathered from every tribe and tongue and nation to worship the Lamb.