Ham's sons are Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan — the four major geographic/ethnic divisions of the African and Levantine world in the ancient Near East. Cush corresponds to Nubia and Ethiopia to the south of Egypt; Egypt (Hebrew: Mitsrayim) is the dual form, possibly referring to upper and lower Egypt; Put is associated with Libya or parts of North Africa; and Canaan, already made familiar in Genesis 9:25–27, is the land that will become the central stage of the rest of Genesis and the entire story of Israel. Ham's descendants dominate the ancient world's most powerful civilizations: Egypt, Babylon (through Cush to Nimrod in verse 8), and the Canaanite peoples. The gospel reaches into Ham's territory throughout Acts — the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:27) and the early church in Egypt and North Africa are fulfillments of what Genesis 10:6 sets in motion. Every descendant of Ham, like every descendant of Japheth, is included in the scope of Christ's redemption.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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