21). In the flood, all that remained under the waters died, just as our going under the water in
baptism symbolizes our dying to the life of sin and our burial into Christ’s death. All those in the
ark during the
flood were saved for new life, just as all those who enter the ark of the Church
through baptism are given the new life of grace and raised up a new creature in Christ’s
resurrection. Indeed, even the baptism of infants is prefigured as Noah’s three sons enter the ark
on the strength of Noah’s faith, just as children receive the grace of baptism on the strength of
their parents’ faith. Thus, we begin to understand St. Paul’s exhortation that the stories of the
Old Testament are “written down for our instruction” (1 Cor 10:11) and that Jesus is squarely
in the center of the story of revelation beginning with Genesis.
p 27
That Canaan is the fruit of the incest makes sense in the narrative. The story
began by naming Noah’s three sons, with special note made
of the fact that Ham is the
father of Canaan. Then, in the middle of the story, when Ham enters his father’s tent, we
are told once again that Ham is the father of Canaan. This narrative detail would be out
of place, given that Canaan has not yet been born and that Ham has many other sons
besides Canaan, unless the narrative at hand pertains in a special way to Canaan. That
Canaan is the fruit of Ham’s incest also makes sense given the larger story of Israel. When
Israel enters the land of Canaan, the first thing God warns Israel about is the infamous
sexual perversity, particularly incest, of the Canaanites. Indeed, the
first command about
sexual purity, given to Israel in view of their entering the land of the Canaanites, is that
“you shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your
mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness” (Lv 18:7; Lv 18:1–6
shows that the context of the laws against incest is Israel’s coming into the land of
Canaan).
Ham’s motivation for committing such an act may have been more than just
perverted lust. Ham’s ultimate purpose may have been a power play to lay claim to the
leadership of the family. The
family position of authority, which included the roles of
kingship and priesthood, was typically passed down from father to firstborn son. In a
solemn, unrepeatable act, the father laid his hand on his son and pronounced “the
blessing” that bestowed and passed on the family authority, typically to the firstborn son.
Ham may have been seeking to hijack this head position before it could be handed down
to his older brother, Shem. His choice of actions to accomplish such an ambition is in
keeping with ancient Canaanite and Greek mythology, where the head of the pantheon
of gods is overthrown and the usurping god legitimizes his rule by sleeping with the
previous god’s wives. In a similar move later in Israel’s history, King David’s
son Absalom
sleeps with David’s concubines in the sight of all of Israel to solidify his claim to the
throne (2 Sm 16:21–22). Thus, Ham’s sexual relations with his mother may have been a
calculated act of rebellion and a grasp at family power.
p 28
Ham’s exploitation of Noah’s drunkenness leaves the human family once again
in turmoil as a result of sin. Noah, having followed Adam by eating the fruit and
becoming naked and ashamed, likewise starts a domino effect of sin that leads to a curse.
This new cycle of sin will once again plunge humanity into great peril. The second
creation is followed by a second fall. Yet there is hope because Shem, Noah’s faithful
firstborn son, receives the blessing from Noah (Gn 9:26). Perhaps through the line of
Shem, a “seed” will arise who will crush the serpent and redirect man’s increasing
wickedness.
A
CT
4:
T
OWER OF
B
ABEL
Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn: