have expected, the conduct of the brothers received meet reward, - the curse descended on Ham, while a

blessing, suited to each, was given to Shem and Japheth. But, in the words of the patriarch, the curse lights

specially upon Canaan, the son of Ham, not to the exclusion of his other sons, but probably because as

Noah had suffered from his son, so Ham was to experience his punishment in his son; and Canaan may have

been specially singled out, either because he fully entered into the spirit of his father, or more probably

because of the later connection between Israel and the Canaanites, in whom they would see alike the spirit

and the curse of Ham fully realized. In connection with this we mark, that, twice before (Genesis 9:18, 22),

when Ham is mentioned, it is added that he was "the father of Canaan."

Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who were to repeople the earth, seem to have impressed their own characteristics

on their descendants. Their very names are symbolical and prophetic. Shem means splendor or glory, Ham

burnin g heat, and Japheth enlargement. Bearing this in mind, we listen to the words of the patriarch: "Cursed

be Canaan, A servant of servants shall he be to his brethren;" and we know that this has been the fate of

the children of Ham, or the races of Africa; while, strangely, the name of Canaan has been interpreted as

meaning "he who is subject." Again, "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem, And Canaan shall be their

slave:" a prophecy most signally fulfilled when Israel took possession of the land of Canaan; and, lastly,

"God (Elohim) shall enlarge Japheth (enlargement); And he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, And Canaan

shall be their slave."

This latter prophecy consists of three parts. It promises from God, as the God of power, that enlargement to

Japheth which is the characteristic of his descendants, the European nations. And it adds that Japheth (not,

as some have read it, God) shall dwell in the tents of Shem, that is, as St. Augustine has said, "in the

churches which the apostles, the sons of the prophets, reared;" thus referring to the blessing which was to

flow to all nations through the Hebrew race.24 Lastly, Canaan was to be the servant of Japheth, as seen in

the subjection to Greece and Rome, of Tyre and Carthage, the ancient centers of wealth and merchandise,

and of Egypt, the empire of might and of the oldest civilization.

But the words spoken to Shem, the ancestor of the Hebrew race, deserve special notice. The blessing here

begins quite differently from that of Japheth. It opens with a thanksgiving to God, for, as Luther says,

"Noah sees it to be such that he cannot express it in words, therefore he turns to thanksgiving." Then, the

blessing of Shem is not outward, but spiritual; for Jehovah is to be the God of Shem. To speak in an

anticipatory figure, Shem's portion, in the widest sense, is that to be hereafter assigned to Levi, amongst the

Jews; and Japheth is to dwell in his tents, - in other words, Israel is to be the tribe of Levi to all nations.

More than that, whereas Elohim is to give enlargement to Japheth, Jehovah the covenant-God is to be the

God of Shem. Thus the primitive promise to Adam is now both further defined and enlarged. The promised

Deliverer is to come through Shem, as the ancestor of the chosen race, in the midst of whom Jehovah is to

dwell; and through Shem, Japheth is to share in the coming spiritual blessing. Here, then, is clearly defined

the separation of the Jews and the Gentiles, and the mission of each: the one from Jehovah, the other from

Elohim; the one in the Church, the other in the world.