Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery

"A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." So reads Noah's curse on his son Ham, and all his descendants, in Genesis 9:25. Over centuries of interpretation, Ham came to be identified as the ancestor of black Africans, and Noah's curse to be seen as biblical justification for American slavery and segregation. Examining the history of the American interpretation of Noah's curse, this book begins with an overview of the prior history of the reception of this scripture and then turns to the distinctive and creative ways in which the curse was appropriated by American pro-slavery and pro-segregation interpreters.


Author: Stephen R. Haynes
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 02/03/2007
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.71d
ISBN13: 9780195313079
ISBN10: 0195313070
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Ethics
- Religion | Biblical Criticism & Interpretation | Old Testament
- History | United States | 19th Century

About the Author

Stephen R. Haynes holds the A.B. Curry Chair of Religious Studies at Rhodes College, where he has taught since 1989. His publications include Reluctant Witnesses: Jews and the Christian Imagination (1995) and, as co-editor, To Each its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application (1993)

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