In the very first instance of drinking wine in the Bible (Gen. 9), we read of Noah drinking, getting drunk, and then his son, Ham, doing something to him. What did Ham do to Noah?
In this episode of Jewish Drinking: The Show, I (Rabbi Drew Kaplan) discuss this Noah-Ham incident with Professor John Bergsma, a Biblical studies professor who wrote a fascinating article (“Noah’s Nakedness and the Curse on Canaan (Gen 9:20-27),” with Scott W. Hahn, Journal of Biblical Literature 124.1 (2005): 25-40) that I first came across and enjoyed a decade ago and was very grateful to get to chat with him about it on this episode, which is available both in podcast version and on YouTube:
I very much appreciate Professor John Bergsma’s discussing this fascinating Biblical incident with me on the show. Professor Bergsma is a Full Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, who received his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He specializes in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls; his newest book, is Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity, was just published last month.
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