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. |
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Page v
... proslavery worldview, Valarie suggested I consult the “Palmer Memorial Tablet” that hangs in a dimly lit corner of Palmer Hall, the oldest and most prominent building on the Rhodes campus. Finding the tablet, I read these dedicatory ...
... proslavery worldview, Valarie suggested I consult the “Palmer Memorial Tablet” that hangs in a dimly lit corner of Palmer Hall, the oldest and most prominent building on the Rhodes campus. Finding the tablet, I read these dedicatory ...
Page viii
... proslavery intellectuals as a “worlddefining myth” whose appeal was based in part on Noah's traditional association with the invention of agriculture and his role as the patriarch of the first postdiluvian family.4 The second work is ...
... proslavery intellectuals as a “worlddefining myth” whose appeal was based in part on Noah's traditional association with the invention of agriculture and his role as the patriarch of the first postdiluvian family.4 The second work is ...
Page 6
... proslavery authors, this grandson of Ham came to embody the curse uttered in Noah's original act of postdiluvian differentiation. The chapters that follow indicate how the perceived unity of Genesis 9–11 has affected both the history of ...
... proslavery authors, this grandson of Ham came to embody the curse uttered in Noah's original act of postdiluvian differentiation. The chapters that follow indicate how the perceived unity of Genesis 9–11 has affected both the history of ...
Page 8
... proslavery argument. By locating American readings of Genesis 9 within the history of biblical interpretation, the distinctive features in proslavery versions of the curse are clarified. Overwhelmingly, these reflect two concerns that ...
... proslavery argument. By locating American readings of Genesis 9 within the history of biblical interpretation, the distinctive features in proslavery versions of the curse are clarified. Overwhelmingly, these reflect two concerns that ...
Page 9
... proslavery readings of the curse were rooted in a pair of crucial premises: that slaves are debased persons and slavery a form of life without honor and that as the eponymous ancestor of Africans, Ham embodies the dishonorable condition ...
... proslavery readings of the curse were rooted in a pair of crucial premises: that slaves are debased persons and slavery a form of life without honor and that as the eponymous ancestor of Africans, Ham embodies the dishonorable condition ...
Contents
3 | |
21 | |
HONOR AND ORDER | 63 |
NOAHS CAMERA | 123 |
REDEEMING THE CURSE | 175 |
Notes | 223 |
Bibliography | 299 |
Index | 314 |
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Common terms and phrases
According Adam African American antebellum appear argument association Babel became become Bible Bible readers biblical blessing Book brothers Cain called Canaan century chapter character Christian Church cited Civil claim Commentary culture death descendants desire distinct divine early earth fact father Flood forces Genesis 9 Girard given God’s Ham’s Hamites Hebrew honor human Ibid influence institution interpretation James Japheth John land legend Letters means mind nakedness nature Negro Nimrod Noah Noah’s curse notes observes original Palmer patriarch Presbyterian present Priest prophecy proslavery Providence published question race racial racism readings of Genesis rebellion reference reflected regarded relations religion religious role Scripture segregation separation servitude sexual Shem slave slavery social society sons South Southern story tents theme tower tradition University Press victim violence writes York