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The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
How old is prejudice against black people? Were the racist attitudes that fueled the Atlantic slave trade firmly in place 700 years before the European discovery of sub-Saharan Africa? In this groundbreaking book, David Goldenberg seeks to discover how dark-skinned peoples, especially black Africans, were portrayed in the Bible and by those who interpreted the Bible--Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Unprecedented in rigor and breadth, his investigation covers a 1,500-year period, from ancient Israel (around 800 B.C.E.) to the eighth century C.E., after the birth of Islam. By tracing the development of anti-Black sentiment during this time, Goldenberg uncovers views about race, color, and slavery that took shape over the centuries--most centrally, the belief that the biblical Ham and his descendants, the black Africans, had been cursed by God with eternal slavery.
Goldenberg begins by examining a host of references to black Africans in biblical and postbiblical Jewish literature. From there he moves the inquiry from Black as an ethnic group to black as color, and early Jewish attitudes toward dark skin color. He goes on to ask when the black African first became identified as slave in the Near East, and, in a powerful culmination, discusses the resounding influence of this identification on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thinking, noting each tradition's exegetical treatment of pertinent biblical passages.
Authoritative, fluidly written, and situated at a richly illuminating nexus of images, attitudes, and history, The Curse of Ham is sure to have a profound and lasting impact on the perennial debate over the roots of racism and slavery, and on the study of early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Goldenberg begins by examining a host of references to black Africans in biblical and postbiblical Jewish literature. From there he moves the inquiry from Black as an ethnic group to black as color, and early Jewish attitudes toward dark skin color. He goes on to ask when the black African first became identified as slave in the Near East, and, in a powerful culmination, discusses the resounding influence of this identification on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thinking, noting each tradition's exegetical treatment of pertinent biblical passages.
Authoritative, fluidly written, and situated at a richly illuminating nexus of images, attitudes, and history, The Curse of Ham is sure to have a profound and lasting impact on the perennial debate over the roots of racism and slavery, and on the study of early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
472 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 1, 2009
This is a very good work of scholarship. The title of the book comes from the story of Ham, who saw his father Noah naked. When Noah awoke, he cursed Ham's son Canaan: "Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers" (Gen 6.25). Goldenberg sets the stage by noting the use made of this and other biblical stories (specifically from the Hebrew bible, what Christians call the Old Testament) in justifying racism and slavery.
He begins his scholarly analysis by going back and looking at issues of race and slavery when these stories originally came into circulation. He concludes that skin color was initially understood much as any other physical trait was understood. He noted that in most cultures (including the Hebrew culture of the Middle East) there was an aesthetic preference for the skin tones of one's own people, though the preference was for women to be lighter skinned than men. He did not find any prejudice against black Africans among the early Hebrews, nor a tendency to associate one particular race or ethnic group with enslavement. (Although the curse of Canaan/Ham is the centerpiece of his research, he looks carefully at all possible references to race and skin color in the Bible, including the passage in the Song of Solomon, "I am very dark, but comely.")
Goldenberg then traced later interpretations of biblical texts to introduce some of the elements of later interpretations. He noted that most commentators had a problem with Canaan receiving a curse for what his father Ham had done (and also, why not all of Ham's children?). Attempts to explain this away eventually became meshed with imposition of later ideas about skin color and slavery. Goldenberg marks the big shift in outlook, however, to the Muslim conquests in Africa, which introduced large numbers of black African slaves into the Mediterranean world. At this point, the equation of descendents of Ham/Canaan=black Africans=slaves became the standard interpretation of the biblical text and an underlying assumption of other references to Africa and Africans in the Bible and biblical commentaries, as well as in interpretations of the Quran.
Goldenberg is very strong in his analysis of early Hebrew texts and culture and in showing how later cultural changes led to new interpretations of these texts. He brings in references to attitudes in surrounding cultures (Greek and Roman ideas about race and ethnicity) but he makes these comparisons almost as asides, they are so brief.
He begins his scholarly analysis by going back and looking at issues of race and slavery when these stories originally came into circulation. He concludes that skin color was initially understood much as any other physical trait was understood. He noted that in most cultures (including the Hebrew culture of the Middle East) there was an aesthetic preference for the skin tones of one's own people, though the preference was for women to be lighter skinned than men. He did not find any prejudice against black Africans among the early Hebrews, nor a tendency to associate one particular race or ethnic group with enslavement. (Although the curse of Canaan/Ham is the centerpiece of his research, he looks carefully at all possible references to race and skin color in the Bible, including the passage in the Song of Solomon, "I am very dark, but comely.")
Goldenberg then traced later interpretations of biblical texts to introduce some of the elements of later interpretations. He noted that most commentators had a problem with Canaan receiving a curse for what his father Ham had done (and also, why not all of Ham's children?). Attempts to explain this away eventually became meshed with imposition of later ideas about skin color and slavery. Goldenberg marks the big shift in outlook, however, to the Muslim conquests in Africa, which introduced large numbers of black African slaves into the Mediterranean world. At this point, the equation of descendents of Ham/Canaan=black Africans=slaves became the standard interpretation of the biblical text and an underlying assumption of other references to Africa and Africans in the Bible and biblical commentaries, as well as in interpretations of the Quran.
Goldenberg is very strong in his analysis of early Hebrew texts and culture and in showing how later cultural changes led to new interpretations of these texts. He brings in references to attitudes in surrounding cultures (Greek and Roman ideas about race and ethnicity) but he makes these comparisons almost as asides, they are so brief.
July 7, 2012
Excellent book, the book is one of a kind. Deals with the race issue from the sources of the three Abrahamic religions. Read the couple at least 3 times and still find its depth and extensive biography fascinating.
October 29, 2017
In the Bible, Noah curses Canaan after some sort of sexual misconduct occurs, stating "a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers." Christians and Muslims later perverted this language into a defense of their policy of enslaving black Africans, based on an imaginary "curse of Ham", even though (1) Ham was not cursed, and (2) Canaanites were Israel's neighbors and thus not black. How did this happen?
Goldenberg begins by discussing the Tanach (what Christians call the Old Testament) and shows that the Bible knows no color line. There are references to Kushites, but it is unclear whether they are black Africans, and there is certainly no suggestion that Kushites should be slaves. In late antiquity (3rd-7th centuries) some commentators of all monotheistic religions began to suggest that Ham was cursed with dark skin for misconduct, but did not usually claim that this curse affected only sub-Saharan Africans or caused them to be enslaved by others. For example, Origen a 3d c. Christian commentator) suggests that Ham was cursed, but says that this curse affects Egyptians who "sink to every slavery of the vices."
But when Arabs conquered large chunks of Africa in the 7th and 8th centuries, they enslaved Africans and exported them north-- so it became perfectly natural for Arabs and Europeans to equate Africa with slavery, since most Africans they saw were presumably slaves. Biblical interpretation began to reflect this view, and legends based on the Bible turned the original curse of Canaan into a dual curse of blackness and slavery that was focused like a laser beam upon the blackest people (that is, sub-Saharan Africans).
I note that this book is a dense, scholarly book with hundreds of footnotes, so it may not be the ideal book for non-scholars.
Goldenberg begins by discussing the Tanach (what Christians call the Old Testament) and shows that the Bible knows no color line. There are references to Kushites, but it is unclear whether they are black Africans, and there is certainly no suggestion that Kushites should be slaves. In late antiquity (3rd-7th centuries) some commentators of all monotheistic religions began to suggest that Ham was cursed with dark skin for misconduct, but did not usually claim that this curse affected only sub-Saharan Africans or caused them to be enslaved by others. For example, Origen a 3d c. Christian commentator) suggests that Ham was cursed, but says that this curse affects Egyptians who "sink to every slavery of the vices."
But when Arabs conquered large chunks of Africa in the 7th and 8th centuries, they enslaved Africans and exported them north-- so it became perfectly natural for Arabs and Europeans to equate Africa with slavery, since most Africans they saw were presumably slaves. Biblical interpretation began to reflect this view, and legends based on the Bible turned the original curse of Canaan into a dual curse of blackness and slavery that was focused like a laser beam upon the blackest people (that is, sub-Saharan Africans).
I note that this book is a dense, scholarly book with hundreds of footnotes, so it may not be the ideal book for non-scholars.
February 8, 2025
I read it for a class and did a book report on it.
I enjoyed it for the depth and detail of the sources, which are just literary. It makes bold claims for something just confined to the text but the literary was host to bold and egregious claims.
I appreciate it mostly because I was introduced to a lot of textual sources that I would not otherwise read on this topic.
My professor regards Goldenberg as too slippery on when the Curse of Ham, as a curse of slavery and black skin colour is in effect. She wants to black x y z but feels in this book, Goldenberg not clear.
I shrug my shoulders here.
I enjoyed it for the depth and detail of the sources, which are just literary. It makes bold claims for something just confined to the text but the literary was host to bold and egregious claims.
I appreciate it mostly because I was introduced to a lot of textual sources that I would not otherwise read on this topic.
My professor regards Goldenberg as too slippery on when the Curse of Ham, as a curse of slavery and black skin colour is in effect. She wants to black x y z but feels in this book, Goldenberg not clear.
I shrug my shoulders here.
September 23, 2024
One of the most mindblowing books I've read, and with endless sources to boot.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews