Genesis 9:24

his youngest son The rendering of the R.V. marg. and of the A.V., younger(so LXX ὁ νεώτερος, Lat. minor), is not permissible. The Hebrew word, where there is a comparison between more than two persons, means "the youngest," as in the story of David (1 Samuel 16:11; 1 Samuel 17:14). The difficulty, which has led to the rendering of the R.V. marg. and the A.V., arises from the fact that in the order of Noah's sons given by J in Genesis 9:18, and by P in Genesis 5:32; Genesis 6:10; Genesis 7:13, and Genesis 10:1, Japheth is mentioned third, and was therefore considered to be the youngest. If, however, as seems probable, we are here dealing with a distinct tradition, in which the third and youngest son was Canaan, the difficulty caused by the words, "his youngest son," taken in conjunction with the curse pronounced upon Canaan (Ham not being mentioned), will disappear.

Origen, in order to escape the difficulty, suggested that Canaan, the youngest son of Ham (Genesis 10:6), saw his grandfather, Noah, lying exposed, and reported it to his father, Ham; and this theory has found favour with many. But, at the best, it is an ingenious gloss; it is not in the text, but an addition to it.

had done Nothing is told of the youngest son's misconduct. So far as our text goes, he had merely reported to his brothers their father's shameful condition. These words, however, suggest that the narrative in Genesis 9:22 has for good reasons been abbreviated or modified.