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The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18-29 in the Antebellum South

Abstract

This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18-29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in the antebellum South. However, more than simply being used as a prooftext for racist agendas, the curse of Ham provided a biblical foil for circumscribing a racial hierarchy where whiteness was positioned as superior in the figure of Japheth. By considering key features of the racist antebellum interpretation, I argue that the proslavery rationalization of Christian antebellum writers is rooted in a deracialized whiteness that was biblically produced and blessed with divine authority.

article Article
date_range 2021
language English
link Link of the paper
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Featured Keywords

curse of Ham
Hebrew Bible
antebellum south
slavery
racism
whiteness
critical race theory
whiteness studies
biblical interpretation
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