s is not yet full." According to this passage,
the curse on Canaan can be realized upon him, only when his own
iniquity has been fully matured. This his iniquity is presupposed by
his curse. If he were to be punished on account of the guilt of the
father,--a guilt in which he had no share,--then indeed no delay would
have been necessary. To this view we are farther led by what is
reported in Genesis concerning the moral depravity of Sodom and
Gomorrah, which, in the development of the sinful germ inherent in the
race, had outrun all others, and were, therefore, before all others,
overtaken by punishment. (To this view we are further led by what is
reported in Genesis concerning the moral depravity of Sodom and
Gomorrah, which, in the development of the sinful germ inherent in the
race, had outrun all others, and were therefore, before all others,
overtaken by punishment) To this view we are led, _further_, by Lev.
xviii. and the parallel passages, where the Canaanites appear as a
nation of abominations which the land spues out; and, _finally_, by
what ancient heathen writers report regarding the deep corruption of
the Ph[oe]nicians and Carthaginians.

The remainder of Ham's posterity are passed over in silence; it is only
in the sequel that we expect information regarding them. But the
foreboding arises, that their deliverance will be more difficult of
accomplishment than that of Japheth, although the circumstance that
Canaan is singled out from among them affords us decided hope for the
rest.

But not even the exclusion of Ham is to be considered as an unavoidable
fate resting upon him. Heathenism alone knows such a curse. The
subjective conditions of the curse imply the possibility of becoming
free from it. To this, there is an express testimony in the
circumstance, that the promise to the Patriarchs is not limited. David
received the remnant of the Canaanitish Jebusites into the congregation
of the Lord. (Compare remarks on Zech. ix. 7.) And, in the Gospels, the
Canaanitish woman appears as a representative of her nation, and as a
proof the possibility, granted to them, of breaking through the fetters
of the curse. (Compare also the remarkable passage, Ezek. xvi. 46.)

[Pg 36]

"The curse is contrasted with the blessing pronounced on Shem
and Japheth, and the second member of ver. 25 is, in vers. 26, 27, used
as a repetition in reference to each of the two brethren, who were, in
it, viewed together."--(_Tuch._)