Shem); still less 'his contemptible son' (Ra.); or Ham's
youngest (IEz.). The conclusion is not to be evaded that
the writer follows a peculiar genealogical scheme in which
Canaan is the youngest son of Noah.—25-27. Noah's curse
and blessings must be presumed to have been legible in the
destinies of his reputed descendants at the time when the
legend took shape (cf. 2728f. 39f. 49) (on the fulfilment see the
concluding note, p. 186 f.). The dominant feature is the curse
on Canaan, which not only stands first, but is repeated in
the blessings on the two brothers.—25. The descendants of
Canaan are doomed to perpetual enslavement to the other
two branches of the human family.—a servant of servants]
means 'the meanest slave' (G-K. § 133 i).—to his brethren]
not the other members of the Hamitic race, but (as is clear
from the following vv.) to Shem and Japheth.—26. Blessed be Yahwe the God of Shem] The idea thus expressed is not
satisfactory. To 'bless' Yahwe means no more than to
praise Him; and an ascription of praise to Yahwe is only
in an oblique sense a blessing on Shem, inasmuch as it
assumes a religious primacy of the Shemites in having
Yahwe for their God. Bu. (294 f.) proposed to omit (
Hebrew characters) and
read (Hebrew characters): Blessed of Yahwe be Shem (cf. 2431 2629
[both J]). Di.'s objection, that this does not express wherein
the blessing consists, applies with quite as much force to
the received text. Perhaps a better emendation is that of
Graetz (Hebrew characters) ((Hebrew characters) would be still more acceptable):
[May] Yahwe bless the tents of Shem; see the next v.—27.
May God expand ((Hebrew characters)) Yepheth: a play on the name ((Hebrew characters)).
The use of the generic (Hebrew characters) implies that the proper name
§ 70 n.—26. (Hebrew characters) may stand either for (Hebrew characters) (coll.) or (Hebrew characters): see Note 3 in
G-K. § 103 f. The latter is the more natural here. Ols. (MBBA, June
1870, 382) proposed to omit 26b, substituting 27aβ ((Hebrew characters)—(Hebrew characters)), and retain
27b with ref. of pl. suff. to (Hebrew characters). G has αὐτοῦ in 26b and αὐτῶν in 27b.—27.
(Hebrew characters)] G πλατύναι, V dilatet, etc. The √ (Hebrew characters) in the sense 'be spacious'
is extremely rare in Heb. (Pr. 2019 [?2428]), and the accepted rendering
not beyond challenge. Nö. (BL, iii. 191) denies the geographical sense,
and explains the word from the frequent Semitic figure of spaciousness
for prosperity. This would almost require us to take the subject of the
following clause to be God (v.s.).
