Ham is the ancestor of Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. His descendants are associated with parts of North Africa, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and the ancient region south of the Levant, which corresponds to present-day Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

• Genesis 10:10-12 "His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah"

• Genesis 10:19 "And the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha."

Cush

► According to the Bible, Cush is the father of Nimrod, founder of ancient Mesopotamian cities such as Babylon.

► According to the official narrative, Cush also populated regions along the Red Sea, in Sudan, Ethiopia, and parts of Central Africa.

Mizraim

The Egyptians are said to be descendants of Ham through Mizraim.

Put

Although less documented than Cush or Mizraim, Put is said to have populated certain regions of North Africa. The biblical table of nations places Put in the region of modern Libya.

Canaan

Fourth son of Ham, is the recipient of the “curse of Ham.” According to the Bible, Canaan had two sons: Sidon and Heth (Genesis 10:15).

► His first son Sidon: built the city of Sidon which was located in the region known as Phoenicia. Ancient Phoenicia was a region located along the eastern Mediterranean, corresponding to present-day Lebanon, with parts adjacent to modern Syria and Israel. Most of the ships that sailed the seas and spread Phoenician culture set sail from the port of Sidon. It was also considered the “seat” of Phoenician civilization and the Jerusalem of the cult of Baal, where the Phoenician religious duo, Baal Sidon and Ashteroth, were worshipped. It was Sidon that gave gods to the Phoenicians, and through them to Greece, Italy, and Carthage.​​

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► His second son Heth: begot Hor (Hur), who was the progenitor of Seir the Horite, making Seir the great-great-grandson of Canaan. According to the ISBE (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia), the Horites were possibly a white troglodyte race.

• Seir* the son of Hur, the son of Heveus, the son of Canaan, found a valley near mount Pharan, and he settled there with his seven sons and all his family. He gave his name to the city he built there. It is the country called Seir * until the present day.  |Jasher 10:28|​​​ ​

According to the Scriptures, Ham was cursed by Noah through his son Canaan, and it is not uncommon to hear that black skin symbolizes Ham's curse, and that it is evident in the enslaving of the black race by other nations.

There are also several apocryphal books which mention that Ham's descendants darkened and their skin turned black. The issues with this claim are as follows:

1. Firstly, it is a fact that black skin is the basis for all other skin colors. Chapter 106 of the Book of Enoch suggests that Noah was an albino, and we can therefore assume that he was of black origin in his genetic makeup. However, if his son Ham was born with black skin before any curse was pronounced upon him, his black skin could not have been a curse since he was born that way.

2. If Ham was already black, one might ask if the European theologians who translated the ancient texts and manuscripts fully discern the spiritual meaning of the term “darkened”? Could it be that this term was mistakenly translated in the literal sense of “black skin” when in fact it referred to “darkening of the heart”?

It is important to remember that in the Middle Ages, the association between Ham, Africa, and Africans was not systematic. Even modern sources often associated Ham with races of giants and pagan gods such as Pan, rather than with Africa. The descendants of Ham were cited to illustrate discrimination between social classes in Europe, where Ham was identified as the ancestor of European peasants. It was only after European travelers reached the African continent and observed the physical characteristics and lifestyles of the various black populations of Central Africa that they began to label Ham as the ancestor of Africans.​

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This characterization was popularized by the 6th-century Babylonian Talmud, which interpreted the biblical account to mean that the descendants of Canaan had been accursed with blackness and degeneracy.

The idea that the descendants of Canaan were black and had “Negroid” phenotypic characteristics persisted in several medieval rabbinic writings. The reasons given were that, just as Canaan's lips had mocked Noah, the lips of his descendants would become "swollen"; and just as Canaan had exposed Noah's nakedness, the children of Canaan would walk around naked, with their sexual organs “shamefully enlarged.” |Black Jews in Africa and the America by Tudor Parfitt|

​​For decades, this stereotype has been used to justify abuse, acts of violence, atrocities, and crimes committed against Black people in the name of religion.

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