Ham

Ham is Noah's second son whose act of dishonoring his father after the Flood - and whose descendant Canaan's illegal seizure of Shem's territory - establishes the theological basis for later conflicts over the promised land. Jasher 7 describes Ham stealing Adam's garments (which pass to Nimrod), introducing the theme of illegitimate power. Jubilees 8-10 details the division of the earth and Canaan's violation of the sworn boundaries. Ham's line produces both Nimrod (the first tyrant) and the Canaanite peoples who will oppose Israel. Within the broader narrative preserved across these three ancient texts, Ham occupies a distinctive position in the Post-Flood that connects to figures such as others in the tradition. The pseudepigraphal accounts provide details and perspectives absent from other ancient sources, offering readers a more complete portrait of this figure's significance within the cosmic drama of covenant, rebellion, and restoration that defines the Enochian worldview. These expanded narratives invite deeper reflection on the moral and spiritual dimensions of Ham's story as it relates to the overarching themes of divine sovereignty, human agency, and the consequences of choices made in the presence of heavenly realities.

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Biography

Father: Noah
Era: Post-Flood

Family

Parents

Noah

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Ham

Patriarch Ancestor

Key Chapters

The Book of Jasher 7 The Generations of Noah. The Garments of Skin made for Adam Stolen by Ham and they Descend to Nimrod the Mighty Hunter, who Becomes the King of the Wh... 9 min read The Book of Jubilees 8 The Division of the Earth among the Sons of Noah 8 min read

Key Passages

Ham's garments stolen

The Book of Jasher 7:24-30

And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush....

A²⁴nd the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush.

²⁵ For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son. ²⁶ And at the death of Methuselah, Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with him until he went out of the ark. ²⁷ And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers. ²⁸ And when Ham begat his first born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days. ²⁹ And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years old he put on those garments. ³⁰ And Nimrod became strong when he put on the garments, and God gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted the animals and he built altars, and he offered upon them the animals before the Lord.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jasher 7 →

Division of earth

The Book of Jubilees 8:1-12

In the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, 1373 A.M. in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and...

I¹n the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, 1373 A.M. in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and her name was Rasu'eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam, and she bare him a son in the third year in this week, 1375 A.M. and he called his name Kainam.

² And the son grew, and his father taught him writing, and he went to seek for himself a place where he might seize for himself a city. ³ And he found a writing which former (generations) had carved on the rock, and he read what was thereon, and he transcribed it and sinned owing to it; for it contained the teaching of the Watchers in accordance with which they used to observe the omens of the sun and moon and stars in all the signs of heaven. ⁴ And he wrote it down and said nothing regarding it; for he was afraid to speak to Noah about it lest he should be angry with him on account of it. ⁵ And in the thirtieth jubilee, 1429 A.M. in the second week, in the first year thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was Melka, the daughter of Madai, the son of Japheth, and in the fourth year 1432 A.M. he begat a son, and called his name Shelah; for he said: 'Truly I have been sent.' ⁶ And in the fourth year he was born, and Shelah grew up and took to himself a wife, and her name was Mu'ak, the daughter of Kesed, his father's brother, in the one and thirtieth jubilee, in the fifth week, in the first year 1499 A.M. thereof. ⁷ And she bare him a son in the fifth year 1503 A.M. thereof, and he called his name Eber: and he took unto himself a wife, and her name was 'Azûrâd, the daughter of Nebrod, in the thirty-second jubilee, in the seventh week, in the third year thereof. 1564 A.M. ⁸ And in the sixth year 1567 A.M. thereof, she bare him son, and he called his name Peleg; for in the days when he was born the children of Noah began to divide the earth amongst themselves: for this reason he called his name Peleg. ⁹ And they divided (it) secretly amongst themselves, and told it to Noah. ¹⁰ And it came to pass in the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee 1569 A.M. that they divided the earth into three parts, for Shem and Ham and Japheth, according to the inheritance of each, in the first year in the first week, when one of us who had been sent, was with them. ¹¹ And he called his sons, and they drew nigh to him, they and their children, and he divided the earth into the lots, which his three sons were to take in possession, and they reached forth their hands, and took the writing out of the bosom of Noah, their father. ¹² And there came forth on the writing as Shem's lot the middle of the earth which he should take as an inheritance for himself and for his sons for the generations of eternity, from the middle of the mountain range of Rafa, from the mouth of the water from the river Tina, and his portion goes towards the west through the midst of this river, and it extends till it reaches the water of the abysses, out of which this river goes forth and pours its waters into the sea Me'at, and this river flows into the great sea. And all that is towards the north is Japheth's, and all that is towards the south belongs to Shem.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jubilees 8 →

Did You Know?

Adam's original garments passed through Ham to Nimrod, granting supernatural power.

His son Canaan's illegal land seizure is the theological basis for the later conquest.

He fathers the Egyptian, Canaanite, and African peoples in the tradition's geography.