@Stranger ....
Is the curse on Canaan still active today? Are the blessings on Shem and Japheth still active today? We do see their descendants today!?
I shall just review the curse, the cause of so much contention. Yes, I know, some folks believe that the curse and the blessings are interrelated and should be reviewed together. I disagree and only hint at the main reason why, here....
So, do we still have the curse of Canaan today?
This all depends on your view and I apparently differ from your view and especially those of Arthur Custance’s sets of written conjecture. He misapplies scripture and used faulty logic to force his interpretation on scripture with his misplaced logic. He makes a great tale though..I have read some of his stuff.
There was a specific curse placed on Canaan and his descendants only, not on his siblings or their descendants, and neither on his Father, Ham. The Canaan curse ended definitely by the time Israel (Judah and Benjamin) was again enslaved, by the Babylonians. Canaan curse served YHWH’s purpose very well!
This curse was realized and reached it climax after the people of Canaan were conquered by the Israelites, their promised land.
The mislabeling of Canaan (and his descendants) as ‘the servant of servants’ (Gen 9:25) with a self-serving and convenient new and dishonest meaning has been used especially by Europeans folks to make this meaning extend into ALL of the descendants of Ham! This extension and very expression with its misapplication has been the bane and cause of so much tension between white and those of color since at least the middle ages. And many justified all Ham’s descendants of all color to be suitable for slavery, ordained by YHWH. This is the lie suited for those destined for the depths of hell.
The expression ‘servant of servants’ means as intended, as a Hebrew expression to mean a person that’s life was not even worth living. A life that was expendable to YHWH. The Canaanites were destroyed without any remorse or mercy. They were indeed ‘the servant of servants.’ Worthless and worthy of death.
If the curse extended into all of Ham’s descendants which is incorrect, then show me where the Chinese, Indians (India) or the Mongolians or even the Egyptians and many of the Africans, especially on the Eastern side of the Continent, became Japheth’s or Shem’s servants.
Now if we look at post 1400s, we do see Japheth’s evil intentions of forced slavery of many of these people. Not by the will of YHWH.
‘Servant of servants,’ like ‘song of songs,’ and many other similar Hebrew expressions are superlative. Unmatched, unique, to serve a unique purpose of YHWH; and this time used as a curse for a set of people for the catalyst, for Israel’s future downfall and regret. And we know the rest of the story….
Bless you,
APAK