The ‘Naked Narrative’ from Noah to Leviticus: Reassessing Voyeurism in the Account of Noah’s Nakedness in Genesis 9.22-24

Abstract

Recent interpretations of the scene of Noah’s nakedness in Gen. 9.22-24 have suggested that Noah’s curse, which lands on Canaan owing to what his father Ham had done, was a response to a sexually deviant act on the part of Ham, either with his father Noah (paternal incest) or with Noah’s wife (maternal incest). Evidence in support of this interpretation is marshaled from two sources: Gen. 19.30-38 and the story of Lot and his daughters, and Leviticus 18 and 20 and the prohibitions on incestuous relationships, which uses the language ‘uncovering nakedness’. This article argues for two points. First, the assertion is made that the voyeuristic position is the likely explanation for Noah’s reaction against Ham: it was simply the act of seeing Noah uncovered that warranted the cursing from Noah. This is due to the especial importance of ‘nakedness’ within the prehistory and to the fact that cursing is closely associated with it. Second, the issue of incest condemned in Leviticus 18 and 20 combines the scene of Noah’s nakedness with the story of Lot and his daughters to create a mythological support for its prohibitions on incestuous relationships. Thus, the scene of Noah’s nakedness stands at the headwaters of a ‘naked narrative’ that culminates in the legislation regarding illicit sexual unions in Leviticus.