Introduction
Canaan is a son of Ham, named in the Table of Nations of Genesis 10 as the ancestor of the various Canaanite peoples who inhabited the land later promised to Abraham and his descendants. He is also the specific object of Noah's curse in Genesis 9, pronounced on him rather than directly on his father Ham, whose conduct upon seeing Noah drunk and uncovered prompted the curse.
This article follows the biblical account in Genesis. Where later Jewish, Christian or Islamic tradition adds detail not found in the text itself, the article identifies it as such.
Family
Noah's curse
After Ham saw his father Noah lying drunk and uncovered in his tent and told his brothers, Noah, upon waking and learning what had happened, cursed not Ham directly but Ham's son Canaan, declaring "Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers". The reason the curse falls on Canaan rather than Ham has been much debated by biblical scholars and commentators throughout history, without a settled explanation in the text itself.
Descendants and the land of Canaan
Genesis 10:15-19 lists Canaan's descendants as including Sidon, Heth, and the ancestors of the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites and other peoples inhabiting the region later called the land of Canaan, the territory God promises to Abraham and his descendants beginning in Genesis 12, making the Canaanites the peoples the patriarchal narratives repeatedly encounter as they settle and move through this land.