The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World) [Hardcover]

David M. Goldenberg (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World | Publication Date: October 13, 2003

How old is prejudice against black people? Were the racist attitudes that fuelled the Atlantic slave trade firmly in place 700 years before the European discovery of sub-Saharan Africa? In this book, David Goldenberg seeks to discover how dark-skinned peoples, especially black Africans, were portrayed in the Bible and by those who interpreted the Bible - by Jews, Christians and Muslims. His investigations cover a 1500-year period, from ancient Israel (around 800 BCE) to the 8th century CE, after the birth of Islam. By tracing the development of anti-Black sentiment during this time, Goldenberg uncovers views about race, colour and slavery that took shape over the centuries - most centrally, the belief that the biblical Ham and his descendants, the black Africans, had been cursed by God with eternal slavery. Goldenberg begins by examining a host of references to black Africans in biblical and post-biblical Jewish literature. From there he moves the inquiry from Black as an ethnic group to black as colour, and early Jewish attitudes towards dark skin colour. He goes on to ask when the black African first became identified as slave in the Near East, and, in a powerful culmination, discusses the resounding influence of this identification on Jewish, Christian and Islamic thinking, noting each tradition's exegetical treatment of pertinent biblical passages.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Book of Genesis records an instance of Noah cursing his son Ham's descendants to be slaves. Although there is no biblical evidence that Ham was the "father" of African peoples, various Jewish, Christian and Islamic writers came to believe that he was, and their association helped to justify centuries of African enslavement. When did this interpretation creep in? In this sweeping and ambitious work, Goldenberg shows that early Jewish sources actually had positive or neutral associations for Africa and for Ethiopians (sometimes called "Kushites"), but that postbiblical writers such as Philo and Origen began associating "blackness" with darkness of the soul. Goldenberg's final chapters painstakingly trace the historical trajectories for "the curse of Ham" and "the curse of Cain" in Western thought through the 20th century. (Supporters of slavery thought that the "mark" that God put on Cain after he murdered Abel was black skin. The linguistic discussions in this book can be highly technical, but the research is meticulous and important.
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Review

"a powerful new study of the roots of racism in Western religions" -- Tikkun

For so massively erudite a work this book is remarkably accessible. -- John Pridmore , Church Times

[A] sweeping and ambitious work. . . . [T]he research is meticulous and important. -- Publishers Weekly

[A] sweeping and ambitious work. . . . [T]he research is meticulous and important. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069111465X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691114651
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,372,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars NOTHING BUT CITATIONS!!!!, October 5, 2011

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CURSED FOR BUYING - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World) (Paperback)

THIS BOOK IS MORE THAN HALF CITATIONS!!!! THE ACTUAL READING MATERIAL IS ONLY 200 PAGES....DO NOT BE FOOLED!!!! THERE ARE OTHER BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM ON THIS TOPIC THAT DO NOT SIMPLY MENTION THE WORKS OF OTHER BOOKS.

12 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Race Bible and slavery, December 13, 2004

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Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World) (Hardcover)

Was Ham African? This book tries to divinate the truth and the origin of the 'curse of Ham' since over the generations many have perverted the bible to show that the descendants of Ham were African and were also meant to be slaves. The truth is a little different. Just as Atalantic slavers used the exuse that africans were not human to enslave them thus Muslims likewise used the excuse that africans could be enslaved as pagans. But the Bible was simply used as an easy way to not feel guilty about slavery. The reality was that slavery was practiced not just against Africans and that the race of Africans had little to do with slavery. Rather the slave trade seems to have been so long and prosperous in Africa due to the Africans being active participants, the lack of a unified empire in Africa to oppose slavery and the lack of other sources of humans to serve as slaves. After all we know that Rome enslaved the Gauls and other europeans. But when Europe developed a strong state the only europeans open to being enslaved where those colonized by the Ottomans. Likewise the depopulation that followed the Islamic conquest of the middle east meant that slaves could not come from thos eregions. Slaves certainyl couldnt be transported out of China. Thus Africa became the meat market for human cruelty, the sickness of slavery that eventually consumed and destroyed african soceity. But among the warrior tribes such as the Zulu we do not see enslavement, why? Because they dared to raise the sword against the Perverts who came to buy their daughters into slavery. The 'curse of Ham' had little to do with Africa rather it had more to do with Humans and the weakness of the state.

Seth J. Frantzman