Black and Slave : : The Origins and History of the Curse of Ham / / David M. Goldenberg.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Plus DeG Package 2017 Part 1
• VerfasserIn: Goldenberg, David M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2017]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Series: Studies of the Bible and Its Reception (SBR) , 10
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (IX, 360 p.)

Studies of the Curse of Ham, the belief that the Bible consigned blacks to everlasting servitude, confuse and conflate two separate origins stories (etiologies), one of black skin and the other of black slavery. This work unravels the etiologies and shows how the Curse, an etiology of black slavery, evolved from an earlier etiology explaining the existence of dark-skinned people. We see when, where, why, and how an original mythic tale of black origins morphed into a story of the origins of black slavery, and how, in turn, the second then supplanted the first as an explanation for black skin. In the process we see how formulations of the Curse changed over time, depending on the historical and social contexts, reflecting and refashioning the way blackness and blacks were perceived. In particular, two significant developments are uncovered. First, a curse of slavery, originally said to affect various dark-skinned peoples, was eventually applied most commonly to black Africans. Second, blackness, originally incidental to the curse, in time became part of the curse itself. Dark skin now became an intentional marker of servitude, the visible sign of the blacks’ degradation, and in the process deprecating black skin itself.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Chapter One. Black and/or Slave: Confusion, Conflation, Chaos -- Chapter Two. Skin Color Etiologies -- Chapter Three. The Origin of Black Skin in Noah’s Ark -- Chapter Four. The Origin of Black Skin in Noah’s Tent -- Chapter Five. The Beginnings of the Curse of Ham -- Chapter Six. The Dual Curse of Slavery and Black Skin -- Chapter Seven. The Curse of Ham Migrates to the West -- Chapter Eight. The Dual Curse in Europe -- Chapter Nine. The Curse of Ham in America -- Chapter Ten. The Beginnings of Chaos -- Chapter Eleven. Which People Were Cursed with Black Skin? -- Chapter Twelve. The Meaning of Blackness and the Curse of Ham -- Chapter Thirteen. Conclusions -- Appendices -- Appendix I. The Curse of Ham in Europe, 18th–19th Centuries -- Appendix II. The Curse of Ham in America, 18th-20th Centuries -- Appendix III. The Curse of Cain: 17th–19th Centuries -- Excursus -- Excursus I. Did Ham Have Sex with a Dog? -- Excursus II. A Passage in Ṭabarī’s History -- Excursus III. Was Canaan Black? -- Excursus IV. ‘Kushite’ Meaning Egyptian or Arab in Jewish Sources -- Excursus V. A Curse of Ham in Origen? -- Bibliography -- Subject and Name Index -- Index of Modern Authors -- Index to Scripture