The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18-29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in the antebellum South....
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
|
| In: |
Religions
Year: 2021, Volume: 12, Issue: 11 |
| Further subjects: | B
Slavery
B whiteness studies B Hebrew Bible B Critical Race Theory B curse of Ham B Racism B antebellum south B Biblical Interpretation B Whiteness |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18-29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in the antebellum South. However, more than simply being used as a prooftext for racist agendas, the curse of Ham provided a biblical foil for circumscribing a racial hierarchy where whiteness was positioned as superior in the figure of Japheth. By considering key features of the racist antebellum interpretation, I argue that the proslavery rationalization of Christian antebellum writers is rooted in a deracialized whiteness that was biblically produced and blessed with divine authority. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel12110928 |