Genesis 9:23

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 9:23 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they saw not their father`s nakedness.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they saw not their father`s nakedness.
Genesis 9:23 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 9

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
23And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they saw not their father`s nakedness.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Shem and Japheth took a garment, etc.] Who were the two brothers Ham told what he had seen, and who, no doubt, reproved him for his ill behaviour, and then took a garment, a coat of their own, very probably, some large garment fit for the purpose; and laid it upon both their shoulders; one part of it on the right shoulder of the one, and the other on the left shoulder of the other: and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; going backward when they came into the tent, and to the place where their father lay, they threw the garment off from their shoulders over him, and so covered him: and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness: which they…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- XXX. The Prophecy of Noah 18. כנען kena‛an, “Kena‘an, bowed down.” 19. נפץ nāpats, “break, scatter, spread.” פוּץ pûts, “break, scatter, flow.” 20. כרם kerem, “orchard, vineyard.” 21. יין yayı̂n, “wine; related: ferment.” After the blessing on the new heads of the human race has been pronounced, and the covenant with them renewed, we are prepared for a new development of human action. This appears, however, in the form of an event which is itself a meet preliminary to the subsequent stage of affairs. The prophecy of Noah, delivered in the shape of a solemn paternal doom, pronounced upon his three sons, sketches in a few striking traits the future history of the separate families of…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification