This book is a study in the history of biblical interpretation with implications for contemporary social relations. It illumines the religious dimensions of America's racial history by exploring how the book of Genesis has been used to justify slavery, segregation, and the repression of “blacks.” The book focuses on passages in Genesis 9–11 that have been consistently racialized by Bible readers in search of authoritative explanations for the origin and destiny of sub‐Saharan Africans. This often‐overlooked section of the Bible's primeval history includes the tale of Noah and his sons (Gen. 9: ... More

This book is a study in the history of biblical interpretation with implications for contemporary social relations. It illumines the religious dimensions of America's racial history by exploring how the book of Genesis has been used to justify slavery, segregation, and the repression of “blacks.” The book focuses on passages in Genesis 9–11 that have been consistently racialized by Bible readers in search of authoritative explanations for the origin and destiny of sub‐Saharan Africans. This often‐overlooked section of the Bible's primeval history includes the tale of Noah and his sons (Gen. 9: 20–27), the legend of the “mighty hunter” Nimrod (Gen. 10: 6–10), and the Tower of Babel story (Gen. 11: 1–10), passages that have contributed profoundly to Euro–American images of “blacks.” The book carefully analyzes the so‐called curse of Ham (or Canaan) recorded in Genesis 9, invoked by antebellum proslavery apologists, and explores the influence of the curse tradition in America before and after the Civil War.