Ask the Scholars

First of all, the person is wrong about the Babylonian Talmud. It dates to the 6th century, not later, and it doesn't reflect negatively on black people. The story of Noah also says nothing about black people. I've read some of the Babylonian material, and I talked with a friend of mine who's an expert on this - these are later interpretations placed upon these original writings. The Biblical story, for example - the suggestion that the curse placed on Canaan applies to blacks - became a...

If I can just to add to that, I don't know much about the Babylonian Talmud, but I do know that the curse on Ham has been variously translated, and it doesn't say anything about race. It says that because Ham saw his father drunk and naked and scoffed at him, his son Canaan was cursed. Now why Canaan was cursed when Ham committed the sin is not clear at all, but in the context of the Old Testament, it's quite clear what that's pointing to, which is the justification for displacing the Ca...