The Curse of Cain (Also called the Curse of Ham) refers to passages of the fourth and 9th chapters of Genesis in the Bible & Torah, that became infamous in the 18th-20th centuries due to a racist interpretation. The Biblical chapter describes two brothers, Cain and Abel, one raises animals for food, and the other, a farmer, offers his harvest for sacrifice to God. God finds Cain's offerings inadequate and Cain, seeing Abel's offerings, becomes jealous and kills Abel. The following passage is taken from the Bible/Torah and the bold indicates the specifics of the curse.

The original passage

Genesis 4:9-15 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Genesis 9:20-27 20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 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. 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

The racial implication

During the period of European colonization, a new interpretation of the curse of Cain was developed by European and White American religious groups to justify and explain the exploitation of Black Africans. This interpretation actually took the two passages of Genesis and synergized them. Thus it was concluded that Black people, being the descendants of Ham, were cursed to serve Whites (who were considered descendants of Japeth and Shem). The mark, being previously understood as a small blotch or symbol on Cain's face, became accepted as the changing of Cain's assumed white skin, to black skin. And until the late 20th century, many protestant groups in America as well as some Jewish synagogues had supported the notion that Black slavery, oppression, and African colonization was the result of God's curse on the African people through Cain and Caanan. In effect, the misuse of the bible passages enabled White Christian organizations to support a Hindu like caste system, whereby the Black Africans were treated in the same manner as the Untoouchable Dalit people of India.

Confusion

Perhaps due to the zeal of racism, many White Christian groups confounded the Mark of Cain with the Curse of Cain. They promoted teriteray ideas such as the belief that intermarriage was a sin before God, and that Blacks were unworthy of many spiritual blessings from God, and should not be priests. Other groups went so far as to preach other beliefs that are blasphemous to Biblical Christian doctrine, including two seperate heavens, one for Blacks, and one for Whites. The effect of the curse, which would be the only relevant way to understand it, was for Cain, on the land. For Canaan, was to serve the people of Shem's line. The racializing of the curse ignored these effects and superimposed broad sweeping assumption of Black servitude to Whites. It also ignored the New Testament passages which would otherwise render the relevance of these curses, thus a self-fufilling prophecy becamse the logical reasoning of many racist White Christian institutions in the West. It is important to note that the Coptic, Ethiopian, Thomasite, and much of the Catholic church did not recognize these interpretations and did not participate in the religious movement to support them.

The Mormon implications and abrogations

The Mormon Church, founded in the 19th century, during the height of this racial interpretation, had canonized passages in their scriptures to support it. The Book of Abraham, as well as various other scripture, including passages from their own founder and prophets, explicitly point out that the Curse of Cain is on the Black-African people and their descendants throughout the world. Throughout the history of the Mormon church, the Curse of Cain was synergized with the Curse of Caanan, and the mark of Cain has been used to legitimately differentiate Black people in order to maintain the status-quo. Most significantly, Black people were forbidden to be priests in the Mormon Church. When the civil rights of Black people throughout the world were elevated, and anti-black laws were repealed in America, the Mormon leadership provided a revelation from God to mirror the changing times, and the passages in the Mormon scriptures were abrogation in regards to Mormon priesthood, thereby including Black clergy. These abrogations however did not address the more fundamental and important issue of whether or not God created Blacks as a result of a cursed or marked variance of a White (or non-black) ancestor. Nor did these passages deal with the association of God's displeasure and dark skin color. The Mormon Church has made many attempts to reconcile the remaining unabrogated passages by redefining what Black means, and to ignore the present day relevance of the curse and the mark. However most Mormons refuse to recognize a mark as anything less than a complete change of skin color, thereby ignoring many passages in the Bible that clearly differentiate the two.

Biblical Passages refuting the racial interpretation=

Leviticus 19:28 - Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

Jeremiah 13:23 - Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?

These two passages indicate that the Biblical translators did not view a mark to be synonymous with the changing of skin color.

Numbers 12:1 "And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman...9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous."

In Numbers, Miriam and Aaron, Moses' siblings, spoke against him because his wife was Black. IN a twist of irony, God responded by cursing Miriam with a form of leprosy which left her skin white. This passage infers that firstly, God did not support any view that Blacks were cursed or seperated as people from God. Secondly, Miriam's skin would have to be darker than white in order for the this curse of leprosy to be (as well as Moses and Aaron) were perhaps not White to begin with.

Logical problems with the Curse of Cain

The passage in Genesis relating to Cain makes no mention of his descendants.
The effect of the curse on the land could not apply to Black people as their ability to cultivate land was unaffected. With Canaan, the descendants of Shem annexed the land of Canaan and their descendants were eventually wiped out or assimilated. Throughout the Bible other Kushites (Blacks) were described, unaffiliated with the curse. Tzipporah, Moses' wife, being Black, also was not mentioned in relation to the curse.