Genesis 9:18

The sons of Noah. His three sons, mentioned repeatedly in previous passages (chs. 5:32; 6:10; 7:13), are again mentioned as the heads of the nations into which the human family developed. Their names are explained in connection with the table of nations, ch. 10.

Ham is the father of Canaan. Ham’s son Canaan is mentioned here in prospective allusion to what follows. Furthermore, it must have been the purpose of Moses to direct the attention of the Hebrews of his time to the unsavory event described in the next verses, in order that they might understand better why the Canaanites, whom they soon would meet, were so deeply degraded and morally corrupt. The root of their depravity was found in their early ancestor Ham, “the father of Canaan.”