Canaan, the son of Ham, is identified as the perpetrator of a perverse act against Noah while he was drunk and uncovered in his tent. Ham, Canaan's father, is noted twice in the account as being the first to witness the aftermath of his son's actions and reported it to his brothers, Shem and Japheth, for counsel. When Noah awoke, he knew what had been done to him and cursed Canaan for the violation. Canaan, listed last among Ham's sons—Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan—is confirmed as the youngest son of Ham, bearing the punishment for his own sin.

Following the Flood, as memories of it faded among the descendants of Noah, sin began to reemerge in the generations that followed. Among these descendants was Canaan, son of Ham, whose sin was notably destructive. This grievous act, influenced perhaps by the earlier sin of Noah himself, stands as a somber reminder of human susceptibility to temptation, even among those who have witnessed God's mighty judgments. As the population grew and kingdoms like Nimrod's arose, the moral decline continued, showing how quickly mankind drifted from obedience to God despite the historical reality of the Flood.

Canaan is the son of Ham. Canaan is introduced as a major player in the events that follow the account of Noah's drunkenness. Canaan is mentioned again as one of Ham's sons. Noah speaks about Canaan in the passage that follows. Canaan was the youngest son of Ham. Canaan was probably at least a teenager and perhaps a young man at the time of these events. When Ham saw the nakedness of Noah and told his brothers about it Canaan overheard the report. Canaan then went into the tent where Noah lay and performed a perverse physical act upon his grandfather. Noah realized upon waking what had been done to him and knew that Canaan was the one who had done it. Noah immediately cursed Canaan. The curse states that Canaan shall be a servant of servants to his brethren. This curse applies only to the descendants of Canaan and not to the other descendants of Ham. The name Canaan means humiliated.

Canaan dishonored his father Noah. His brothers honored their father. A curse fell on Canaan as a result of this sin. Both Ham and Canaan broke the fifth commandment by dishonoring Noah. God pronounced a curse specifically on Canaan who probably played the largest part in this sin. This commandment was in effect long before Moses received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.