defilement be purged from the midst of Israel to restore its sanctity before G-d (Exod 21:12–14; Num 35:30–34; Deut 19:10). The rainbow then serves as a reminder for G-d’s eternal covenant with humankind. The narrative concludes with an episode in which Noah’s son Ham is cursed for an impropriety committed against Noah while he was asleep from drinking. Insofar as Ham is the ancestor of Canaan, this segment of the narrative prepares the reader for the charge that the Canaanites committed sins and