“Noah … said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren … Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” (Genesis 9:24-27)

As time progressed, the Canaanites did become subservient to the Shemites. For of Shem came Abraham, and of Abraham ultimately the 12 tribes of Israel, who were given the land of Canaan.

“Behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession.” (Deuteronomy 32:49)

But the prophecy also indicates Japheth was to receive of the blessing which would naturally fall to Shem supposing this is the meaning of “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” This was also true. The Gospel, generally repudiated by the Jewish people, was opened to the gentiles. And of the gentiles those of Japheth’s descent seem to have been the most highly favored. Might this be related to God’s direction of the Gospel into Macedonia (Acts 16:9) and westward into Europe?

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