What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor? Early in the Morning.

Mendable amphora found at Kourion, Cyprus; Photo by Justin Singleton (2013)

I know what you're thinking about that title. You're thinking, "WHA?!?!"

See the picture? Isn't it pretty? This is an amphora that I found floating in my square this past summer. I saw floating because it wasn't resting on the floor of the room; instead, it was just in the dirt somewhere between the floor and topsoil. This means that someone must have simply thrown this beauty out at some point (we never found the whole thing, so maybe it was busted).

Amphora were used to transport and store all kinds of different products, both dry and liquid, but they were used mostly for wine. (Ah, now the title might make sense?) ... Okay, hold that thought.

Now I want to pick you up and transfer you over to a buddy of mine named Danel. Danel lived in the ancient times, and he was quite upset because he didn't have a son. We find his story in the ancient Canaanite story of Aqhat or Belonging to Aquat. As we read, we find that Danel performed a ritual called incubation (talking with the gods through dreams), and on the seventh day he finally got word from them.

What did Danel want? He wanted a son, an heir. This is actually where the story ends for my purposes, but just to give you some closure, Aquat is born, given a special bow by the craftsman of the gods, Anat sees it and wants it but Aquat won't give it, so Anat kills him. ... Fun stuff, eh?

Here is what I found simply fascinating. When the desire to have a son is described, here are the words used:

"Let him have a son in his house,
    an heir inside his palace,
to set up a stela for his divine ancestor,
    a votive marker for his clan in the sanctuary;
to send his incense up from the earth,
    the song of his burial place from the dust;
to shut the jaws of his abusers,
    to drive off his oppressors;
to hold his hand when he is drunk,
    to support him when he is full of wine;
to eat his grain-offering in the temple of Baal,
    his portion in the temple of El;
to patch his roof when it gets muddy,
    to wash his clothes when they get dirty."

These same lines are referenced about three or four times in the story, showing the emphasis that is here. Some of these lines may not make sense to my readers here, but the overall idea is that a son's duty is to take care of his aging father.

A few years back, my two oldest sons (then about 7 and 9) were arguing terribly. As I tried to figure out what was going on, I found out that they were arguing about whose house I would live in when I am old. Alex (the oldest) said that since he was the oldest then I have to live with him, but Isaac didn't want to give up his chance to take care of me. (Mama might have been mentioned, but I don't remember, lol.) I ended the fight by saying that perhaps Mama and I could travel back and forth between all the kids houses so that everyone could take care of us.

If you have't guessed it, we have tried to secure within them the idea that children of responsibilities for their parents, and that we can't forget our parents when they are old and fragile. Here in the story above, Aqhat is supposed to help Danel through many difficulties, but also to remember him when he is gone (and moved on to be one of the deified ancestors). What I found fascinating, though, was the reference to drinking. A son is not only supposed to care for his aging father, but he is supposed to care for his imbecilic father as well, to the point of both helping him walk when he is drunk and shutting the mouths (with his fist?) of those who talk bad about him.

We seem to forget that we, as children, have responsibilities like this. Yes, I know that these are not biblical truths here (they are cultural), but there is some truth hidden within. As a matter of fact, I think it is this cultural norm that was violated in the story of Noah and Ham.

If you remember, Noah was dead drunk; Noah went to his tent, was overheated from the wine, and so he stripped naked. Ham "saw his father’s nakedness" and told his brothers. There is a lot of debate about what that means. Did he have sex with Noah (unlikely)? Did he have sex with Noah's wife/his mother (also unlikely)? Or did he just view Noah's nakedness (most likely)? Whatever happened, he then turns and tells his brothers all about it. "Hey, bros, did you see dad? He is passed out drunk in his tent" (slapping his thigh and laughing). Later, Noah learned what Ham had done (maybe his others sons told him?), and he cursed Ham's descendant because of it. [Side note: we don't often understand how serious a crime it is to view the nakedness of another because in our society nakedness is the norm. See my study on nakedness.]

What did he do wrong? Well, think about what he SHOULD have done. It is a child's duty to care for his father when he is old, sick, or drunk. Ham didn't do this. Instead, Ham blabbed about it, making his father out to be a mockery.

If you really think about it, how much do our children know about us? (Scary thought, eh?) Granted, we need to be working with our children so that they understand the things we do, and we need to avoid doing things that would make us look bad in their eyes, but we also need to instill upon them the sense of loyalty to their family. If I get the flu and mess my pants, I don't need my sons running down the street and telling everyone. Could you imagine the next time I stood up to teach or preach? "Hey look, there's that guy that messed himself. I bet that was difficult to clean up!" ... No, my son's should help me through, clean me up, and keep my honor intact.

Okay, so NOW the title makes sense! Eh? Eh?