Genesis 9

God’s Covenant with Noah

1God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.#Gn 1:28; 8:17; 9:7; 35:11 2The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you;#Dt 12:15; 1Tm 4:3–4 as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.#Gn 1:28–30 4However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.#Lv 3:17; 7:20; 17:10–16; 19:26; Dt 12:16,23; 15:23; 1Sm 14:34; Ac 15:20,29 5And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood;#9:5 Lit And your blood belonging to your life I will seek I will require it from any animal#Ex 21:28 and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.#Gn 4:2,8

6Whoever sheds human blood,

by humans his blood will be shed,#Ex 21:12–14; Lv 24:17; Nm 35:33; Mt 26:52

for God made humans in his image.#Gn 1:26–27

7But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”#Gn 1:28

8Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, 9“Understand that I am establishing my covenant#Gn 6:18; 8:22; 17:2; Ex 6:4; 19:5; Lv 26:9 with you and your descendants after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you — birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you — all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. 11I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”#Is 54:9–10

12And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant#Gn 17:11 I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: 13I have placed my bow in the clouds,#Ezk 1:28; Rv 4:3; 10:1 and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, 15I will remember my covenant#Lv 26:42,45; Dt 7:9; 1Kg 8:23; Ezk 16:60 between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. 16The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant#Gn 17:13; 2Sm 23:5; 1Ch 16:17; Is 24:5 between God and all the living creatures on earth.” 17God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”

Prophecies about Noah’s Family

18Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.#Gn 9:1,7; 10:32; 1Ch 1:4

20Noah, as a man of the soil, began by planting#9:20 Or Noah began to be a farmer and planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.#Lm 4:21; Hab 2:15 23Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

24When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said:

Canaan is cursed.#Dt 27:16

He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.#Jos 9:23; Jdg 1:28; 1Kg 9:20–21

26He also said:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;

Let Canaan be#9:26 As a wish or prayer; others interpret the verbs in vv. 26–27 as prophecy: Canaan will be... Shem’s slave.

27Let God extend Japheth;#9:27 In Hb, the name Japheth sounds like the word “extend.”

let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem;

let Canaan be Shem’s slave.

28Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.

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Genesis 9

Covenant of the Rainbow

1And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2The fear and the terror of you shall be [instinctive] in every animal of the land and in every bird of the air; and together with everything that moves on the ground, and with all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand. 3Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; I give you everything, as I gave you the green plants and vegetables. 4But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood. 5For your lifeblood I will most certainly require an accounting; from every animal [that kills a person] I will require it. And from man, from every man’s brother [that is, anyone who murders] I will require the life of man.

6Whoever sheds man’s blood [unlawfully],

By man (judicial government) shall his blood be shed,

For in the image of God

He made man.

7As for you, be fruitful and multiply;

Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9“Now behold, I am establishing My covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you and with your descendants after you 10and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the livestock, and the wild animals of the earth along with you, of everything that comes out of the ark—every living creature of the earth. 11I will establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the water of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to destroy and ruin the earth.” 12And God said, “This is the token (visible symbol, memorial) of the [solemn] covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations; 13I set My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14It shall come about, when I bring clouds over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the clouds, 15and I will [compassionately] remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again will the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the rainbow is in the clouds and I look at it, I will [solemnly] remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17And God said to Noah, “This [rainbow] is the sign of the covenant (solemn pledge, binding agreement) which I have established between Me and all living things on the earth.”

18The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. Ham would become the father of Canaan. 19These are the three sons of Noah, and from these [men] the whole earth was populated and scattered with inhabitants.

20And Noah began to farm and cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay exposed inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw [by accident] the nakedness of his father, and [to his father’s shame] told his two brothers outside. 23So Shem and Japheth took a robe and put it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24When Noah awoke from his wine [induced stupor], he knew what his younger son [Ham] had done to him. 25So he said,

“Cursed be Canaan [the son of Ham];

# The words of Noah are prophetic. God later found the disobedience of the Canaanites to be repulsive and replaced them with the descendants of Shem. A servant of servants

He shall be to his brothers.”

26He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord,

The God of #The Jewish people are the descendants of Shem. Through Shem’s lineage came the Messiah and salvation.Shem;

And let Canaan be his servant.

27May God enlarge [the land of] Japheth,

And #Note that “let” in this verse represents a command, as in “Let there be light” (1:3).let #The antecedent of the word “him” could be Japheth, but it could also be “God,” thus making Him (the Messiah) dwell in the tents of Shem indicating the incarnation in the Semitic line.him dwell in the tents of Shem;

And let Canaan be his servant.”

28Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

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