Genesis 9:17

17 That is the sign of the promise which I am making to all living beings."

Genesis 9:17 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 9:17

And God said to Noah, this is the token of the covenant,
&c.] Which is repeated for the greater confirmation and certainty of it, since the fears of men would be apt to run very high, especially while the flood was fresh in memory; which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the
earth:
see ( Genesis 9:9-11 ) , it is highly probable, that from the rainbow being the token of the covenant between God and Noah, and the creatures, sprung the fable of the Chinese concerning their first emperor, Fohi, who seems to be the same with Noah, and whom they call the son of heaven, and say he had no father; which is this, that his mother, walking on the bank of a lake near Lanthien, in the province of Xensi, trod upon a large footstep of a man impressed upon the sand, and from thence, being surrounded with the rainbow, conceived and brought forth Fohi F24.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Martin. Sinic. Hist. p. 11.

Genesis 9:17 In-Context

15 I will remember my promise to you and to all the animals that a flood will never again destroy all living beings.
16 When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between me and all living beings on earth.
17 That is the sign of the promise which I am making to all living beings."
18 The sons of Noah who went out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
19 These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people on earth.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.