Genesis 9:1-7

Covenant of the Rainbow

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "¹Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

2 "The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.

3 "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, ²as I gave the green plant.

4 "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, ³its blood.

5 "Surely I will require ⁴your lifeblood *; ⁵from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man.

6 "⁶Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For ⁷in the image of God He made man.

7 "As for you, ⁸be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."

Genesis 9:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 9

In this chapter we have an account of God's blessing Noah and his sons, being just come out of the ark, with a renewal of the blessing of propagating their species, and replenishing the earth, the dominion over the creatures, and a freedom from the fear of them; with liberty to eat flesh, only it must not be eaten with blood; with a providential care and preservation of their lives from men and beasts, by making a law that that man or beast should die that shed man's blood, Ge 9:1-6 and after repeating the blessing of procreation, Ge 9:7 mention is made of a covenant God made with Noah, his sons, and all the creatures, that he would drown the world no more, the token of which should be the rainbow in the cloud, Ge 9:8-17 the names of the sons of Noah are observed, by whom the earth was repeopled, Ge 9:18,19 and seem to be observed for the sake of an event after recorded; Noah having planted a vineyard, and drank too freely of the wine of it, lay down uncovered in his tent, which Ham seeing, told his two brothers of it, who in a very modest manner covered him, Ge 9:20-23 of all which Noah being sensible when he awoke, cursed Canaan the son of Ham, and blessed Shem and Japheth, Ge 9:24-27 and the chapter is concluded with the age and death of Noah, Ge 9:28,29.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:7
• 2. Genesis 1:29
• 3. Leviticus 7:26; Leviticus 17:10-16; Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 12:16, 23; Deuteronomy 15:23; 1 Samuel 14:34; Acts 15:20, 29
• 4. Exodus 20:13; Exodus 21:12
• 5. Exodus 21:28, 29
• 6. Exodus 21:12-14; Leviticus 24:17; Numbers 35:33; Matthew 26:52
• 7. Genesis 1:26, 27
• 8. Genesis 9:1

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "heavens"
• [b]. Lit "your blood of your lives"
• [c]. Lit "from the hand of"
• [d]. Lit "from the hand of"
• [e]. Lit "from the hand of"
• [f]. Lit "Swarm in the earth"