Genesis 9:2-12

2 and your dread and trembling be on all [the] unreasonable beasts of the earth, and on all [the] birds of (the) heaven(s), with all things that be moved in (the) earth; all (the) fishes of the sea be given (in)to your hand. (let the fear of you, and trembling over you, be on all the unreasoning beasts of the earth, and on all the birds of the air, and on all the fishes of the sea; yea, let all the things that move on the earth, be given into your hands.)
3 And all thing which is moved and liveth shall be to you into meat; (now) I have given to you all things, as (I gave the) green worts (before), (And everything which liveth and moveth shall be food for you; yea, as I did with the green herbs before, now I give you all these things to eat,)
4 except that ye shall not eat flesh with the blood,
5 for I shall seek the blood of your lives, of the hand of all unreasonable beasts, and of the hand of man, of the hand of man, and of his brother, I shall seek the life of man. (for I shall seek justice for any spilt blood of your lives, from any unreasoning beast, and from any man, yea, from any man, and from any of his brothers, I shall seek their life if any of them take the life of someone.)
6 Whoever sheddeth out man's blood, his blood shall be shed; for man is made to the image of God (for man is made in the image of God).
7 Forsooth increase ye, and be ye multiplied, and enter ye on [the] earth, and fill ye it.
8 Also the Lord said these things to Noe, and to his sons with him,
9 Lo! I shall make my covenant with you, and with your seed after you,
10 and to each living soul which is with you, as well in birds as in work beasts and small beasts of [the] earth, and to all things that went out of the ship, and to all unreasonable beasts of [the] earth. (and with each living soul which is with you, yea, with the birds, and with the work beasts and the small beasts of the earth, and with all the unreasoning beasts of the earth, yea, with all the things that went out of the ship.)
11 I shall make my covenant with you, and each flesh shall no more be slain of the waters of the great flood, neither the great flood destroying all [the] earth shall be (any) more. (I shall make my covenant with you, and never again shall all flesh be slain by the waters of a great flood, and never again shall there be a great flood destroying all the earth.)
12 And God said, This is the sign of (the) bond of peace, which I give between me and you, and to each living soul which is with you, into everlasting generations. (And God said, This is the sign of the covenant, which I make between me and you, and each living soul which is with you, unto endless generations.)

Genesis 9:2-12 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.