Genesis 9:7-17

7 "As for you, Noah, I want you and your family to have many children, to grow in number on the earth, and to become many."

8 Then God said to Noah and his sons,

9 "Now I am making my agreement with you and your people who will live after you,

10 and with every living thing that is with you -- the birds, the tame and the wild animals, and with everything that came out of the boat with you -- with every living thing on earth.

11 I make this agreement with you: I will never again destroy all living things by a flood. A flood will never again destroy the earth."

12 And God said, "This is the sign of the agreement between me and you and every living creature that is with you.

13 I am putting my rainbow in the clouds as the sign of the agreement between me and the earth.

14 When I bring clouds over the earth and a rainbow appears in them,

15 I will remember my agreement between me and you and every living thing. Floods will never again destroy all life on the earth.

16 When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and I will remember the agreement that continues forever between me and every living thing on the earth."

17 So God said to Noah, "The rainbow is a sign of the agreement that I made with all living things on earth.

Genesis 9:7-17 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.