Bereshis 9:1

1 Vayevarech Elohim et Noach and his banim, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish ha’aretz.

Bereshis 9:1 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 9:1

And God blessed Noah and his sons
With temporal blessings, not spiritual ones; for though some of them were blessed with such, yet not all, particularly Ham:

and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the
earth;
depopulated by the flood: this is a renewal of the blessing on Adam, a power and faculty of propagating his species, which was as necessary now as then, since there were so few of the human race left in the world; and the renewal of this grant was the rather necessary, if, as has been observed, Noah and his sons were restrained from cohabiting with their wives while in the ark: but though these words are not an express command for the propagation of their species, yet more than a bare permission, at least they are a direction and instruction to it, and even carry in them a promise of fruitfulness, that they should multiply and increase, which was very needful at this time.

Bereshis 9:1 In-Context

1 Vayevarech Elohim et Noach and his banim, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish ha’aretz.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of ha’aretz, and upon every bird of the air, upon all that moveth upon ha’adamah, and upon all the dagim of the yam; into your yad are they delivered.

3 Every remes that liveth shall be food for you; even as the yarok esev (green plant) have I given you all.

4 But basar with the nefesh thereof, which is the dahm thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your dahm of your nefeshot will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the yad haAdam; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the nefesh haAdam.