BLESSINGS AND COVENANT
9 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
vs 1-3 See similarities to Genesis 1:27-30
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
The Hebrew term, bless, means "fill with strength".
Notice the difference between the Genesis 1 account and the Genesis 9 account.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
It appears as though there was a relationship between the animals and man before the flood that changed after the flood. Now they would provide food for man. God would make it difficult for man to aquire meat by placing fear in the animals as a defense.
vs 4 Drinking blood has all kinds of dangers to man. Everything from bloodborne illness's to food poisoning. In Christianity and Judaism, the blood holds a foundational place in our faith, and is venerated as the covering of sin. In Judaism, it is offered on the alter and in Christianity, it is the sacrificial blood of Christ the makes atonement for the believers sins. This verse also seems to forbid eating things that are alive.
vs 5-6 Earlier in Genesis God allowed Cain to live after he took the life of his brother Abel, from now on He would not be so merciful. God appears to give authority to men to enforce His will. When comparing this to Genesis 1, God seems to be limiting our dominion to others of mankind. The murderers lineage would be stopped forever. The sinfulness of man would certainly bring many murders, however, by ending the line of the perpetrator, would slow the spread of the evil thoughts of man. God reminds us that the reason we are to act in a certain way, is because we are God imagers. All men, let me reiterate that, all men, all mankind, I do not see an exception, do you? One more time, Genesis 1:27-30 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. In conclusion of the comments for this verse, since the sacrificial death of Christ, all men are equal. I believe the definition of men, is that if you are able to believe in Christ, you are capable of being a God imager, thus created by God.
vs 7 Perhaps the most embraced command of God by all men. Gods will for us is to populate the earth. We are also to have a positive influence on all other men.
vs 8 God once again speaks, but not just to Noah. This is an important point, Noah's sons are included in this conversation. From them, all the earth will be repopulated. Do not forget that they saw Gods power firsthand, their friends and relatives had all perished, they alone were delivered.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
The Hebrew term, bless, means "fill with strength".
Notice the difference between the Genesis 1 account and the Genesis 9 account.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
It appears as though there was a relationship between the animals and man before the flood that changed after the flood. Now they would provide food for man. God would make it difficult for man to aquire meat by placing fear in the animals as a defense.
vs 4 Drinking blood has all kinds of dangers to man. Everything from bloodborne illness's to food poisoning. In Christianity and Judaism, the blood holds a foundational place in our faith, and is venerated as the covering of sin. In Judaism, it is offered on the alter and in Christianity, it is the sacrificial blood of Christ the makes atonement for the believers sins. This verse also seems to forbid eating things that are alive.
vs 5-6 Earlier in Genesis God allowed Cain to live after he took the life of his brother Abel, from now on He would not be so merciful. God appears to give authority to men to enforce His will. When comparing this to Genesis 1, God seems to be limiting our dominion to others of mankind. The murderers lineage would be stopped forever. The sinfulness of man would certainly bring many murders, however, by ending the line of the perpetrator, would slow the spread of the evil thoughts of man. God reminds us that the reason we are to act in a certain way, is because we are God imagers. All men, let me reiterate that, all men, all mankind, I do not see an exception, do you? One more time, Genesis 1:27-30 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. In conclusion of the comments for this verse, since the sacrificial death of Christ, all men are equal. I believe the definition of men, is that if you are able to believe in Christ, you are capable of being a God imager, thus created by God.
vs 7 Perhaps the most embraced command of God by all men. Gods will for us is to populate the earth. We are also to have a positive influence on all other men.
vs 8 God once again speaks, but not just to Noah. This is an important point, Noah's sons are included in this conversation. From them, all the earth will be repopulated. Do not forget that they saw Gods power firsthand, their friends and relatives had all perished, they alone were delivered.
vs 9-11 Gods covenant includes a promise to never again destroy the earth by a flood. Notice that who He establishes this covenant with. All living creatures that exited the ark. In verse 13 He will add the earth. God is verbally telling Noah and his sons what He had said in His heart in chapter 8:21-22
21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
vs 12-13 God has not only made a promise but sets a sign as a reminder. It is possible that the first time Noah saw rain was when the flood began. Now how much anxiety would accompany each rain event in the future. God is assuring them that the flood will not occur again, and giving a sign of the promise.
Let us note that the bow of this covenant is a sign of peace for man. In the Revelation of Christ there will be a rider on a white horse carrying a bow, to conquer.
Charles Stanley commentary states
6:2 — I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
When the Lamb breaks the first seal of judgment, the Antichrist appears on the scene with deceptive answers for the woes of the world, and he is catapulted into a place of authority (2 Thess. 2:3–12; 1 John 2:22
1 John 2:22 NIV
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the...
). He leads the world in opposition to God. Through him, the Lord tests what is really in people’s hearts.
vs 14-15 Just as God had promised in His heart at the end of chapter 8 that the seasons shall not pass, here He is giving Noah and his descendants the promise with the sign of the bow that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood.
vs 16-17 This is an everlasting covenant. These verses end the promise to Noah and his descendants.
vs 18-19 The three sons of Noah that will be the anscestors of all the people of the earth. Note that Canaan is explicitly mentioned. We must remember the context that Moses is writing. The Israelites are going to be entering the promised land, and they must conquer the Canaanites.
vs 20 Noah had a tough year. No small feat to plant a vineyard, and create wine through the fermentation of the grapes. In Mark at Cana, Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding celebration. Here the results are quite different.
vs 21 Noah drank and became drunk. He was naked and vulnerable. Perhaps in your youth you witnessed someone become drunk, and another played a prank on them. I think that drunkenness and nakedness here are highlighting that the one that walked in the ways of God had vulnerability.
vs 22 The NIV cultural backgrounds study bible gives several different understandings of this verse
9:20 – 27 In the history of interpretation of this passage, a number of alternatives have been suggested for explaining the offense committed by Ham, especially in light of the severe curse (on Canaan!) that results. The options of “voyeurism” and paternal (homosexual) incest have little support from the ancient Near East regardless of the case that might be made for them in the Biblical text. The option of castration was offered in rabbinic literature and has one supporting text from ancient mythology that portrays a son castrating his father (both deities) in an attempt to usurp his position. Another option that can be supported conceptually from the ancient Near East is that Ham committed incest with his mother in an attempt to usurp the authority of the family from his father (cf. Reuben in Ge 35:22 and Absalom in 2Sa 16:21 – 22), or in an attempt to provide for additional offspring in a depopulated world (cf. Lot’s daughters in Ge 19:30 – 38). The idea of usurping someone’s authority by taking his wife is attested in royal contexts in an Akkadian text from Ugarit. None of this information offers clarification of Ham’s behavior, but it does alert us to a number of alternatives that we otherwise might not have recognized.
21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
vs 12-13 God has not only made a promise but sets a sign as a reminder. It is possible that the first time Noah saw rain was when the flood began. Now how much anxiety would accompany each rain event in the future. God is assuring them that the flood will not occur again, and giving a sign of the promise.
Let us note that the bow of this covenant is a sign of peace for man. In the Revelation of Christ there will be a rider on a white horse carrying a bow, to conquer.
Charles Stanley commentary states
6:2 — I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
When the Lamb breaks the first seal of judgment, the Antichrist appears on the scene with deceptive answers for the woes of the world, and he is catapulted into a place of authority (2 Thess. 2:3–12; 1 John 2:22
1 John 2:22 NIV
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the...
). He leads the world in opposition to God. Through him, the Lord tests what is really in people’s hearts.
vs 14-15 Just as God had promised in His heart at the end of chapter 8 that the seasons shall not pass, here He is giving Noah and his descendants the promise with the sign of the bow that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood.
vs 16-17 This is an everlasting covenant. These verses end the promise to Noah and his descendants.
vs 18-19 The three sons of Noah that will be the anscestors of all the people of the earth. Note that Canaan is explicitly mentioned. We must remember the context that Moses is writing. The Israelites are going to be entering the promised land, and they must conquer the Canaanites.
vs 20 Noah had a tough year. No small feat to plant a vineyard, and create wine through the fermentation of the grapes. In Mark at Cana, Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding celebration. Here the results are quite different.
vs 21 Noah drank and became drunk. He was naked and vulnerable. Perhaps in your youth you witnessed someone become drunk, and another played a prank on them. I think that drunkenness and nakedness here are highlighting that the one that walked in the ways of God had vulnerability.
vs 22 The NIV cultural backgrounds study bible gives several different understandings of this verse
9:20 – 27 In the history of interpretation of this passage, a number of alternatives have been suggested for explaining the offense committed by Ham, especially in light of the severe curse (on Canaan!) that results. The options of “voyeurism” and paternal (homosexual) incest have little support from the ancient Near East regardless of the case that might be made for them in the Biblical text. The option of castration was offered in rabbinic literature and has one supporting text from ancient mythology that portrays a son castrating his father (both deities) in an attempt to usurp his position. Another option that can be supported conceptually from the ancient Near East is that Ham committed incest with his mother in an attempt to usurp the authority of the family from his father (cf. Reuben in Ge 35:22 and Absalom in 2Sa 16:21 – 22), or in an attempt to provide for additional offspring in a depopulated world (cf. Lot’s daughters in Ge 19:30 – 38). The idea of usurping someone’s authority by taking his wife is attested in royal contexts in an Akkadian text from Ugarit. None of this information offers clarification of Ham’s behavior, but it does alert us to a number of alternatives that we otherwise might not have recognized.