22 | Genesis 9:1
God ’ s Covenant With Noah
9
Then God blessed Noah and his sons , say ing to them , “ Be fruit ful and in crease in num ber and fill the earth . 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth , and on all the birds in the sky , on ev ery crea ture that moves along the ground , and on all the fish in the sea ; they are giv en into your hands . 3 Ev ery thing that lives and moves about will be food for you . Just as I gave you the green plants , I now give you ev ery thing .
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“ But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it . 5 And for your life blood I will sure ly de mand an ac count ing . I will de mand an ac counting from ev ery an i mal . And from each hu man be ing , too , I will de mand an ac count ing for the life of an oth er hu man be ing .
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“ Whoever sheds human blood , by humans shall their blood be shed ; for in the image of God has God made mankind .
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As for you , be fruit ful and in crease in num ber ; mul ti ply on the earth and in crease upon it .”
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Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him : 9 “ I now es tab lish my cov enant with you and with your de scen dants af ter you 10 and with ev ery liv ing crea ture that was with you — the birds , the live stock and all the wild an i mals , all those that came out of the ark with you — ev ery living crea ture on earth . 11 I es tab lish my cov enant with you : Nev er again will all life be de stroyed by the wa ters of a flood ; nev er again will there be a flood to de stroy the earth .”
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And God said , “ This is the sign of the covenant I am mak ing be tween me and you and ev ery liv ing crea ture with you , a cov enant for all gen er a tions to come : 13 I have set my rain bow in the clouds , and it will be the sign of the cov enant be tween me and the earth . 14 When ev er I bring clouds over the earth and the rain bow ap pears in the clouds , 15 I will re mem ber my cov enant be tween me and you and all liv ing crea tures of ev ery kind . Nev er again will the wa ters become a flood to de stroy all life . 16 When ev er the rain bow ap pears in the clouds , I will see it and re mem ber the ever last ing cov enant be tween
9:1 – 17 God blesses Noah ( as a representative of humanity ), establishes rules and institutes a covenant . In the process , he gives people permission to kill and eat animals for food , provided they do not consume the blood ( Ge 9:3 – 4 ). Killing other people , however , is forbidden ( vv . 5 – 6 ). In the covenant that God institutes , he promises again to humanity and all creation that he won ’ t destroy all life again by a flood ( vv . 8 – 17 ).
9:1 his sons Shem , Ham and Japheth ( see 6:10 ). See the people diagram “ Table of Nations ” on p . 26 . fill the earth A repeat of the mandate to procreate and fill the earth ( 1:28 ; 8:17 ). 9:2 they are given into your hands Emphasizes humanity ’ s authoritative role as stewards of the animal kingdom . Animal flesh is now permitted as food for humanity . This phrase links eating meat with the command to multiply and have dominion , suggesting that the practice of eating meat is not a result of the fall ( ch . 3 ), but an outgrowth of the flood event that is consistent with the original stewardship of humanity ( 1:28 – 29 ; compare 4:4 ). 9:4 its lifeblood Before animal flesh can be consumed , it must be properly drained of blood . This suggests that the prohibition of consuming blood predates Israel ’ s law ( though it is repeated in the law ; Lev 17:11,14 ). 9:5 your lifeblood The ensuing context shows that this phrase means human life , not the blood itself . I will demand an accounting Whether human life is taken by an animal or human , there will be a penalty . The wording clearly affirms the sanctity of human life in God ’ s eyes . 9:6 by humans shall their blood be shed Establishes the principle of capital punishment as the consequence for the intentional murder of an innocent human life . This crime results in the forfeiture of one ’ s own life — the offender can no longer be protected by the principle that safeguards innocent human life . This principle is based on people being divine imagers — representations of God on earth ( Ge 1:27 ). Taking an innocent human life was viewed as murdering God in effigy . Later , Mosaic
Law ( as primarily seen Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy ) made capital punishment mandatory for murder , allowing no alternative form of punishment ( see Nu 35:31 ). 9:7 multiply on the earth This command was disobeyed after the flood when the people of the earth migrated to build a city rather than multiply and disperse ( Ge 11:1 – 9 ).
9:9 – 13 The covenant Yahweh gives here is established with humanity , with every living creature , and with the earth itself . Genesis 8:22 indicates that God ’ s promise to refrain from destruction ( and hence this covenant ) will endure indefinitely until that time when God decides to create a new heaven and new earth ( compare 2Pe 3:12 – 13 ).
9:9 my covenant A covenant is either a contract or — when only one party pledges anything — a promise . The first-person language of this covenant shows that this is a unilateral promise or divine charter . It does not depend on Noah ; God ’ s integrity and power serves as its basis . See the table “ Covenants in the Old Testament ” on p . 469 . 9:12 sign of the covenant The sign serves as a reminder of the promise or as a tangible guarantee of God ’ s commitment to keep the promise ( compare Ge 17:11 ; Ex 31:16 – 17 ). 9:13 my rainbow The Hebrew word used here , qesheth , is most frequently used of an archer ’ s bow . The mention of a cloud indicates it is a rainbow , but the military connotation may still be present . The rainbow may symbolically signify God ’ s war bow — God ’ s wrath via water has ended and he has hung up his bow . 9:16 everlasting covenant The Hebrew phrase used here , berith-olam , is often used to describe covenants between God and his people . These everlasting covenants are also frequently linked to special signs . God ’ s covenant with Abraham is also described as a berith-olam ( Ge 17:7,13,19 ), with circumcision as the sign . The covenant between God and Israel is similarly called a berith-olam , and the sign is Israel ’ s obligation to observe the Sabbath ( Ex 31:16 ).