Genesis 9:1-29
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Summary
- God blesses Noah and gives him the covenant sign of a rainbow. This sign is intended for the whole human race.
- Ham displays his depraved moral tendencies/nature; and his son Canaan, who has similar inclinations, is cursed. (Ham's other offspring are spared from the curse.)
Details
The Human Race is Blessed
Commands
- God's blessing includes a command (responsibility) to reproduce and replenish the earth.
- Animals could now be eaten as food (an option, not an obligation), but the eating of blood was forbidden. (This option may be due to the ecological changes that had taken place because of the Flood.)
- Human life - because it is in the image of God, is not to be killed. Any creature (human or animal) which kills a human is to be put to death.
Promises
- There will never again be a worldwide flood.
- The rainbow is to be looked at as a reminder of the promise.
Ham's Morally Depraved Offspring Are Cursed
- Noah gets drunk and is naked in his tent. Ham goes into the tent and is delighted with what he sees (or does?).
- Because of this, Ham is cursed - but the curse is limited to only his offspring which share his depraved tendencies (the descendants of Canaan). In contrast, Shem and Japheth are blessed.
Scripture
Genesis 9:1-29 - God's covenant; Noah after the Flood.
- This is the final part of the account that began in Genesis 6:8.
- See also: Third World Ecosystem
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Gen 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. | God's blessings are sometimes commands! Here he reaffirms part of the "Creation Mandate." |
| Gen 9:2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand.
Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you. Gen 9:4 But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat. |
This presence of fear and dread is an apparent change in the way the animals tended to interact with humans. There is a tendency for animals to avoid humans, unless they are domesticated or tamed, or sometimes totally unfamiliar with them. It may also be related to the fact that humans can now eat animals. (Nothing is mentioned about the way animals responded to humans before that, in the "Second World Ecosystem"; so it is difficult to know for sure the full implications of this statement.) |
| Gen 9:5 I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, I will require the life of man.
Gen 9:6 Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image. |
God's requirements haven't changed, even though human opinions have. The reason that killing humans is different from the killing of any other species isn't because humans don't like being killed (or some other human-centered reason). Rather, it is because humans bear the image of the living God. Because of this, even animals who habitually kill humans are to be put to death. Though people have chosen to reject this command, it hasn't changed!
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| Gen 9:7 Be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it." | Ultimately, they were to fill the earth with God's image-bearers. But in a few centuries, they will be attempting to disobey this command - see Genesis 11:1-9. |
| Gen 9:8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,
Gen 9:9 "As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, Gen 9:10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth. Gen 9:11 I will establish my covenant with you: all flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth." |
An affirmation of the covenant God made with Noah, applicable to the entire human race in the Third World Ecosystem (which includes us who are living today). It is also applicable to all air-breathing creatures.
The reference is to a universal flood, not to local ones. It refers to a type of flood that would "cut off" the human race. It will never happen again.
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| Gen 9:12 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:
Gen 9:13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. Gen 9:14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, Gen 9:15 and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. Gen 9:16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." Gen 9:17 God said to Noah, "This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth." |
This "sign of a covenant" still is in effect. Do you remember God's promises when you see a rainbow? Even a century ago, it was common for people (even non-Christians) to remember it! It was even taught in schools! (See McGuffey's Fourth Reader, page 201.) |
| Gen 9:18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.
Gen 9:19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated. |
This focus on Canaan (also in chapter 10) is probably due to: 1) the significance ha had in the events that follow (v. 21+), and 2) the significance of his offspring (the Canaanites) and their connection with the land of "Canaan" (later to become "Israel"). Morally, the Canaanites were just like their father Canaan - and he was just like his father, Ham: utterly morally perverted. |
| Gen 9:20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.
Gen 9:21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. Gen 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. Gen 9:23 Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn't see their father's nakedness. |
It's not that Ham merely "saw" his father naked, but that he "saw" him with delight. It was a reflection of Ham's moral depravity. |
| Gen 9:24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
Gen 9:25 He said, "Canaan is cursed. He will be servant of servants to his brothers." |
Ham was apparently the youngest of the three. It is difficult to know whether Japheth or Shem was the oldest. (Genesis 10:21 seems to comment about this, but the wording of the Hebrew is ambiguous, and it cannot be known for certain.)
Had the curse been directed toward Ham, rather than toward Canaan, innocent people would have also been cursed. Three of his offspring did not share his perverse inclinations... but Canaan did.
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| Gen 9:26 He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.
Gen 9:27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant." |
Many of the parental blessings recorded in the book of Genesis are prophetic in nature. In this instance, much of it has already been fulfilled.
The offspring of Japheth (chapter 10) appears to have spread out over the greater part of the earth. Some believe that the phrase "the God of Shem" indicates that the promised "seed of the woman" (Genesis 3:15) would be from his line. Whether or not this is the intention of the phrase, it becomes clear at a later date that he did come from the line of Shem. |
| Gen 9:28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood.
Gen 9:29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, then he died. |
Scripture Passages
(Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.)
Genesis • Exodus • Leviticus • Numbers • Deuteronomy • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • 1 Samuel • 2 Samuel • 1 Kings • 2 Kings • 1 Chronicles • 2 Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther • Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Isaiah • Jeremiah • Lamentations • Ezekiel • Daniel • Hosea • Joel • Amos • Obadiah • Jonah • Micah • Nahum • Habakkuk • Zephaniah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi Matthew • Mark • Luke • John • Acts • Romans • 1 Corinthians • 2 Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Philippians • Colossians • 1 Thessalonians • 2 Thessalonians • 1 Timothy • 2 Timothy • Titus • Philemon • Hebrews • James • 1 Peter • 2 Peter • 1 John • 2 John • 3 John • Jude • Revelation |
—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——
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The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.
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Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
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