Genesis Chapter 9

From The Open Bible Project

9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

• (a) God increased them with fruit, and declared to them his counsel as concerning the replenishing of the earth.

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.

• (b) By the virtue of this commandment, beasts do not rage as much against man as they would, yea and many serve his purposes by it.

9:3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you.

• (c) By this permission man may with a good conscience use the creatures of God for his needs.

9:4 But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.

• (d) That is, living creatures, and the flesh of beasts that are strangled: and by this all cruelty is forbidden.

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.

• (e) That is, I will take vengeance for your blood.

9:6 Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.

• (f) Not only by the magistrate, but often God raises up one murderer to kill another.
• (g) Therefore to kill man is to deface God’s image, and so injury is not only done to man, but also to God.

9:7 Be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it."

9:8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

9:9 "As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,

• (h) To assure you that the world will never again be destroyed by a flood.
• (i) The children which are not yet born, are comprehended in God’s covenant with their fathers.

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.

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."

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:

9:13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

• (k) By this we see that signs or ordinances should not be separate from the word.

9:14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,

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.

• (l) When men see my bow in the sky, they will know that I have not forgotten my covenant with them.

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."

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."

• (m) God repeats this often to confirm Noah’s faith even more.

9:18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.

9:19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated.

• (n) This declares what the virtue of God’s blessing was, when he said, increase and bring forth in (Genesis 1:28).

9:20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.

9:21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.

• (o) This is set before us to show what a horrible thing drunkenness is.

9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

• (p) Of whom came the Canaanites that wicked nation, who were also cursed by God.
• (q) In derision and contempt of his father.

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.

9:24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.

9:25 He said, "Canaan is cursed. He will be servant of servants to his brothers."

• (r) He pronounces as a prophet the curse of God against all those who do not honour their parents: for Ham and his posterity were cursed.
• (s) That is, a most vile slave.

9:26 He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.

9:27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant."

• (t) He declares that the Gentiles, who came from Japheth, and were separated from the Church, should be joined to the same by the persuasion of God’s Spirit, and preaching of the gospel.

9:28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood.

9:29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, then he died.