Genesis 9
Big idea: The world restarts on renewed terms. The creation blessing is spoken again over Noah — be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth — but with new clauses that acknowledge a violent world: animals now fear people, meat is permitted but not blood, and human life is protected by the strongest possible sanction, grounded in the image of God. Then God gives the first covenant with a visible sign, made not only with Noah but with every living creature and the earth itself, and hangs his war-bow in the cloud as a reminder to himself. And then, in a few flat verses, the new humanity's new start goes wrong in a tent: Noah drunk, a son's disgrace, and a curse that will echo through the rest of the book.
Chapter 9 ends with Noah's three sons named as the source of the whole earth's population and a curse pronounced on Canaan; chapter 10 unfolds exactly that — seventy nations from the three sons — and chapter 11 shows what they do with their unity.
9:1–7 — The blessing renewed, with blood
God blesses Noah and his sons with the words of chapter 1 — be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth — and then revises the terms for a post-flood world. The animals now live in fear of humans; every moving thing is given as food, but the blood must not be eaten. And human blood is put under God's own accounting: whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed, for God made man in his own image.
1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. 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 moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given everything to you. 4 But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat. 5 I will surely require accounting for your life’s blood. 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. 6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image. 7 Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly on the earth, and multiply in it.”
9:8–17 — The bow in the cloud
God establishes his covenant — with Noah, with his offspring, and with every living creature that came out of the ship, and with the earth. Its content is a promise never again to cut off all flesh by a flood. And it comes with a sign he sets in the sky: a bow in the cloud, which God says he will look at and remember. The covenant is unilateral, universal, and everlasting.
8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, 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. 11 I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 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: 13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15 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. 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.” 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.”
9:18–23 — The vineyard and the tent
The three sons are named, with a pointed note that Ham is the father of Canaan, and from these three the whole earth was populated. Noah plants a vineyard, drinks, and lies uncovered in his tent. Ham sees his father's nakedness and tells his brothers outside; Shem and Japheth carry in a garment on their shoulders, walking backwards so as not to look, and cover him.
18 The sons of Noah who went out from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 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.
9:24–29 — Curse, blessing, and the end of Noah
Noah wakes, learns what was done, and speaks: Canaan is cursed, a servant of servants to his brothers; blessed be Yahweh the God of Shem; may God enlarge Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Then the last two verses of the flood hero's life: 350 years after the flood, 950 in all — and then he died.
24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.” 26 He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.” 28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).