Genesis 9:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

NIV: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

NASB: I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

CSB: I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

NLT: I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.

KJV: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

NKJV: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

In the previous verse, God says there will be a sign of the new covenant promise He has made. God vowed to again never destroy the earth or wipe out all living things with a flood. Now He reveals that sign: the rainbow.

More specifically, God says that He has set His bow in the cloud. The word for bow can be used of a battle bow, but the description of the bow being set on the occasion of clouds and being visible on the earth—along with the fact that the same word can be used for rainbow—makes it clear God is speaking of the rainbow. This is a "sign" which people can see directly.

The language used by God here is meant to suggest the symbolic hanging up of a battle weapon after the war is done and it is time for peace. God is taking responsibility for creating rainbows as a symbol of His pledge to humanity and to animals, never again to send a global flood. While rainbows are a scientific, meteorological phenomenon, Genesis asserts that God is responsible for every scientific and meteorological phenomenon (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1). God chose to cause rainbows to function as a symbol of His covenant promise.

Genesis 9:1–17 continues God's interaction with Noah and his sons following the flood. First, God blesses them and gives them specific instructions about how to live in this remade world. God commands them to reproduce and fill the earth, among other things. Next, God establishes His unilateral covenant to never again end all life on earth with a flood, offering the rainbow as a sign of this promise.

Chapter 9 describes God's interactions with Noah and his sons following the flood. First, God gives blessings and instructions, including the command to reproduce and fill the earth. Next, God makes a unilateral covenant with humanity and animals never to end all life with a flood again. He offers the rainbow as a sign of this promise. Finally, Noah prophesies about the future of his son's descendants after an awkward episode in which Ham talks to his brothers about seeing Noah passed out drunk and naked.

Chapters 6, 7, and 8 describe God's destruction of the world in a massive flood. Now, in Genesis 9, Scripture describes God's dealings with Noah and his sons following the flood. First, God blesses them and gives specific instructions, including the command to fill the earth. Next, God expands on His promise to never again end all life on earth a flood. Finally, Noah curses Ham and blesses Shem and Japheth after Ham tells his brothers about seeing Noah passed out drunk and naked. Chapters 10 and 11 will sketch out the history of mankind from Noah to Abraham.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.