Genesis 9:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it."

NIV: As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."

NASB: As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.'

CSB: But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it."

NLT: Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.'

KJV: And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

NKJV: And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”

This verse wraps up the section of blessings and commands by repeating the contents of verse 1: Noah, his sons, and all humanity to follow were charged with having more and more children and filling up the earth again. Implied in the command is God's blessing to make it possible for humanity to continue to reproduce, to continue to receive the gift of children from God's hand through the process of human reproduction.

God had wiped out humanity for its sinfulness, but God's intent is for humanity to thrive again under a new and reestablished relationship with Him.

The repeat of this command is also important in that it follows God's specific call for severe punishment in cases of murder. In verse 6, God institutes a requirement that any man or animal who murders a human being is to be put to death. The reason given was due to man's status as an image-bearer of God. Here, by returning to the issue of expanding the human race, we see a second reason for God's harsh stance against murder. Rather than allow the kind of violence which had ruined the pre-flood world, God sets a new standard.

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.