Genesis 9:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

NIV: Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

NASB: Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

CSB: God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

NLT: Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, 'Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.

KJV: And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

NKJV: So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

Genesis 9 begins with God's blessing on, and charge to, the humans who remain alive on the earth. This blessing is similar to God's blessing on humankind in Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 5:2. This is also the third instance so far in Scripture where God commands humanity to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28; 8:17). In a very real sense, this blessing shows that God is beginning again with Noah what He started with Adam.

This time, however, there will be specific differences set out from the start of this reboot of God's relationship with humanity. Among these will be slightly different directions regarding food and the consequences of murder, for example. The tendency of animals to fear and flee human beings will also be brought up in this passage.

Previously, God indicated that the animals of the ark were meant to repopulate the land devastated by the flood (Genesis 8:17). Now, God's command defines for Noah and his sons their greatest remaining purpose: reproduce.

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.

Accessed 5/3/2024 6:37:16 AM