Genesis 9:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

NIV: Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

NASB: So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

CSB: So Noah's life lasted 950 years; then he died.

NLT: He lived 950 years, and then he died.

KJV: And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

NKJV: So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

Early men such as Adam, Seth, and Methuselah are credited with lifespans of more than nine hundred years. Noah, however, will be the last to live such a long life. Genesis chapter 11 describes the genealogies of mankind from Noah through to the next major patriarch: Abraham. Over that time period, spanning just eight generations, the length of human lives plummets. Even the great prophet Moses will live to be just 120 years old, while his brother Aaron will live to be 123.

This figure of 120 years becomes more or less the maximum lifespan for humanity on the post-flood earth. For this reason, many scholars believe that God's remark about striving with man (Genesis 6:3) was a reference to God purposefully limiting the length of a human life. If so, this was in no small part meant to limit man's ability to inflict evil and violence on the earth (Genesis 6:5).

Genesis 9:18–29 comes immediately after God has established his promise to never again destroy all life with a flood. This includes a sign: the rainbow. The passage reintroduces Noah's three sons as the fathers of all the people of the earth to come. This passage also states that Ham was the father of Canaan. Next, we're told the embarrassing story of when Noah became drunk and lay naked in his tent. After seeing Noah uncovered, Ham went out and told his brothers about it. When Noah woke up, he cursed the descendants of Ham's son Canaan to be subservient to the descendants of Shem and Japheth.

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 5/5/2024 5:10:28 PM