Genesis 9:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,

NIV: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you

NASB: Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you;

CSB: "Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,

NLT: I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,

KJV: And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

NKJV: “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,

A "covenant" is a solemn agreement between two parties, where each side has certain obligations. Both parties in the covenant are bound to follow through on their end of the agreement. In some cases, those responsibilities are conditional. In such instances, the requirements are stated as "if this, then that." In others, the mandates are expected no matter what the other party does. In Genesis 6:18, God promises to establish a covenant with Noah. Noah's side of that binding agreement came in his work of building the ark.

Now, as promised, God is about to explain His part of the covenant He has made with humanity through Noah and his sons. God reveals His covenant to all four men and not just to Noah, the patriarch. This will be a covenant with all of the peoples of the earth to follow from these four men—which means it is a covenant with all the peoples of the world to live since that day.

Specifically, God will promise to never again destroy all life on earth with a flood. As a sign of this promise, God provides the rainbow.

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 5/2/2024 3:23:11 PM