Genesis 9:1-17 (P). The Conclusion of the Flood Story according to P The passage falls into two sections: (_a_) 1 7, (_b_) 8 17. (_a_) 1 7. The blessing pronounced upon Noah and his family: man's prerogatives are enlarged; but two prohibitions are imposed: (i) of eating blood, (ii) of manslaughter... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God blessed_, &c. The substance of this verse is a repetition of Genesis 1:28. Another chapter in history is begun. As in chap. 1, after the Creation, a single pair confronted the whole earth and its animal world, so here, the single family of Noah is to "replenish the earth," and receives a sp... [ Continue Reading ]
_the fear of you and the dread of you_ This is a new feature in God's ordering of the world. Hitherto (Genesis 1:28) man had received the command (1) to replenish the earth, (2) to subdue it, (3) to have dominion over the animals. Now, however, a new stage is reached. Man hereafter is invested with... [ Continue Reading ]
_Every moving thing_ P assumes here that all animals are capable of furnishing food for man, and that there is no distinction between "clean" and "unclean" in the pre-Mosaic dispensation. _as the green herb_ See note on Genesis 1:30. As, at the Creation, God said of the whole vegetable world, that... [ Continue Reading ]
_But flesh with the life thereof_, which is _the blood thereof_ Man's privilege is attended, first, with a strict ritual prohibition. The words might be more literally rendered thus, "nevertheless flesh with its vital principle (or -soul"), which is its blood, ye shall not eat." The Israelites regar... [ Continue Reading ]
_your blood_ The second prohibition is that of manslaughter. The thought of human bloodshed is naturally suggested by the subject of the slaying of animals. Man's life is sacred. Neither man nor beast is to take it. the blood _of your lives_ A difficult expression. Literally, "for," or "according t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whoso sheddeth man's blood_, &c. In the first clause of this verse the principle is laid down, that murder is to be punished with death. Blood for blood and life for life is to be the penalty (cf. Genesis 9:5). The sanctity of human life is thus protected by Divine sanction. The custom of blood-rev... [ Continue Reading ]
8 17b. The Covenant with Noah 9. _I, behold, I_ Cf. Genesis 6:17, "I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters." The same personal emphasis is expressed in proclaiming the mercy of the covenant as previously in the sentence of doom. _establish my covenant_ See Genesis 6:18. The Pentateuch mentions t... [ Continue Reading ]
_and with every living creature_ The Heb. for "creature" is _nephesh_, cf. Genesis 1:20. God's covenant with the creatures, as well as with mankind, suggests the thought of the interdependence between the animal world and the human race. Goodness and kindness towards man involve a corresponding bles... [ Continue Reading ]
_a flood to destroy the earth_ The promise here given, that there shall never more be a flood, is appealed to by the prophet in Isaiah 54:9-10, "for this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not b... [ Continue Reading ]
The Token of the Covenant The word "token," Heb. _"ôth_is the same as that rendered "sign" in Genesis 4:15, "and the Lord appointed a sign for Cain." The "token" is the outward and visible sign of the covenant relation. Its outwardness serves to remind man, whose spiritual adherence will become wea... [ Continue Reading ]
_I do set my bow in the cloud_ Better, as marg., _I have set_. The Hebrew would literally be rendered "I do give," or "have given." The language is capable of two interpretations: (1) "I do now, and have just for the first time, set the rainbow in the sky, that mankind may hereafter have a token o... [ Continue Reading ]
_that the bow shall be seen_ This should be rendered "and the bow is seen." The promise is not that the bow shall be seen whenever God sends clouds over the earth, but that, whenever He sends clouds and His bow is visible, then He will remember the covenant. It is possible that this beautiful emplo... [ Continue Reading ]
_and I will_ This should be rendered "that I will." It forms the apodosis to the words in 14, "and it shall come to pass when.... [ Continue Reading ]
_remember_ Used of God, cf. Genesis 8:1. Here it suggests that the primitive tradition implied that God might forget, if it were not for "the bow." The word "remember" may be anthropomorphic; but in the later stage of the tradition, as in this passage, the rainbow is the "sign" or "reminder" for man... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is the token_, &c. This verse, according to the style of P, reiterates the substance of 11 13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the sons of Noah_ The names of Noah's sons have already frequently been given in the P narrative (Genesis 5:32; Genesis 6:10; Genesis 7:13). _Ham is the father of Canaan_ This note has in all probability been inserted by the compiler, with reference to the section Genesis 9:20 and the curse pronou... [ Continue Reading ]
Noah, as the Vine-dresser, and his three Sons. (J.) In this section the narrative, which begins at Genesis 9:20, is introduced by the two connecting Genesis 9:18-19, which either conclude J's account of the Flood, or are an editorial insertion by the compiler. (_a_) 18, 19 Noah and his family leav... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Noah began to be an husbandman_ This expression is an extremely awkward rendering of the strange Hebrew, which is literally "And Noah began man of the soil and planted," &c. Better, "And Noah the husbandman began and planted a vineyard," i.e. was the first to do so. "The husbandman," lit. "man... [ Continue Reading ]
_and he drank_ The representation is that of the man who first made wine out of grapes, and drinking of it in ignorance was overcome by its potency. No blame is attached to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ham, the father of_ Words probably inserted by the compiler (R). If so, in the original narrative there stood in this verse simply the name of "Canaan," "and Canaan saw the nakedness." Otherwise the curse pronounced upon Canaan, instead of upon Ham, in Genesis 9:25, is unintelligible (see note). A... [ Continue Reading ]
_a garment_ Heb. _simlah_, LXX ἱμάτιον, Lat. _pallium_: the large upper garment which was also used as a covering by night, as appears from Exodus 22:26; Deuteronomy 24:13. The conduct of Shem and Japheth, in its regard for their father's honour, is contrasted with the levity and want of delicacy di... [ Continue Reading ]
_his youngest son_ The rendering of the R.V. marg. and of the A.V., _younger_(so LXX ὁ νεώτερος, Lat. _minor_), is not permissible. The Hebrew word, where there is a comparison between more than two persons, means "the youngest," as in the story of David (1 Samuel 16:11; 1 Samuel 17:14). The difficu... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said_ Noah's utterance of a curse upon Canaan and of a blessing upon Shem and Japheth is expressed in poetical terms. The solemn words of a father, as the head of his house, concerning his sons, partook of the character of prophecy, and were expressed in brief oracular sentences. Cf. in the... [ Continue Reading ]
SPECIAL NOTE ON GENESIS 9:25 There is much uncertainty as to the period of history to which the Song, or Oracle, of Noah may be considered to refer. In all probability, the question must be left undecided. 1. It has been understood to refer to the times of David. Shem, i.e. the Israelites, have su... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed be the Lord_, _the God of Shem_ The blessing invoked, not upon Shem himself, but upon Jehovah the God of Shem, is intended to convey the thought that herein will lie the true welfare of the descendants of Shem. The point of this oracle is, of course, dependent on the fact that Shem is to be... [ Continue Reading ]
_God_ The blessing on Japheth is introduced with the name not of "Jehovah," but of "Elohim." Jehovah is the God who reveals Himself through the descendants of Shem. The blessing of Japheth shall come from God; but Japheth will not know God by His name Jehovah. _enlarge_ The word in the Hebrew, _yap... [ Continue Reading ]