The Covenant with Noah

Three Eternal Laws from Genesis 9

Genesis 9 outlines the covenant God made with Noah, establishing foundational laws for humanity.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

📜 “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1)

✅ A direct command to populate the earth, emphasizing the sanctity of life and growth.

Do Not Eat Blood

📜 “But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.” (Genesis 9:4)

✅ A clear law prohibiting the consumption of blood, respecting life’s essence.

Do Not Murder

📜 “Surely your blood of your lives will I require... Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” (Genesis 9:5-6)

✅ A law against murder, underscoring the sacredness of human life, created in God’s image.

Summary of Laws

Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 9:1)
Do not eat blood (Genesis 9:4)
Do not murder (Genesis 9:5–6)

✅ These are the only explicit commandments in Genesis 9, with no additional laws implied.

The Covenant and the Bow

The covenant in Genesis 9:9–17 is a divine promise to all creation, sealed with a powerful symbol: the bow in the cloud.

📖 “I have set My bow in the cloud…” (Genesis 9:13)

אֶת־קַשְׁתִּי נָתַתִּי בֶּעָנָן

Hebrew Breakdown:

קַשְׁתִּי (qashti): “My bow”
Root קֶשֶׁת (qeshet): A weapon of war, as seen in Genesis 27:3 and 2 Kings 13:15.

𐤒𐤔𐤕 (qeshet - Paleo-Hebrew)

This is not a mere rainbow but YHWH’s battle bow, a weapon of judgment used in the flood, now hung in the sky as a sign of peace.

Symbolic Meaning

🔹 YHWH laid down His weapon of wrath.
🔹 He promised never to destroy the earth with a flood again.
🔹 The bow faces upward, away from mankind, symbolizing peace.

🕊️ This covenant reflects divine restraint, not weakness. Despite humanity’s sin (Genesis 8:21), YHWH chose mercy, marking it with a visual oath of peace.

The Deeper Meaning

The flood was a response to humanity’s violence (חָמָס – hamas). By retiring His war bow, YHWH made a binding promise to all generations, transforming a symbol of war into one of peace.

✨ The term “rainbow” comes from later translations; the original Hebrew emphasizes a war bow, retired as a divine act of mercy.