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Genesis Chapter
Nine
I.
Content of the Chapter
After Noah Went out
of the Ark
A. God blessed Noah:
1. The outline ---- be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth (v.1);
2. Govern all living things (v.2);
3. Allow man to eat living things except for the blood (v.3-4);
4. No man or beast shall hurt man’s life (v.5-6);
5. The conclusion ---- be fruitful and multiply and bring forth
abundantly in the earth (v.7);
B. God made a covenant with Noah and all
living things:
1. The object of the covenant:
a.
Noah and his offspring (v.8-9);
b. All
living things out of the ark (v.10);
2. The content of the covenant ---- never again
shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall
there be a flood to destroy the earth (v.11);
3. The sign of the covenant ---- the rainbow in the
cloud (v.12-17);
C. The whole family of Noah after going
out of the ark:
1. Three sons of Noah (v. 18-19);
2. Noah was drunk and became uncovered (v. 20-21);
3. The sons’ responses to Noah’s uncovered body (v.
22-23);
4. The curse and blessing after Noah awoke from his
wine (v. 24-27);
5. The days of Noah (v. 28-29);
II.
Verse by Verse Commentary
Gen. 9:1 “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to
them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
YLT:
“And God blesseth Noah, and
his sons, and saith to them, `Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth;”
Literal
Meaning: here it shows that
the will of God on man does not change (see Gen. 1:28).
“Be
fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth”, God still pleases that man shall manifest His glory
on the earth.
“And
fill the earth”, it is not being
inhabited in some places, but the whole earth. The will of God is that all the
people shall be scattered over the world (see chap. 11 men disobeyed this will
deliberately).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Only God is the One who blesses. He had granted
us all spiritual blessings in the heaven in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
2) The appointed will of God before the foundation of the world is to manifest
the fullness of Him who fills all in all through the church (Eph. 1:23).
Gen. 9:2 “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall
be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on
the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.”
YLT:
“and your fear and your dread
is on every beast of the earth, and on every fowl of the heavens, on all that
creepeth on the ground, and on all fishes of the sea -- into your hand they
have been given.”
Literal
Meaning: “the fear of … and
the dread of …”, after the waters of the flood, the animals did not live with
men in harmony as that in the
“They are given into your hand”, God still entrusts the crucial mission
of governing the whole earth into men and lets men be delegated authorities of
God on the earth.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Before the fall of man, everything was governed
by “love”. After the fall of man, man had to govern and subdue all things by “fear”
in a harsh way.
2) God makes all the animals “fear” men for the sake of the mission of
governing the whole earth entrusted to men. The domestic animals are ruled by
men because of the fear of them. And the wild beasts try to escape the traces
of human presence because of fear of men.
Gen. 9:3 “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for
you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.”
YLT:
“Every creeping thing that is
alive, to you it is for food; as the green herb I have given to you the whole;”
Literal
Meaning: God allowed men to
eat the animals henceforth (Gen. 1:29; Deut. 12:15; 1Tim. 4:3-4).
Spiritual
Meaning: the animals had to
shed blood before being eaten as food, which typified that man shall live
before God by the atoning blood (Heb. 9:22).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It is the doctrine of demons of abstaining from
meats. No creature of God is to be rejected (1Tim. 4:1-4).
2) Eating meat is not only a right but also an enjoyment of man (Num.
11:18). However, let believers not lead a kind of atheistic life because of pleasures
in the flesh.
3) Let believers be free on the matter of whether there is meat to eat
or not. For the sake of meat do not destroy the work of God (Rom. 14:20-21).
Gen. 9:4 “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”
YLT: “only flesh in its life -- its blood -- ye do
not eat.”
Literal
Meaning: the soul of the
flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:11).
“Shall not eat
… that is, its blood”, God does not allow men to eat blood, which means
men have to cherish and honor life.
Spiritual
Meaning: blood refers to
giving life. God does not allow men to eat flesh with blood, including two
meanings:
1) To manifest the truth of atonement ---- man can only receive the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus (John 6:55-56). No other blood, e.g. the blood
of goats or bulls, can take away man’s sins (Heb. 10:4).
2) The soul of the flesh is in the blood, which typifies that we can
enjoy the divine life by drinking the blood of the Lord Jesus (John 6:53). No
other life is the object we seek after.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Though all living things are delivered to men’s
hands (see v.2), men have to submit to the hand of God and obey all the laws
set by the Creator instead of acting presumptuously.
2) Believers in the New Testament shall still abstain from blood and
from things strangled (Acts 15:20, 29). Let believers see this commandment in a
spiritual sight.
Gen. 9:5 “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a
reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of
man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.”
YLT: “`And only your blood for your lives do I
require; from the hand of every living thing I require it, and from the hand of
man, from the hand of every man's brother I require the life of man;”
Literal
Meaning: here on one hand, it
shows that God cherishes man’s life and on the other hand, only God has the
authority of life and He will visit the iniquity of the killer.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) God Himself is the greatest keeper of human life
(see Gen. 4:9-12).
2) The life of every man is precious in the sight of God. Therefore, we
are not allowed to killer others (Ex. 20:13) nor kill ourselves.
3) The people of the heavenly kingdom cannot kill nor hate others (Matt.
5:21-22).
4) The authority of life is in the hand of God. Therefore, he who fears
God must honor life.
Gen. 9:6 ““Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man
his blood shall be shed;
for in the image of God, He
made man.”
YLT: “whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man is his
blood shed: for in the image of God hath He made man.”
Literal
Meaning: the honor of man’s
life is again emphasized. God does not allow man to kill others presumptuously.
“By man his blood shall be shed”, many Bible expositors, in the light of
this verse, think God allows the “death penalty” upon him who sheds man’s
blood.
“For in the image of God, He made man”, “image” emphasizes the inner disposition.
This verse shows that the original purpose of God’s making man is not changed
and He will still manifest His glory through man.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Shedding man’s blood is severe disrespect to
God. He who sheds man’s blood harms God Himself ---- hurt the disposition of
God.
2) Since God has given His glory upon man, let us respect the dignity of
each man.
3) Man was made in the image of God, and therefore there is the constitutional
goodness in man’s disposition.
4) Since we believers are partakers of God’s disposition (2Pet. 1:4),
let us walk according to the divine nature.
Gen. 9:7 “And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring
forth abundantly in the earth,
and multiply in it.””
YLT: “And ye, be fruitful and multiply, teem in
the earth, and multiply in it.'”
Literal
Meaning: “bring
forth abundantly in the earth,
and multiply in it”, here it relates to both “quantity” and “quality”.
And “fill the earth” in verse one refers to “quantity” only.
Enlightenment
in the Word: believers shall
attach importance to the cultivation of the character and spirituality of their
children in the flesh or in spirit
Gen.
9:8 “Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:”
YLT:
“And God speaketh unto Noah,
and unto his sons with him, saying,”
Gen. 9:9 ““And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant
with you and with your descendants after you,”
YLT:
“`And I, lo, I am
establishing My covenant with you, and with your seed after you,”
Literal
Meaning: “covenant”, it is a
kind of relationship with mutual consent, which is of constraining force and
requires the fulfillment of obligations. In fact, man is unable to keep the
covenant, so the covenant made by God is a divine gift to man. He is willing to
humble Himself and put Him on a constraining position.
“You and your descendants” refer to the whole human beings from
generations to generations.
Gen. 9:10 “and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle,
and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every
beast of the earth.”
YLT:
“and with every living
creature which with you, among fowl, among cattle, and among every beast of the
earth with you, from all who are going out of the ark -- to every beast of the
earth.”
Literal
Meaning: this verse has
further included all living things in the objects of the covenant.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) All the living things on the earth live for man.
They suffer the destruction of the flood for the sake of man. And they enjoy
the blessing of the covenant also for the sake of man.
2) The creature has been made subject to vanity, and the creature itself
also shall be set free from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the
glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:19-22).
Gen. 9:11 “Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never
again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall
there be a flood to destroy the earth.””
YLT:
“And I have established My
covenant with you, and all flesh is not any more cut off by waters of a deluge,
and there is not any more a deluge to destroy the earth.'”
Literal
Meaning: henceforth, the
flood appeared in some regional places instead of the whole earth.
This verse tells us that God will never destroy the earth by the waters
of the flood, not that He will never destroy the earth again. In future, God
will burn the earth and the works in it with heat (2Pet. 3:10).
Spiritual
Meaning: “flood” symbolizes
the judgment of God. The eternal covenant God has made with us and all things
speaks of the following spiritual meanings:
1) God has the riches of goodness and forbearance and long-suffering,
and the goodness of God leads man to repentance (
2) God
had passed over the sins that were previously committed in
His forbearance to demonstrate at the
present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the
one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26).
3) God endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction and that He might make known the
riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand
for glory (Rom. 9:22-23),
namely, we believers in the coming ages.
4) Though man is corrupted in the flesh, God still has His way. He will
work on man and make man His workmanship (Eph. 2:10 the original) to fulfill
God’s original will and purpose when he made man.
5) Though men’s condition is up and down, we still need not to live
under the shadow of the fear of death, but live with full living hope.
6) If we are unfaithful, He abides faithful, for He cannot deny Himself
(2Tim. 2:13).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The flood only declares God’s judgment upon
sins, and has not resolved the problem of man’s life. After we have believed
the Lord and been baptized, though we are remitted, we still have the sin.
2) The whole creation groans and travails in pain and is in hope that it
also shall be set free from the bondage of corruption into the liberty (Rom.
8:18-22).
Gen. 9:12 “And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and
every living creature that is
with you, for perpetual generations:”
YLT: “And God saith, `This is a token of the
covenant which I am giving between Me and you, and every living creature that
with you, to generations age-during;”
Literal
Meaning: “perpetual generations”, here it emphasizes the permanence of this
covenant, which will be free from any abolishment or transformation in any
case.
“Sign”, it is for the purpose of
reminding both sides about the changelessness of the covenant.
Gen. 9:13 “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be
for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”
YLT:
“My bow I have given in the
cloud, and it hath been for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth;”
Literal
Meaning: here it does not
mean it was a phenomenon after the flood that the rainbow appeared in the cloud,
but that God took the rainbow as the sign of the covenant henceforward. There
is sunlight after a rain, and a rainbow in the cloud.
Spiritual
Meaning: “rainbow”
symbolizes the faithfulness of God (Rev. 4:2; Ps. 89:2). The rainbow is the reflection
of sunlight, so the faithfulness of God is on the ground of His righteousness
(Mal. 4:2).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) If we are unfaithful, He abides faithful, for He
cannot deny Himself (2Tim. 2:13).
2) The faithfulness of God is as steadfast as the rainbow in the heaven,
which cannot be touched by anyone or anything, so it is unalterable.
3) The faithfulness of God is the surety of the covenant He has made,
which guarantees that He will never deny the word He had spoken when He made
the covenant with man (Ps. 89:33-34; Deut. 7:9).
4) The rainbow looks like a bow unto the heaven instead of the earth.
God made the covenant with us for the purpose of comforting us, not frightening
us.
Gen. 9:14 “It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the
earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;”
YLT: “and it hath come to pass (in My sending a
cloud over the earth) that the bow hath been seen in the cloud,”
Literal
Meaning: here it does not
mean there “must be a rainbow” in every cloud, but God “will” remember His covenant
when the “rainbow” appears.
Spiritual
Meaning: “a cloud over the
earth”, when it is cloudy and dark, it symbolizes the judgment is upon the
earth (Matt. 27:45-46).
“Cloud” may also stand for various sufferings and distress and sorrows. And
“rainbow” symbolizes peace and joy and harmony. Therefore, here it reveals that
if God allows us to meet troubles, He intends to profit us and makes us
peaceful and joyful in troubles (John 16:20-22, 33).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The rainbow to us is a kind of comfort and
surety, showing that God will never remain us in darkness and leave us in the
lurch.
2) The rainbow on the other hand is a kind of warning. Let us not
treasure up to ourselves wrath according to our harness and impenitent heart in
day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment of God (
Gen. 9:15 “and I will remember My covenant which is
between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall
never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”
YLT:
“and I have remembered My
covenant which is between Me and you, and every living creature among all
flesh, and the waters become no more a deluge to destroy all flesh;”
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) What God remembers is the covenant He had made
rather than our trespasses.
2) Whenever God remembers someone or something, there will be grace
(Gen. 8:1). How abundant and rich His grace is!
Gen. 9:16 “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will
look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living
creature of all flesh that is
on the earth.””
YLT:
“and the bow hath been in the
cloud, and I have seen it -- to remember the covenant age-during between God
and every living creature among all flesh which on the earth.'”
Literal
Meaning: “I will look on it”, the sign of rainbow is mainly set for God. He
humbles Himself and is willing to be constrained by the “covenant”. In fact,
when it is cloudy and dark on the earth, men cannot see the rainbow, but God
sees it in the heavens. Thus, he is constrained and will not destroy all living
things (v.15).
Gen. 9:17 “And God said to Noah, “This is the sign
of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is
on the earth.””
YLT: “And God saith unto Noah, `This a token of
the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that upon the
earth.'”
Gen. 9:18 “Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark
were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of
YLT:
“And the sons of Noah who are
going out of the ark are Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is father of
Meaning
of Words: “Shem”: name, reputation; “Ham”: hot, black;
“Japheth”: enlargement, goodness; “Cannaan”: low, base, businessman, the purple
land;
Literal
Meaning: at that time, all
the people on the earth, except for the whole household of Noah, were covered
by the waters of the flood. Therefore, the sons of Noah stood for the beginning
of a new race.
Gen. 9:19 “ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth
was populated.”
YLT: “These three sons of Noah, and from these
hath all the earth been overspread.”
Literal
Meaning: “and from these the whole earth
was populated”, here it shows that the
inhabitants all over the world now are descendants of Noah’s family: most of
the Asians are the descendants of Shem, and most of the Africans are the
descendants of Ham, and most of the Europeans are the descendants of Japheth.
Gen. 9:20 “And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.”
YLT:
“And Noah remaineth a man of
the ground, and planteth a vineyard,”
Literal
Meaning: God allows man to
eat and drink for enjoyment in life, so it was not wrong for Noah began to
plant a vineyard (see Gen. 3:23; Song. 8:11; Matt. 20:1).
Gen. 9:21 “Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and
became uncovered in his tent.”
YLT:
“and drinketh of the wine,
and is drunken, and uncovereth himself in the midst of the tent.”
Literal
Meaning: Noah was wrong in
drunkenness so that he lose self-control.
“Became uncovered”, it means humiliation (Gen. 3:7, 10; Lev. 18:6-18).
Noah became uncovered, which indicated that he exposed his shame before men.
“Uncovered in his tent”, it showed that his failure was in secret, but in
public.
Here we can see that the blood did not remove the sinful nature of Noah
and his life was still of the old Adam. Though we Christian have received the
divine life in our spirits, the old life is in our souls. Therefore, it is
still possible for us to do things that God does not please.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Be not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation (Eph. 5:18).
2) When the first time the Bible mentions wine, it relates to
drunkenness. The best way of avoiding drunkenness is to be free from wine.
3) Noah was uncovered “in his tent” not in public and he made the
mistake. Therefore, no matter in secret or in public, let us learn to be
temperate.
4) Believers tend to take heed of their conversations outside of home,
but are relaxed and unstrained at home.
5) Though Noah was “perfect” (Gen. 6:9), in fact, he still had
imperfections. Therefore, let us not imitate the spiritual giants above the
Scriptures (1Cor. 4:6).
6) Even though man is victorious in great events, if careless, he may
suffer loss in small matters.
7) Noah is the head of the new race and the delegated authority of God
on the earth. He who is entrusted to rule all things on behalf of God cannot
even rule himself.
8) Once the elders expose themselves before others, they have humiliated
God and lost the testimony of God.
Gen. 9:22 “And Ham, the father of
YLT:
“And Ham, father of
Literal
Meaning: “Ham, the father of
According to the tradition of the Jews, it was
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) He who has made mistakes likes to see the fault
of others and propagate it and yet cover his own fault.
2) If a man is taken in some fault, let us try to cover him to restore
him (Gal. 6:1).
3) If one puts the shame upon others, he himself will also be
humiliated.
Gen. 9:23 “But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it
on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their
father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their
father’s nakedness.”
YLT:
“And Shem taketh -- Japheth
also -- the garment, and they place on the shoulder of them both, and go
backward, and cover the nakedness of their father; and their faces backward,
and their father's nakedness they have not seen.”
Literal
Meaning: this is covering the faults of others and avoiding further shame of them.
However, are we completely not allowed to expose or reprove of the faults of
others? There are also some balanced teachings and examples in the Bible. Whoever
disobeys the truth or commits sins on purpose, they shall be reproved and
corrected to their face (Pro. 27:5; Gal. 2:14; Eph. 5:11-13; 1Tim. 5:20; Titus
3:10-11; John see v.10).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Let believers avoid seeing or touching the
failures of the private life of others. Regarding something that does not
becomes saints, let is not be even named (Eph. 5:3).
2) Before all things having fervent love among yourselves, because love
covers a multitude of sins (1Pet. 4:8).
Gen. 9:24 “So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his
younger son had done to him.”
YLT: “And Noah awaketh from his wine, and knoweth
that which his young son hath done to him,”
Literal
Meaning: “his younger son”, it covers many meanings. Sometimes, it means
grandson or offspring (see the commentary of verse 22).
Gen.
9:25 “Then he said: “Cursed be
YLT: “and saith: `Cursed Canaan, Servant of
servants he is to his brethren.'”
Literal
Meaning: “a
servant of servants”
refers to the humblest servant. In the Bible, if a man is blessed or cursed, it
often involves the whole descendants and country of that man.
In
light of the Scriptures, it seems to be unreasonable that the fault of “Ham”
was borne by “
On the other hand, since
Gen.
9:26
“And he said: “Blessed
be the Lord, the
God of Shem, and may
YLT:
“And he saith: `Blessed of
Jehovah my God Shem, And
Literal
Meaning: God then selected
Abraham, the offspring of Shem, so He was called “the God of Shem”. Here,
blessed be the God of Shem instead of Shem himself, for God is the source of
blessing.
“And may
Gen. 9:27 “May God enlarge Japheth, and
may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and may
YLT:
“God doth give beauty to
Japheth, And he dwelleth in tents of Shem, And
Literal
Meaning: “may God
enlarge Japheth”,
it means making him more land.
“And may he dwell in the tents of Shem”, it means that he is the partaker of the
blessings of Shem.
The
majority of Japheth’s descendants occupy Europe, and the majority of Shem’s
descendants occupy Asia, and the majority of Ham’s descendants occupy
Spiritual
Meaning: the church was out
of the Jews who were the offspring of Shem, and yet was first widely accepted
by the offspring of Japheth, the Europeans. Therefore, “may he dwell in the tents
of Shem”, it typifies that the Jews and
the Gentiles are become one in Christ Jesus, namely, the church (Eph. 2:11-18).
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The blessings and curses of Noah were afterwards
both fulfilled, indicating that God pleases man to respect elders rather than
humiliate them.
2) Respect for elders is also an expression of fear of God.
Gen. 9:28 “And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and
fifty years.”
YLT:
“And Noah liveth after the
deluge three hundred and fifty years;”
Gen. 9:29 “So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and
fifty years; and he died.”
YLT:
“and all the days of Noah are
nine hundred and fifty years, and he dieth.”
Literal
Meaning: the drunkenness of
Noah might happen not long after the waters of the flood, and so Noah lived
probably at least three hundred years thereafter.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
Bases of the
Covenant God Made with Noah
A. Which is not based on human
conditions (8:21):
1. Never again curse the ground for man's sake;
2. The imagination of man's heart is evil from his
youth;
B. Which is based on the blessings of
God:
1. God blesses Noah (v.1);
2. Be fruitful and multiply (v.1, 7);
C. Which is based on the will of God:
1. All living things are given into man’s hand
(v.2);
2. Man was made after the image of God (v.6);
Contents of the
Covenant God Made with Noah
A. Concerning the necessary living environment
of man:
1. Never again there shall be a flood to destroy
the earth (v.11);
2. While the earth remains,
day and night shall not cease (8:22);
B. Concerning the living things that are
closely related to man’s life:
1. All living things have the fear and dread of man
(v.2);
2. All living things are given to man’s hands
(v.2);
3. All living things can be food for man except for
the flesh with its life (v.3-4);
4. No living thing can let man shed blood (v.5);
C. Concerning man himself:
1. Let man be fruitful and multiply and bring forth
abundantly in the earth (v.1, 7);
2. Let man respect life and keep life (v.5-6);
Characteristics of
the Covenant God Made with Noah
A. The covenant is
all-inclusive ---- “all living things” are involved (v.10);
B. The covenant is
eternal ---- “an eternal covenant” (v.12, 16);
C. The covenant gives
grace unilaterally ---- without requirements;
D. The covenant is
with a sign ---- “rainbow” (v.12-17);
E. The covenant is
remembered by God (v.15-16);
Failures of Noah
A. Noah was the father of the new race
(v.18-19) ---- the delegated authority of God;
B. Noah lost the divine testimony in
life (v.20-21) ---- the failure of the delegated authority;
C. The positive and negative reactions
of Noah’s sons (v.22-23) ---- the necessary attitudes for believers toward the
failures of others;
D. The curses and blessings of Noah (v.24-27) ----
God did not draw back what He has entrusted because of man’s failure;
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou