Gen 9:1

cross-referenceGen 9:1–29; Acts 15:20; Matt 26:52; Rev 13:10; Rev 4:3; Rev 10:1; 1 Tim 4:3

Gen 9 and its NT texts: form only

• SaysActs 15:20 shares αἷμα with Swete 9:4; the SBLGNT apparatus units at ἀπέχεσθαι and τοῦ are given with their editions, and the Textus Receptus has ἀπό and τοῦ.
• SaysMatt 26:52 and Rev 13:10 share no content word with Swete 9:6; their apparatus units and Textus Receptus forms are given.
• SaysRev 4:3 and 10:1 have ἶρις, not the τόξον of Swete 9:13–16; their Byzantine units and the Textus Receptus καὶ ἶρις are given.
• Says1 Tim 4:3 has βρωμάτων and Swete 9:3 εἰς βρῶσιν, with no apparatus unit; the Textus Receptus spells μετάληψιν.
• UncertainForm agreement is not a claim about which text a writer used.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 TR (Scrivener 1894) public domain Abbott-Smith public domain

exegeticalGen 9:1–29

Genesis 9 in the New Testament

• SaysActs 15:20 shares blood with Swete 9:4; Matt 26:52 and Rev 13:10 share no content word with Swete 9:6; Rev 4:3 and 10:1 have iris, not toxon; 1 Tim 4:3 speaks of foods; other Noah texts are reached through the Genesis 6 xrefs.
• ImpliesThe New Testament treats Noah as a real person, as the Genesis 7 note on persons and history sets out.
• UncertainForm agreement is not a claim about sources; whether Acts 15:20 binds 9:4 today, and whether Matt 26:52 or Rev 4:3 draws on this chapter, remains open; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

exegeticalGen 9:1–29

Overview of Genesis 9

• SaysGod blessed Noah and his sons, gave every living thing for food but forbade flesh with its life, its blood, required human life, established His covenant with a bow as its sign, and after Ham saw Noah's nakedness Noah cursed Canaan and blessed the Lord, the God of Shem; Noah lived 950 years and died.
• Implies9:1, 7 renew the blessing of 1:28 as far as the shared wording goes; human life is sacred because of the image; the covenant is God's one-sided promise; the sin theme of 8:21 continues; the Lord, the God of Shem, points toward Abram.
• UncertainMeat, blood today, the force of 9:6, the kind of covenant, the bow, what Ham did, why Canaan, and who dwells in 9:27 remain open; no lean is taken here.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

exegeticalGen 9:1–7

Blessing, food, and blood (Genesis 9:1–7)

• SaysGod blessed Noah and his sons with the three commands of 1:28; fear and terror of them fall on the creatures; every moving thing that is alive shall be food, but flesh with its life, its blood, is not to be eaten; God will require human life from beast and brother.
• Implies9:1, 7 renew the blessing of 1:28 as far as the shared wording goes; subdue and rule are not repeated, and fear takes their place.
• UncertainWhether 9:3 first permits meat or ratifies existing practice, and whether the ban on blood binds readers today, remain open; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

historicalGen 9:1–17

After the flood in Babylonian stories

• SaysGen 9:1: God blessed Noah and his sons to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth; 9:10–11: He establishes His covenant with every living creature that no flood will again destroy the earth; 9:13, 15: He sets His bow in the clouds as the sign and will remember His covenant.
• UncertainHow the Babylonian and Sumerian accounts of the flood’s aftermath (Gilgamesh XI in Rogers; the Sumerian text as read by King) relate to Gen 9, given shared and differing features, is open; no dependence claimed, no lean, and background does not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels public domain King, Legends of Babylon and Egypt public domain

languageGen 9:1–17

LXX Gen 9:1–17: blessing, blood, and the covenant

• SaysSwete’s Genesis 9 numbering matches the English and the MT; 9:1 adds καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς and 9:3 has ὑμῖν ἔσται εἰς βρῶσιν, as in Swete 1:28–29; 9:7 has πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν for שִׁרְצוּ בָאָרֶץ.
• Says9:2 has ὁ τρόμος ὑμῶν καὶ ὁ φόβος and a first-person ὑπὸ χεῖρας ὑμῖν δέδωκα for בְּיֶדְכֶם נִתָּנוּ; 9:4 has κρέας ἐν αἵματι ψυχῆς.
• SaysSwete 9:5 has ἐκζητήσω three times and one ἐκ χειρός phrase for the MT’s two; a corrector supplies ψυχῶν ὑμῶν in the margin of Alexandrinus; 9:6 has ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ with no Greek for בָּאָדָם, and ἐποίησα for עָשָׂה, with no apparatus entry.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on the original wording of 9:5–6 or on how the Greek bears on בָּאָדָם.
• SaysSwete renders the covenant verbs as ἀνίστημι, στήσω and διεθέμην; 9:10 lacks the closing phrase; 9:12 has Κύριος ὁ θεός and 9:16 ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ; the bow is τὸ τόξον μου with present τίθημι.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 OSHB CC BY 4.0 Abbott-Smith public domain

languageGen 9:1–3

Gen 9:1–3: blessing, fear, and food

• SaysGod blessed Noah and his sons: be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth; the fear and terror of you on all creatures, given into your hand.
• SaysEvery moving thing that is alive shall be food, as the green plants were; "I give you everything."
• Implies9:1 renews the creation blessing of 1:28 (same three commands, same order); Noah as a new Adam only as far as the shared wording goes.
• UncertainWhether 9:3 first permits meat or ratifies existing practice; no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

VariantGen 9:1–29

Gen 9: minor variants

• Says9:21 "his tent" with the older spelling, printed without a marginal reading (WLC following L).
• SaysGreek differences at 9:1, 7, 12, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27; 9:28 agrees (350).
• UncertainWhether the Greek differences reflect other Hebrew or the translator; no lean.

✓ Approved BSB public domain LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:4

historicalGen 9:4–6

Blood and bloodshed in early reading

• SaysGen 9:4 forbids eating flesh with its life, its blood; 9:5: God requires the life of man or beast that sheds human blood; 9:6: whoever sheds man’s blood, by (or for) man his blood will be shed, for God made mankind in His image.
• UncertainWhether 9:6 commands, permits or predicts the penalty, how בָּאָדָם is read, and whether 9:4 still binds are open; no lean, and these readings do not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 Etheridge public domain Josephus (Whiston) public domain APOT public domain

languageGen 9:4–5

Gen 9:4–5: the life, the blood, and the accounting

• Says"Only flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat": its blood stands beside and names its life.
• SaysOne verb, "I will require," three times; from every beast and from each man his brother.
• UncertainWhether the blood command binds readers today (binding, Acts 15:20; or fulfilled); no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:5

exegeticalGen 9:5–6

Bloodshed and the image of God (Genesis 9:5–6)

• SaysWhoever sheds man's blood, ba'adam, his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man; the printed wording is the Masoretic Text, confidence medium, against Swete's shorter 9:5, 'in return for his blood,' and 'I made'.
• ImpliesHuman life is sacred because humans are made in God's image (9:6 with 1:26–27), still true after the flood.
• UncertainBa'adam as agent or exchange, and whether 9:6 is mandate, permission and limit, or prediction, remain open; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

VariantGen 9:5; Gen 9:6

Gen 9:5–6: "from the hand of man," "by man," and "He made"

• SaysMT 9:5 two "from the hand" phrases; Swete one (ἐκ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀδελφοῦ); the Samaritan text has both, without "and," with "every living thing" and "and his brother."
• SaysMT 9:6 ba'adam and "He made"; Swete ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, nothing answering to ba'adam as "by man," and ἐποίησα; no entry in Swete's notes; the Samaritan consonants as the MT.
• UncertainMT or Swete original: grounds and objections; no lean.

✓ Approved BSB public domain LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 von Gall, Sam. Pent. public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:6

languageGen 9:6

Gen 9:6: shedding blood and the image of God

• SaysWhoever sheds man's blood, by/for man his blood shall be shed (participle answered by Niphal); for in the image of God He made man.
• ImpliesHuman life is sacred because humans bear God's image (9:6 with 1:26–27), still true after the flood.
• UncertainBa'adam as agent or exchange; mandate, permission and limit, or prediction; no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:8

exegeticalGen 9:8–17

The covenant's scope and sign (Genesis 9:8–17)

• SaysGod establishes (not 'cuts') His covenant with Noah, his seed, and every living creature: never again a flood to destroy the earth; the sign is my bow, set in the cloud, which God will see and remember.
• ImpliesThe covenant is God's one-sided promise; the sign reminds God, and nothing is required of the creatures for it to stand.
• UncertainWhether 'establish' confirms an existing covenant or begins a new one, and whether the bow is new or an existing sight given meaning, remain open; no dependence on Babylonian stories is claimed, and no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

languageGen 9:8–11

Gen 9:8–11: I establish My covenant; never again

• SaysGod establishes (Hiphil of qum, not karat) His covenant; karat is used of flesh: "all flesh shall not again be cut off."
• SaysPartners: Noah, his seed, and every living creature from the ark; no flood again to destroy the earth.
• ImpliesThe covenant is God's one-sided promise: God alone acts, animals are partners, no condition is stated.
• UncertainWhether "establish" confirms an existing covenant (creation or 6:18) or begins a new one; no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:12

historicalGen 9:12–17

The bow in the clouds in early reading

• SaysGen 9:13: God sets His bow (קַשְׁתִּי, the ordinary word for a bow; BSB “rainbow”) in the clouds as the sign of the covenant with the earth; 9:16: when it appears He will see it and remember the everlasting covenant.
• UncertainWhether the bow first appeared after the flood or was an existing phenomenon given new meaning is open; no lean, and these readings do not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 Etheridge public domain Josephus (Whiston) public domain APOT public domain

languageGen 9:12–17

Gen 9:12–17: the sign, the bow, and "I will remember"

• SaysThe sign of the covenant; "my bow" (qeshet, the ordinary word) "I have set" in the cloud; "when I cloud a cloud."
• SaysGod will see the bow and remember the everlasting covenant with all flesh; 9:17 "I have established."
• ImpliesThe sign reminds God; nothing is required of the creatures for the covenant to stand.
• UncertainWhether the bow is new or an existing sight given meaning; the war-bow reading is one view; no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:18

languageGen 9:18–21

Gen 9:18–21: the vineyard, the wine, and the tent

• SaysShem, Ham and Japheth; Ham the father of Canaan; from them the whole earth was scattered.
• SaysNoah began (Hiphil of khalal), man of the soil, planted a vineyard, drank, became drunk, uncovered himself (Hitpael) in his tent.
• UncertainThe syntax of 9:20, and Noah's culpability (no verdict in the text); no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

languageGen 9:18–29

LXX Gen 9:18–29: Noah’s sons and the curse

• Says9:18–20 name the sons, render נָפְצָה כָל־הָאָרֶץ with διεσπάρησαν, and give ἤρξατο Νῶε ἄνθρωπος γεωργὸς γῆς.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on the syntax of 9:20 or on Noah’s culpability.
• Says9:21 has ἐγυμνώθη and ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ for בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלֹה; 9:22 adds καὶ ἐξελθών; 9:23 renders הַשִּׂמְלָה and the two אֲחֹרַנִּית as listed.
• Says9:24 has ἐξένηψεν and ὁ νεώτερος for הַקָּטָן.
• UncertainWhether the son of 9:24 is Ham or Canaan is not decided here.
• SaysSwete prints Χανάαν at 9:25 with παῖς οἰκέτης, and its apparatus gives Χάμ in the Bodleian Genesis at 9:25 and 9:27; 9:26 has Κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Σήμ; לָמוֹ is αὐτοῦ at 9:26 and αὐτῶν at 9:27; 9:27 has πλατύναι and ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις, and κατοικησάτω names no subject.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on who dwells in 9:27 or on the number of לָמוֹ.
• SaysSwete 9:28–29 give 350 and 950 years, as the MT does.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 OSHB CC BY 4.0 Abbott-Smith public domain

Gen 9:20

exegeticalGen 9:20–24

Noah's drunkenness and Ham's act (Genesis 9:20–24)

• SaysNoah, a man of the soil, planted a vineyard, became drunk, and uncovered himself; Ham saw his father's nakedness and told his brothers; Shem and Japheth covered him and did not see; Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his small son had done.
• ImpliesThe sin theme of 8:21 continues after the flood.
• UncertainThe syntax of 9:20, Noah's culpability, what Ham did (four views, 9:23 weighed), and whether the small son is Ham or Canaan remain open; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

historicalGen 9:20–27

Noah’s sons in early reading, and a misuse

• SaysGen 9:20–22: Noah planted a vineyard, became drunk and uncovered himself, and Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his nakedness and told his brothers; 9:25–26: Noah cursed Canaan to be a servant of servants and blessed the Lord, the God of Shem.
• ImpliesThe use of 9:25 to defend the enslavement of Africans has no ground in the text: the curse names Canaan, not Ham; Canaan’s descendants are placed in Canaan (10:15–19); the words are Noah’s; the three sons are one family (9:19); every human bears God’s image (9:6). The use is rejected.
• UncertainWhat Ham did (9:22–23), why Canaan is named, and who the “youngest son” of 9:24 is remain open; no lean, and these readings do not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain Etheridge public domain Josephus (Whiston) public domain Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain

Gen 9:22

languageGen 9:22–24

Gen 9:22–24: he saw the nakedness; they covered it

• SaysHam saw his father's nakedness and told his brothers; Shem and Japheth covered it walking backward and did not see; "nakedness" three times.
• SaysNoah awoke from his wine and knew what his small son had done.
• ImpliesThe sin theme of 8:21 continues after the flood (9:20–23).
• UncertainWhat Ham did (four views, 9:23 weighed); whether the small son is Ham or Canaan; no lean.

✓ Approved BDB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0

Gen 9:25

exegeticalGen 9:25–27

The curse of Canaan and the blessing (Genesis 9:25–27)

• SaysCursed be Canaan, servant of servants; blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; may God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; Noah lived 350 years after the flood and 950 in all, and died.
• ImpliesThe Lord, the God of Shem, points toward Shem's line (11:10–26) and Abram.
• UncertainWhy Canaan, not Ham, and whether 'he' in 9:27 is God or Japheth, and lamo singular or plural, remain open; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

exegeticalGen 9:25

The misuse of Genesis 9:25 for racial slavery

• SaysThe curse names Canaan; it is historically documented that 9:25 was used to defend the enslavement of Africans, notably in American pro-slavery argument, stated as general history.
• ImpliesThat use is rejected: the curse names Canaan, not Ham; Canaan's descendants are placed in Canaan (10:15–19); the words are Noah's; the three sons are one family (9:19); every human bears God's image (9:6).
• UncertainWhat Ham did, and why Canaan is named, remain open and do not reopen a defense of the racial use.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

languageGen 9:25–27

Gen 9:25–27: cursed, blessed, and servant

• SaysCursed be Canaan, servant of servants (superlative); blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; may God enlarge Japheth (wordplay); may he dwell in Shem's tents.
• Implies"The God of Shem" points toward Shem's line (11:10–26) and Abram.
• ImpliesThe use of 9:25 to defend the enslavement of Africans is rejected: the curse names Canaan, not Ham; Canaan's descendants are placed in Canaan (10:15–19); the words are Noah's; the sons are one family (9:19); every human bears God's image (9:6).
• UncertainWhy Canaan, not Ham; "he" in 9:27 (God or Japheth); lamo singular or plural; no lean.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0