Genesis 8 is the continuation of the story of Noah and the ark. The rain stops, Noah sends out a raven and a dove to help figure out when the waters dried up, and God finally tells Noah to come out of the ark with his family and all of the animals. Noah then builds an altar and sacrifices some of the clean animals to God, and God makes a promise that he will never again “curse the ground” or “destroy all living creatures”.
Read Genesis 8 here.
Genesis 9 begins by telling Noah to “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” much like God also told Adam and Eve a few chapters ago. Then come some interesting explanations of origins in chapter 9:
Humans conquering Animals
God tells Noah that animals are now given to him as food, just as the plants were previously given.
Genesis 9:3:
Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
Interestingly, it sounds like humans were vegetarian before the flood. I’m not sure why this would be, it’s just an interesting and strange thing I noticed.
Humans should not be killed
God says humans must not eat animals with their blood still inside, and then says he will demand an accounting for each human that is killed.
Genesis 9:4-7
But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
Whoever sheds human blood by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.
God says that any human who kills another human will also be killed by a human. But this hasn’t held true throughout history. Does this mean that God told a lie, or was unable to keep his promise?
Also notice that the command to be fruitful and increase in number is repeated here in chapter 9, just as in chapter 8.
The Origin of Rainbows
Next, God promises to never again destroy life or the earth with a flood. This passage is another repetitive one. God basically states his covenant twice. The first time there is no mention of the rainbow, then the second time, the rainbow is mentioned, but aside from the rainbow, the passages are very similar and repetitive, similar to the repetitions I pointed from chapter 7 in my previous post.
Genesis 9:8-17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
Aside from the awkward and repetitive flow of the writing, the whole rainbow thing has always struck me as strange, even when I was a Bible-believing kid. Today, we know how rainbows are formed. Light from the sun is refracted, revealing the different colors of the light spectrum. We can do the same thing with a prism. The rainbow is a natural phenomenon caused by light and water. Are we to believe that until after the flood, somehow light and water could not produce a rainbow? And are we to believe that unless God decided to place the rainbow in the sky, this natural phenomenon would not have occurred? Or are we to believe that God changed the physical laws of nature after the flood so that light and water in the atmosphere could produce a rainbow?
Drunk Noah
After the flood is wrapped up, we learn that Noah planted a vineyard, created wine, and became drunk and naked. One of his sons (Ham) saw it and told his other two brothers (Shem and Japheth). His other two brothers respectfully covered Noah.
This is an unexpected development in the story. Noah, who was the only person deemed righteous enough to deserve to be alive before the flood, becomes an alcoholic?
Once Noah comes out of his drunken stupor, he curses his grandson Canaan because Canaan’s father Ham told his brothers about Noah’s nakedness instead of covering it up.
Genesis 9:24-27
When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”
He also said,
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
It’s uncomfortable to read about an entire family line being cursed to slavery because of what their ancestor did wrong. And what did Ham do so wrong anyway? Noah was naked, Ham saw it, and he told his brothers. If I found my mom or dad lying drunk and naked, I would do the same thing, as I’m sure nearly everyone else would! Whether out of concern or laughter or fear, I would immediately find a close family member to tell so they could help me deal with the situation, and the passage here doesn’t really explain why that is an immoral reaction, and certainly doesn’t justify the cursing of an entire generation in response. This passage just seems strange, unjust, and meaningless.