Genesis 9: A New World

Genesis 9 looks at the beginnings of life and society after the flood. It can be of interest in a number of ways, because along with parts of chapter 8 it supports the Noahide laws, and is the foundation for blood being forbidden to eat blood (Acts 15:20, which does not quote this, but must be based on it). The question of how much the world has changed following the destruction of everyone not in the ark must have been a serious worry for Noah and his family, and thus our narrator proceeds to correct that problem.

For those interested in theodicy, this is an indication that the view represented in the Pentateuch is that the world was definitely harmed by the advent of sin, though it shows a progression of destruction rather than an instant fall. Following the flood, animals are said to fear humans. Whether this is something completely new, the story does not say, but it is at least a new level of fear, doubtless connected with the fact that animals are now offered for food. Note that there is no clean/unclean distinction provided for the world in general. That was specifically part of the covenant of Israel. It is important to note that in the debates in the early church, certain elements of the Christian faith were trying to force rules on gentile Christians that Jews would not require of them (See Acts 15 and Galatians, especially).

As I have done in my previous entries on Genesis I will identify the sources as generally understood in source theory. In this chapter we have only P (priestly) and J (Yahwist) material, and there is a small disagreement on what is what. Verses 1-7 are identified as P by Speiser, but as J by von Rad. Noth also identifies 9:1-17 as a block by P. All agree that 18-27 is J, while 28-29 is again P. I will use blue text for P, red text for J and leave the disputed section in black. That will allow you to read a connected narrative in any source as much as possible.

Again, the translation is as fresh as this afternoon, and should be considered a draft. Hopefully I’ll get back to checking it more thoroughly some day.

(1)Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and told them, “Be fruitful, and multiple, and fill the earth. (2) The animals, birds, and everything that moves on the ground, along with the fish will be in awe of you and afraid of you. I have placed them under your authority. (3) Every living creature that moves will be your food. Like the plants and herbs I have given you all of them. (4) Yet you shall not eat the flesh with its life, that is, its blood. (5) Their blood and their lives I will demand from your hand, from every living thing I’ll demand it. And from humans I will also demand from each one the life of another human. (6) The blood of one sheds human blood shall be shed by human beings, because human beings were made in God’s image. (7) As for you, be fruitful and multiply, and move out across the land and multiply in it.”

This is a very interesting text for several reasons.

1. Animals are held responsible for killing
2. People are not allowed the lifeblood, even of animals, something that would later be held to require expiation (Leviticus 17:11)
3. While God forbids the killing, he requires humanity to enforce it–by killing
4. Humanity’s blessing and sovereignty survive unimpaired, as does God’s image, given as the reason for forbidding murder.

I would note that the strong connection to later Levitical law tends to support holding 1-7 as priestly (P) in origin.

(8) God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, (9) “Look, I myself am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, (10) and with every living creature that is with you, with the birds, and the animals, and with all the living creatures of the earth with you, from all those who went out of the ark, all the living creatures of the earth. (11) and I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh will never again be cut off by the waters of the flood. There will never again be another flood to destroy the earth.

The possibility of a rerun could be expected to be the greatest concern to everyone, so God makes a covenant that he will not destroy all living things again by a flood. All the living creatures are included in this covenant.

(12) And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am placing between me and you, and between all living creatures with you for eternal generations. (13) I place my bow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (14) And when I bring clouds over the earth, then you will see the bow in the cloud. (15) And I will remember my covenant that is between me and you, and with all the living creatures, and with all flesh, and the waters of the flood will not come again to destroy the earth. (16) When my bow is in the cloud, I will see it, and I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature, with all flesh that is on the earth. (17) And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The question of reminder comes up. I would simply note that God is always portrayed in the Bible as much more involved with human activity and in the course of human history than many theologians are comfortable with. In theologies, God is generally much more respectable than he is in scripture. Here he allows one to believe that he requires a reminder, though the text doesn’t say he does. The text simply tells us that he will remember when he sees the rainbow, and makes no comment on what he does otherwise. I’m regularly impressed with how much less concerned with God’s reputation the Bible writers are than are modern theologians.

(18) Now these are the sons of Noah who went out of the ark: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. (19) These three were the sons of Noah, and from them people spread over all the earth.

(20) Noah became a tiller of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. (21) He drank some of its wine, and he became drunk, and he was naked in the middle of his tent. (22) And Ham, father of Canaan saw his father naked, and he reported it to his two brothers outside. (23) And Shem and Japheth took a robe, and they placed it on their two backs, and they went backwords, and they covered their father’s nakedness, but their faces were to the rear, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness.(24) Noah woke up from his wine, and he knew what his younger son had done to him. (25) And he said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a slave of slaves to his brothers.” (26) And he said, “Blessed is YHWH God of Shem, and Canaan will be his slave. (26) God will make Japheth’s territory spacious, and he will live in Shem’s tents, and Canaan will be his slave.”

This is a difficult passage. One solution is textual. Some have suggested omitting “Ham, the father of” so that the whole episode would relate to Canaan, rather than Ham, but that would also cause some havoc with the logic of the rest of the story. The key (see Kidner, Genesis, p. 103-104) may be in seeing that major sin as an unfilial, disrespectful act on Canaan’s part. Since he sinned in terms of his family responsibilities, it is his family, via his youngest son, that is cursed. This sounds quite unfair to modern ears, but multi-generational curses were not unknown in the Bible.

(28) And after the flood Noah lived 350 years. (29) And Noah’s full life was 950 years, and he died.

The priestly (P) source is, as always, concerned with numbers and genealogies. Noah, however, was the last of the very long lived patriarchs. From here they begin to deteriorate as well.