GENESIS 9
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.
Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans his blood will be shed,
for God made humans in his image.
But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.
Noah, as a man of the soil, began by planting a vineyard. He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.
When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, he said:
Canaan is cursed.
He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.
He also said:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
Let Canaan be Shem’s slave.
Let God extend Japheth;
let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem;
let Canaan be Shem’s slave.
Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.
GENESIS 9:8-17
A DIVINE COVENANT WITH NOAH
Understanding the nature of the covenant God makes with Noah in Genesis 9:8-17 is foundational to understanding the remainder of the Old Testament.