The Rainbow Covenant

The words

1. Blessed

   God blesses Noah and his sons at the start of the chapter, linking the blessing with the command to multiply.

   Genesis 9:1 (opens a new tab)

2. Blood

   God permits living creatures as food but forbids eating flesh with its blood, which the verse identifies with its life.

   Genesis 9:3–4 (opens a new tab)

3. Cold

   Cold appears beside heat in God’s promise after Noah’s sacrifice; the changing conditions will continue while the earth remains.

   Genesis 8:20–22 (opens a new tab)

4. Covenant

   A solemn agreement or binding promise.

   God promises that floodwaters will not again cut off all flesh or destroy the earth, making this promise to Noah and living creatures.

   Genesis 9:9–11 (opens a new tab) · Strong’s H1285 (covenant) (opens a new tab)

5. Day and Night

   The promise includes the alternation of day and night, alongside harvests and seasons, for as long as the earth remains.

   Genesis 8:22 (opens a new tab)

6. Established

   God establishes the covenant with Noah’s family and their descendants, then includes the living creatures that came from the ark.

   Genesis 9:8–11 (opens a new tab)

7. Fruitful

   Genesis repeats the command to be fruitful and multiply: it opens Noah’s blessing and returns after the instructions about life and blood.

   Genesis 9:1 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 9:4–7 (opens a new tab)

8. Green Herb

   God compares the grant of moving, living creatures for food with the green herb, saying that all are given to Noah’s family.

   Genesis 9:1–3 (opens a new tab)

9. Heat

   Heat is paired with cold in the promise that follows the flood; it belongs to the earth’s continuing rhythms.

   Genesis 8:22 (opens a new tab)

10. Perpetual

    God says the covenant sign is for perpetual generations, extending it beyond Noah to those who come after him.

    Genesis 9:12 (opens a new tab)

11. Rainbow

    God sets the bow in the cloud as a sign of the promise that a flood will not again destroy all flesh.

    Did you know?

    The Hebrew word qesheth can mean a bow used for shooting as well as the bow in the cloud.

    Genesis 9:13–15 (opens a new tab) · Strong’s H7198 (bow) (opens a new tab)

12. Replenish

    To fill or populate.

    Noah and his sons are told to replenish the earth as part of the command to be fruitful and multiply.

    Did you know?

    The KJV uses the same command in Genesis 1, before the flood story, when God tells the first humans to replenish the earth.

    Genesis 9:1 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 1:28 (opens a new tab) · Strong’s H4390 (fill) (opens a new tab)

13. Seedtime

    Seedtime is paired with harvest in the promise: sowing and gathering crops will continue while the earth remains.

    Did you know?

    Ecclesiastes also pairs actions of cultivation: its poem names a time to plant and a time to pull up what was planted.

    Genesis 8:22 (opens a new tab) · Ecclesiastes 3:2 (opens a new tab)

14. Token

    A sign or visible reminder.

    The bow serves as the token of the covenant between God and the earth, making the promise visible in the cloud.

    Genesis 9:12–13 (opens a new tab) · Strong’s H226 (sign, token) (opens a new tab)

15. Winter

    Winter is paired with summer, placing the yearly seasons alongside the daily rhythm of day and night.

    Did you know?

    Psalm 74 also names summer and winter, alongside the earth’s borders, as part of what God has made.

    Genesis 8:22 (opens a new tab) · Psalm 74:17 (opens a new tab)