Year of the Bible
Genesis 9
Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Chapter 9:
Two impactful events happen soon after the Flood. First, God makes a covenant with Noah and all of creation. In a scene similar to the initial creation (1:22, 28-30), God commands fruitfulness and outlines the relationship between humans and animals. Then He promises to never again destroy the earth by water, and He places His bow in the sky as a sign of this covenant. The second event happens after Noah has cultivated grapes and become drunk. The youngest son in the family, Ham, saw his father’s nakedness. Scholars don’t agree on exactly what this idiom means. It may point to incest between Ham and his mother, and it clearly disgraces Noah. Noah, upon discovering what Ham did, curses the descendants of Ham’s son, Canaan. This explains why Canaan’s descendants will be enemies to the rest of Noah’s family.
The Book of Genesis, Chapter 9:
The Covenant with Noah
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image. 7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply in it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant be- tween me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of
all flesh that is upon the earth.”
17 God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Noah and His Sons
18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled.
20 Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; 21 and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.
27 God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.”
28 After the flood Noah lived three hundred and fifty years. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
God establishes a covenant with Noah and all his descendants and also commands them to "be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it" (v7) What about these events strikes you in some way? Do you experience the gift of God's covenant with you or his invitation to share in his fruitfulness in some way?
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Génesis 9
9 1 Dios bendijo a Noé y a sus hijos, diciéndoles:
–Creced, multiplicaos y llenad la
tierra. 2 Que os tengan temor y miedo
todos los animales de la tierra, todas las
aves del cielo, todo lo que repta por el
suelo, y todos los peces del mar; todo
queda en vuestras manos. 3 Todo cuanto
se mueve y tiene vida os servirá de
alimento; lo mismo que os di las hortalizas,
todo os lo doy. 4 Únicamente no
comeréis la carne con su vida, es decir,
su sangre. 5 Más aún, pediré cuentas de
vuestra sangre y de vuestras vidas; se
las reclamaré a cualquier animal, y sobre
todo, al hombre, a cualquier hermano
suyo.
6 »Si uno derrama sangre de hombre,
otro hombre derramará su sangre;
porque a imagen de Dios
fue hecho el hombre.
7 »Vosotros, pues, creced y multiplicaos;
diseminaos por la tierra y dominadla.
8 Dijo Dios a Noé y, con él, a sus hijos:
9 –He aquí que yo establezco mi
alianza con vosotros y con vuestra descendencia;
10 con todo ser vivo que esté
con vosotros –aves, ganados y todos los
animales de la tierra que os acompañan–,
con todo lo que ha salido del arca
y con todos los vivientes de la tierra.
11 Establezco, pues, mi alianza con vosotros:
nunca más será exterminada toda
carne por las aguas del diluvio, ni habrá
más diluvio para destruir la tierra.
12 Y añadió Dios:
–Ésta es la señal de la alianza que establezco
entre yo y vosotros, y todo ser
vivo que esté con vosotros, para generaciones
perpetuas: 13 Pongo mi arco en las
nubes, que servirá de señal de la alianza
entre yo y la tierra. 14 Cuando yo haga
nublarse la tierra, aparecerá el arco en
las nubes, 15 y me acordaré de la alianza
entre yo y vosotros, y todo ser vivo,
toda carne; y las aguas no serán ya más
un diluvio que destruya toda carne. 16 En
cuanto aparezca el arco en las nubes, lo
veré y me acordaré de la alianza eterna
entre Dios y todo ser animado, toda
carne que hay sobre la tierra.
17 Dijo Dios a Noé:
–Ésta es la señal de la alianza que yo
he establecido entre yo y todos los seres
que hay sobre la tierra. 18 Los hijos de Noé que salieron del arca
fueron Sem, Cam y Jafet. Cam es el padre
de Canaán. 19 Estos tres fueron los hijos
de Noé, y, a partir de ellos, se pobló toda
la tierra.
20 Noé, que era labrador, fue el primero
que plantó una viña. 21 Bebió del
vino, se embriagó y se quedó desnudo
dentro de su tienda. 22 Cam, el padre
de Canaán, vio la desnudez de su
padre y, afuera, se lo contó a sus dos
hermanos. 23 Entonces Sem y Jafet tomaron
un manto, se lo echaron ambos
al hombro, y andando de espaldas, con
el rostro vuelto, cubrieron, sin verla, la
desnudez de su padre. 24 Cuando Noé
despertó de su embriaguez y supo lo
que le había hecho su hijo menor, 25 exclamó:
–¡Maldito sea Canaán!
¡El más vil esclavo para sus hermanos!
26 Y añadió:
–¡Bendito sea el Señor, Dios de Sem!
¡Que sea Canaán su esclavo!
27 ¡Dios engrandezca a Jafet!
¡Habite en las tiendas de Sem
y sea Canaán su esclavo!
28 Después del diluvio vivió Noé trescientos
cincuenta años. 29 El total de los
días de Noé fue de novecientos cincuenta
años. Luego murió.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
Dios establece una alianza con Noé y todos sus descendientes y les ordena "sed fecundos y multiplicaos, llenad la tierra y sometedla" (v7) ¿Qué de estos acontecimientos te llama la atención de alguna manera? ¿Experimentas de alguna manera el don de la alianza de Dios contigo o su invitación a participar en su fructificación?
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