Verse

Notes

With Noah, after the flood, God again established his covenant, as he had done with Adam at the beginning, giving to him dominion over the earth, as he had done with Adam. (Gen. 9:1-12.) And here again, as at the beginning, he indicates the true nature of the marriage relation—a union of one man and one woman as husband and wife, which order began to be violated very early in the world's downward history.—Gen. 4:19. R1614

The word "replenish" in our common version, is manifestly incorrect, as the word implies that the earth had once been filled, and was now, for some reason, empty and to be re plenished or re filled. A more correct rendering would be, "Fill the earth." It is in harmony with this original instruction, we understand, that when the earth has been filled with a population, the procreative powers will be eliminated, and eventually the race be composed of perfect units, such as Adam was originally, before being divided into two persons for the purpose of companionship, procreation, and the preservation of the race as one, and under one headship. As we have already shown, it is our thought that in that perfecting or unifying process every male being will take on the elements and qualities of the mind and of the heart now peculiarly emphasized in the female; and every female will take on those elements of mind and heart now peculiarly manifest in the male; and yet we should here guard ourselves lest we should think of either the coarseness or the frailties of the fallen race (male and female) being in any [R2836 : page 207] sense of the word a part or feature of the perfect earthly creatures of the future. We should also bear in mind that the Church, now being selected from the world, will have no part in this restitution process, but will become, as the Scriptures declare, members of a new creation, a new order of beings—spiritual—not only superhuman, but also "far above angels, principalities and powers." R2834

2. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; With all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered.

3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; As the green herb have I given you all.

The vegetarian idea respecting what would constitute the proper food for the perfect man is clearly set forth in verse 29, the Lord declaring that he had given his creatures the herbage and fruitage of the earth for their meat—their food. It was not until after the flood, and the peculiar changes of conditions resulting therefrom (which we cannot here take time and space to discuss) that the Lord specially sanctioned the eating of animal food. (Gen. 9:1-4.)  We understand the reason to have been that the conditions were so changed as not only to shorten human longevity but to greatly impair human strength, making necessary the nerve strength obtainable from animal food. Since animal food was thus sanctioned by the Lord it behooves the Lord's people not to become erratic and dictatorial upon this question of vegetarianism, nor to condemn those who find, or think they find, that animal food is necessary to the maintenance of their physical strength: on the other hand, let them remember that whatever was originally intended, and whatever may be the order of things in the Millennial age, there is no Scriptural sanction for condemning the eating of animal food in the present time. Whoever, therefore, advocates it, let him take heed that he does not make another gospel of it, and permit time and thought and voice and energy to be thus estranged from the service of the gospel truths committed to us [R2837 : page 207] by our Lord; let such, on the contrary, remember that our Lord ate meat and fish, both before and after his crucifixion, and that the apostles ate meat, and that in no sense of the word was the eating of it condemned or evil spoken of; and that none of the Lord's people today have any higher authorities or examples than these. And let those who eat meat not mock those who eat "vegetable only," believing this course to be more healthful for them.

The fact that for beast and for fowl the Lord originally provided the same vegetarian diet, is in perfect accord with some of the prophetic statements which seem to imply that under the new conditions of the Kingdom even the lower animals will return to vegetable diet, when "The lion shall eat grass like the ox," and when "Nothing shall hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain [kingdom]." (Isa. 11:6,7; 65:25.) Thus we learn that the animals which at present are carnivorous (flesh-eaters) are not now in their original condition, but have been sharers with mankind in the results of the catastrophe which came upon our earth in the flood; likewise that they will be sharers with man, their king, in the great uplift which will come to him and to all nature when God's Kingdom, in the hands of the Sons of God, shall be established, and shall bless the groaning creation.—Rom. 8:19-22. R2834

4. But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

7. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

The rainbow in the clouds was given as a sign of God's covenant with man, that the earth should never again be destroyed by a flood of waters. So ended the first dispensation, or the first world, the heavens and earth that then were, as Peter describes it (2 Pet. 3:6); and so began the second dispensation, "this present evil world" (2 Pet. 3:7; Gal. 1:4), the heavens and earth which now are, which are soon to pass away with a great noise, which are to be burned up with the fire of God's jealousy, and whose elements are to melt with fervent heat; for, like that first great dispensation, it also has become corrupt. (2 Pet. 3:10-12; Zeph. 1:18.) And when this present evil world will have thus passed away, then the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, shall appear.—2 Pet. 3:13. R1615

The flood destroyed the existing order of things, conditions that prevailed before the flood.*

13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Naturally Noah and his family might dread another Deluge, not clearly understanding the origin of the Flood which had overwhelmed the world. Very appropriately God called their attention to the rainbow, when He assured them that never again would the whole earth be overwhelmed in water. We can see the philosophy of this, whereas Noah and his family merely had the matter by faith, not discerning the philosophy.  We can see that when the last of earth's "rings" had come down there could not be another deluge, because there were no waters above the firmament to be precipitated. Since the Flood, we merely have the moderate supply of moisture, in the form of clouds in our firmament, and none in the form of a great envelope beyond the firmament. Now we may see how it was that Noah had never seen a rainbow; because prior to the Flood, when the sun shone through the watery envelope as merely a great ball of fire, its rays did not strike directly through, and hence no rainbow was possible. But since the watery envelope broke, the fine vapors in the direct line of the sun's rays cause, naturally, the rainbow effect. And, as God declares, so long as there is a rainbow, there can never be a flood. God's words and ways are not less reasonable when we come to see their grand philosophy. On the contrary, the more we understand the Divine methods and operations the more we appreciate their wisdom. R5160

15. and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

17. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

18. And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

CANAAN

2 names in the bible

From Strong's 3667, Kna'an unknown. Abarim Publications, from he term kinahnu, purple dye or From the verb כנע (kana), to be brought into synchronicity. Some translators translate the name low or lowlands or merchant city.

The fourth son of Ham, (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8) the progenitor of the Phoenicians, and other nations who inhabitedthe seacoast of Israel before the conquest, and the country westward of the Jordan. (Genesis 10:13; 1 Chronicles 1:13) His offspring occupied Zidon and spread into Syria and Canaan. His descendants were under a curse in consequence of the transgression of his father. His eldest son, Zidon, was the father of the Sidonians and Phoenicians. He had eleven sons.

2. The name "Canaan" is sometimes employed for the country itself.

"Canaan was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, north by mount Lebanon and Syria, east by Arabia Deserta; and south by Edom and the desert of Zin and Paran. Its extreme length was about one hundred and eighty miles, and its average width about sixty-five. At the period of David, vast tributary regions were for a time annexed to the Holy Land. These included the bordering nations on the east, far into Arabia Deserta; thence north to Tipsah on the Euphrates, with all Syria between Lebanon and the Euphrates. On the south it included Edom, and reached the Red sea at Ezion-geber.

The land of Canaan has been variously divided. Under Joshua it was apportioned out to the twelve tribes. Under Rehoboam it was divided into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Syrians, and the Romans." ATS Bible Dictionary

In Noah's defence we call attention to the fact that his intoxication was after the flood and was purely accidental. The flood itself was a part of a great change in the aerial conditions of our earth: to our understanding the flood was produced by the precipitation to the earth of an immense quantity of water which previously had surrounded the earth at a distance as a cloudy canopy.

The breaking of this canopy or envelope of water not only produced the flood, but altered the conditions of nature so that storms, rains, etc., resulted, things which had never been before. (Gen. 2:5,6.) Another result, we believe, was the production of an aciditous condition of the atmosphere tending toward ferment, which directly affected human longevity, so that according to the Scripture records the average of human life quickly decreased from eight and nine hundred years to one hundred. This ferment from the changed atmosphere, affecting the grape, produces "must," and thence the alcoholic condition which produces drunkenness. According to the record, Noah's drunkenness was the result of the first vintage of grapes after the flood, and it evidently was contrary to all his experiences preceding the flood. As we have no record of his ever having become intoxicated afterward we are justified in supposing that this one instance was the result of ignorance respecting the changed character of the grape product fermented. From this standpoint nothing will be seen in Noah's conduct calculated to encourage or excuse drunkenness on the part of those who know very well that "wine is a mocker." R2532

Ham's Sin in Jewish tradition was to look at Noah's genitals. This breeches a boundary. It might also have been a sexual act because the Hebrew (sh) to press is used in a sexual way.

In Ezekiel 23: 3, 8 Ham is sometimes rendered Passion since the Hebrew words hmm and yim can denote sexual heat.