The Meaning of Genesis 9:16 Explained

Genesis 9:16

KJV: And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

YLT: and the bow hath been in the cloud, and I have seen it -- to remember the covenant age-during between God and every living creature among all flesh which is on the earth.'

Darby: And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living soul of all flesh that is upon the earth.

ASV: And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the bow  shall be in the cloud;  and I will look upon it,  that I may remember  the everlasting  covenant  between  God  and  every living  creature  of all flesh  that [is] upon the earth. 

What does Genesis 9:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 9:1-17 - God's Covenant With Noah
As the human race started afresh on its career, God blessed it, as at the first. God always stands with us in a new start. The prohibition against the use of blood in food is often repeated. See Leviticus 17:11; Acts 15:29. In a very deep sense, the blood is the life. When we speak of being redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we mean that we have been saved by His sacrificed life. The blood maketh atonement for the soul. But while animal life might be used for food or sacrifice, human life was surrounded by the most solemn sanctions. A Covenant is a promise or undertaking resting on certain conditions, with a sign or token attached to it. The bow in the cloud, the Lord's Supper, the wedding ring are signs and seals of their respective covenants. Never witness a rainbow without remembering that as God hath sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so He will not withdraw His kindness. See Isaiah 54:9. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 9

1  God blesses Noah and his sons, and grants them flesh for food
4  Blood and murder are forbidden
8  God's covenant, of which the rainbow was constituted a pledge
18  Noah's family replenishes the world
20  Noah plants a vineyard,
21  Is drunken, and mocked by his son;
25  Curses Canaan;
26  Blesses Shem;
27  Prays for Japheth, and dies

What do the individual words in Genesis 9:16 mean?

And shall be the rainbow in the cloud and I will look on it to remember the covenant everlasting between God and every creature living of all flesh that [is] on the earth
וְהָיְתָ֥ה הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת בֶּֽעָנָ֑ן וּרְאִיתִ֗יהָ לִזְכֹּר֙ בְּרִ֣ית עוֹלָ֔ם בֵּ֣ין אֱלֹהִ֔ים וּבֵין֙ כָּל־ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה בְּכָל־ בָּשָׂ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־ הָאָֽרֶץ

וְהָיְתָ֥ה  And  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת  the  rainbow 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: קֶשֶׁת  
Sense: bow.
בֶּֽעָנָ֑ן  in  the  cloud 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָנָן  
Sense: cloud, cloudy, cloud-mass.
וּרְאִיתִ֗יהָ  and  I  will  look  on  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
לִזְכֹּר֙  to  remember 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
בְּרִ֣ית  the  covenant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
עוֹלָ֔ם  everlasting 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
בֵּ֣ין  between 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
אֱלֹהִ֔ים  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
כָּל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
נֶ֣פֶשׁ  creature 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
חַיָּ֔ה  living 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
בְּכָל־  of  all 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
בָּשָׂ֖ר  flesh 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּשָׂר  
Sense: flesh.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הָאָֽרֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.