Genesis 9:12-15

9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee ¹  of the covenant I am making ²  with you ³  and every living creature with you, a covenant ⁴  for all subsequent ⁵  generations: 9:13 I will place ⁶  my rainbow ⁷  in the clouds, and it will become ⁸  a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever ⁹  I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ¹⁰  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ¹¹  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ¹²  all living things. ¹³ 

[9:12]  ¹ tn Heb “sign.”

[9:12]  ² sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.

[9:12]  ³ tn Heb “between me and between you.”

[9:12]  ⁴ tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:12]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.

[9:13]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).

[9:13]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.

[9:13]  ⁸ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.

[9:14]  ⁹ tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.

[9:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

[9:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:15]  ¹² tn Heb “to destroy.”

[9:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “all flesh.”