8 And God speaketh unto Noah, and unto his sons with him, saying, 9 'And I, lo, I am establishing My covenant with you, and with your seed after you, 10 and with every living creature which 'is' with you, among fowl, among cattle, and among every beast of the earth with you, from all who are going out of the ark—to every beast of the earth. 11 And I have established My covenant with you, and all flesh is not any more cut off by waters of a deluge, and there is not any more a deluge to destroy the earth.'

12 And God saith, 'This is a token of the covenant which I am giving between Me and you, and every living creature that 'is' with you, to generations age-during; 13 My bow I have given in the cloud, and it hath been for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth; 14 and it hath come to pass (in My sending a cloud over the earth) that the bow hath been seen in the cloud, 15 and I have remembered My covenant which is between Me and you, and every living creature among all flesh, and the waters become no more a deluge to destroy all flesh; 16 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.' 17 And God saith unto Noah, 'This 'is' a token of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that 'is' upon the earth.'

Noah's Drunkenness

18 And the sons of Noah who are going out of the ark are Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is father of Canaan. 19 These three 'are' sons of Noah, and from these hath all the earth been overspread. 20 And Noah remaineth a man of the ground, and planteth a vineyard, 21 and drinketh of the wine, and is drunken, and uncovereth himself in the midst of the tent. 22 And Ham, father of Canaan, seeth the nakedness of his father, and declareth to his two brethren without. 23 And Shem taketh—Japheth also—the garment, and they place on the shoulder of them both, and go backward, and cover the nakedness of their father; and their faces 'are' backward, and their father's nakedness they have not seen.

24 And Noah awaketh from his wine, and knoweth that which his young son hath done to him, 25 and saith: 'Cursed 'is' Canaan, Servant of servants he is to his brethren.' 26 And he saith: 'Blessed of Jehovah my God 'is' Shem, And Canaan is servant to him. 27 God doth give beauty to Japheth, And he dwelleth in tents of Shem, And Canaan is servant to him.'

28 And Noah liveth after the deluge three hundred and fifty years; 29 and all the days of Noah are nine hundred and fifty years, and he dieth.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 9:8-29

Commentary on Genesis 9:8-17

(Read Genesis 9:8-17)

As the old world was ruined, to be a monument of justice, so this world remains to this day a monument of mercy. But sin, that drowned the old world, will burn this. Articles of agreement among men are sealed, that what is promised may be the more solemn, and the doing of what is covenanted the more sure to mutual satisfaction. The seal of this covenant was the rainbow, which, it is likely, was seen in the clouds before, but was never a seal of the covenant till now it was made so. The rainbow appears when we have most reason to fear the rain prevailing; God then shows this seal of the promise, that it shall not prevail. The thicker the cloud, the brighter the bow in the cloud. Thus, as threatening afflictions abound, encouraging consolations much more abound. The rainbow is the reflection of the beams of the sun shining upon or through the drops of rain: all the glory of the seals of the covenant are derived from Christ, the Sun of righteousness. And he will shed a glory on the tears of his saints. A bow speaks terror, but this has neither string nor arrow; and a bow alone will do little hurt. It is a bow, but it is directed upward, not toward the earth; for the seals of the covenant were intended to comfort, not to terrify. As God looks upon the bow, that he may remember the covenant, so should we, that we may be mindful of the covenant with faith and thankfulness. Without revelation this gracious assurance could not be known; and without faith it can be of no use to us; and thus it is as to the still greater dangers to which all are exposed, and as to the new covenant with its blessings.

Commentary on Genesis 9:18-23

(Read Genesis 9:18-23)

The drunkenness of Noah is recorded in the Bible, with that fairness which is found only in the Scripture, as a case and proof of human weakness and imperfection, even though he may have been surprised into the sin; and to show that the best of men cannot stand upright, unless they depend upon Divine grace, and are upheld thereby. Ham appears to have been a bad man, and probably rejoiced to find his father in an unbecoming situation. It was said of Noah, that he was perfect in his generations, 1 Peter 4:8. Beside that, there is a robe of reverence to be thrown over the faults of parents and other superiors. The blessing of God attends on those who honour their parents, and his curse lights especially on those who dishonour them.

Commentary on Genesis 9:24-29

(Read Genesis 9:24-29)

Noah declares a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham; perhaps this grandson of his was more guilty than the rest. A servant of servants, that is, The meanest and most despicable servant, shall he be, even to his brethren. This certainly points at the victories in after-times obtained by Israel over the Canaanites, by which they were put to the sword, or brought to pay tribute. The whole continent of Africa was peopled mostly by the descendants of Ham; and for how many ages have the better parts of that country lain under the dominion of the Romans, then of the Saracens, and now of the Turks! In what wickedness, ignorance, barbarity, slavery, and misery most of the inhabitants live! And of the poor negroes, how many every year are sold and bought, like beasts in the market, and conveyed from one quarter of the world to do the work of beasts in another! But this in no way excuses the covetousness and barbarity of those who enrich themselves with the product of their sweat and blood. God has not commanded us to enslave negroes; and, without doubt, he will severely punish all such cruel wrongs. The fulfilment of this prophecy, which contains almost a history of the world, frees Noah from the suspicion of having uttered it from personal anger. It fully proves that the Holy Spirit took occasion from Ham's offence to reveal his secret purposes. "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem." The church should be built up and continued in the posterity of Shem; of him came the Jews, who were, for a great while, the only professing people God had in the world. Christ, who was the Lord God, in his human nature should descend from Shem; for of him, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Noah also blesses Japheth, and, in him, the isles of the gentiles that were peopled by his seed. It speaks of the conversion of the gentiles, and the bringing of them into the church. We may read it, "God shall persuade Japheth, and being persuaded, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem." Jews and gentiles shall be united together in the gospel fold; both shall be one in Christ. Noah lived to see two worlds; but being an heir of the righteousness which is by faith, he now rests in hope, waiting to see a better than either.