Genesis 9:1
in Genesis 9And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
KJV
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
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This verse in Genesis 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And God blessed Noah--Here is republished the law of nature that was announced to Adam, consisting as it originally did of several parts. Be fruitful, &c.--The first part relates to the transmission of life, the original blessing being reannounced in the very same words in which it had been promised at first [Ge 1:28].
This site's exposition
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
on Genesis 9:1-3
The blessing of 1:28 is spoken again over Noah, and two things have changed. The words about subduing the earth and ruling the creatures are gone, and in their place the fear and dread of man falls on every living creature. Everything that lives and moves is now food, where 1:29 gave only the green plants. Man eats meat from here on.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And the Lord blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth; and the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon all animals of the earth, and upon all the birds of the air, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
20 ) how Noah blessed God, by his altar and sacrifice. Now here we find God blessing Noah. Note, God will graciously bless (that is, do well for) those who sincerely bless (that is, speak well of) him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And God blessed Noah and his sons,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And God blessed Noah--Here is republished the law of nature that was announced to Adam, consisting as it originally did of several parts. Be fruitful, &c.--The first part relates to the transmission of life, the original blessing being reannounced in the very same words in which it had been promised at first [Ge 1:28].
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
God blessed Noah - Even the increase of families, which appears to depend on merely natural means, and sometimes fortuitous circumstances, is all of God. It is by his power and wisdom that the human being is formed, and it is by his providence alone that man is supported and preserved.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- The Blessing of Noah 2. מורא môrā', “fear, reverence, awful deed.” חת chat, “dread, breaking of the courage.” Noah is saved from the deluge. His life is twice given to him by God. He had found grace in the sight of the Lord, and now he and his family have been graciously accepted when they approached the Lord with burnt-offerings. In him, therefore, the race of man is to be begun anew. Accordingly, as at the beginning, the Lord proceeds to bless him. First. The grant of increase is the same as at first, but expressed in ampler terms.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ | vayvarekh | and he blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֔ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נֹ֖חַ | noach | Noah | H5146 → | 46 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּנָ֑יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיֹּ֧אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| פְּר֥וּ | peru | be fruitful | H6509 → | 29 times |
| וּרְב֖וּ | urevu | and multiply | H7235 → | 227 times |
| וּמִלְא֥וּ | umilu | and fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיְבָ֣רֶךְand he blessed
vayvarekhH1288 →330 times
אֱלֹהִ֔יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נֹ֖חַNoah
noachH5146 →46 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בָּנָ֑יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהֶ֛םto <the> them
lahem
פְּר֥וּbe fruitful
peruH6509 →29 times
וּרְב֖וּand multiply
urevuH7235 →227 times
וּמִלְא֥וּand fill
umiluH4390 →249 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 1:28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature…
it leads to
- Genesis 9:7
But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.”
- Genesis 1:22
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:9
I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you.
- Psalms 128:3–4
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- Genesis 22:17–18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Genesis 9:7
Through
Genesis 1:22Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
it leads to
- Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 107:38
He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 1:28
Through
Isaiah 51:2Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:24
“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been…
- Ezekiel 33:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.