Genesis 9:13
in Genesis 9I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
KJV
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI do set my bow in the cloud - On the origin and nature of the rainbow there had been a great variety of conjectures, till Anthony de Dominis, bishop of Spalatro, in a treatise of his published by Bartholus in 1611, partly suggested the true cause of this phenomenon, which was afterwards fully explained and demonstrated by Sir Isaac Newton. To enter into this subject here in detail would be improper; and therefore the less informed reader must have recourse to treatises on Optics for its full explanation.
This site's exposition
This is the sign of the covenant
on Genesis 9:12-13
The sign of the covenant is the rainbow. The Hebrew word qeshet is the word for a war bow, hung in the cloud with its arc turned away from the earth. Adam Clarke notes the Greeks and Romans, like the Hebrews, read the rainbow as a sign sent from heaven.
This site's exposition
I have set My rainbow
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read set as appointed, so a rainbow already seen in the clouds becomes the sign of the covenant. Adam Clarke credits Isaac Newton with explaining how it forms. The other party named here is the earth itself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
After these things God made a covenant with Noah and with all those who came out of the ark with him, saying, "All flesh shall never again perish in the waters of a flood.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In the mystery of the cleansing of crimes, Christ is symbolized by the bow in the clouds, which is the sign of the covenant.
I will place my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth; and when I cover the sky with clouds, my bow will appear, and I will remember my covenant with you and with every …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I do set my bow in the cloud,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I do set my bow in the cloud--set, that is, constitute or appoint. This common and familiar phenomenon being made the pledge of peace, its appearance when showers began to fall would be welcomed with the liveliest feelings of joy.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I do set my bow in the cloud--set, that is, constitute or appoint. This common and familiar phenomenon being made the pledge of peace, its appearance when showers began to fall would be welcomed with the liveliest feelings of joy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
MY BOW. Behold, I now set a bow in the clouds. Saadiah Gaon’s interpretation that the rainbow was previously in existence is incorrect.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
It would appear from this sign that the rainbow in the cloud was not part of creation and that now G-d created a new thing by making a rainbow in the heavens on a cloudy day. Now commentators have said. I have found this opinion in Chizkuni.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קַשְׁתִּ֕י | kashti | bow my | H7198 → | 76 times |
| נָתַ֖תִּי | natati | I set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בֶּֽעָנָ֑ן | beanan | in the cloud[s] | H6051 → | 87 times |
| וְהָֽיְתָה֙ | vehayetah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְא֣וֹת | leot | <into> a sign of | H226 → | 80 times |
| בְּרִ֔ית | berit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| בֵּינִ֖י | beini | between me | H996 → | 407 times |
| וּבֵ֥ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קַשְׁתִּ֕יbow my
kashtiH7198 →76 times
נָתַ֖תִּיI set
natatiH5414 →2011 times
בֶּֽעָנָ֑ןin the cloud[s]
beananH6051 →87 times
וְהָֽיְתָה֙and it will become
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
לְא֣וֹת<into> a sign of
leotH226 →80 times
בְּרִ֔יתa covenant
beritH1285 →284 times
בֵּינִ֖יbetween me
beiniH996 →407 times
וּבֵ֥יןand between
uveinH996 →407 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
Revelation 4:3The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 1:28
The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 9:13–16
I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
- Revelation 21:11
shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
- Ezekiel 28:13
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in…
- Ezekiel 1:28
Through
Ezekiel 1:28The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the…
it leads to
- Revelation 10:1
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 10:1
Through
Revelation 10:1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
it leads to
- Matthew 17:2
There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
- Revelation 1:15–16
His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.
- Revelation 5:2
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
- Matthew 17:2
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Covenant34 verses
On this page
Studies19
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.15.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).