The Meaning of Genesis 9:1 Explained

Genesis 9:1

KJV: And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

YLT: And God blesseth Noah, and his sons, and saith to them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth;

Darby: And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

ASV: And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And God  blessed  Noah  and his sons,  and said  unto them, Be fruitful,  and multiply,  and replenish  the earth. 

What does Genesis 9:1 Mean?

Study Notes

and said unto them
The Noahic Covenant. The elements are:
(1) The relation of man to the earth under the Adamic Covenant is confirmed
(2) The order of nature is confirmed ( Genesis 8:22 )
(3) Human government is established ( Genesis 9:1-6 )
(4) Earth is secured against another universal judgment by water Genesis 8:21 ; Genesis 9:11
(5) A prophetic declaration is made that from Ham will descend an inferior and servile posterity Genesis 9:24 ; Genesis 9:25 .
(6) A prophetic declaration is made that Shem will have a peculiar relation to Jehovah Genesis 9:26 ; Genesis 9:27 . All divine revelation is through Semitic men, and Christ, after the flesh, descends from Shem.
(7) A prophetic declaration is made that from Japheth will descend the "enlarged" races Genesis 9:27 . Government, science, and art, speaking broadly, are and have been Japhetic, so that history is the indisputable record of the exact fulfilment of these declarations. for the other seven covenants:
EDENIC Genesis 1:28 ADAMIC Genesis 3:15 ABRAHAMIC Genesis 15:18 MOSAIC Exodus 19:25 PALESTINIAN Deuteronomy 30:3 DAVIDIC 2 Samuel 7:16 NEW Hebrews 8:8
the Lord said in heart
The Third Dispensation: Human Government. Under Conscience, as in Innocency, man utterly failed, and the judgment of the Flood marks the end of the second dispensation and the beginning of the third. The declaration of the Noahic Covenant subjects humanity to a new test. Its distinctive feature is the institution, for the first time, of human government--the government of man by man. The highest function of government is the judicial taking of life. All other governmental powers are implied in that. It follows that the third dispensation is distinctively that of human government. Man is responsible to govern the world for God. That responsibility rested upon the whole race, Jew and Gentile, until the failure of Israel under the Palestinian Covenant ( Deuteronomy 28:1 to Deuteronomy 30:10 ) brought the judgment of the Captivities, when "the times of the Gentiles" (See); Luke 21:24 ; Revelation 16:14 began, and the government of the world passed exclusively into Gentile hands; Daniel 2:36-45 ; Luke 21:24 ; Acts 15:14-17 . That both Israel and the Gentiles have governed for self, not God, is sadly apparent. The judgment of the confusion of tongues ended the racial testing; that of the captivities the Jewish; while the Gentile testing will end in the smiting of the Image (Daniel 2.) and the judgment of the nations Matthew 25:31-46 .
See, for the other six dispensations:
INNOCENCE (See Scofield " Genesis 1:28 ")
CONSCIENCE (See Scofield " Genesis 3:23 ")
PROMISE (See Scofield " Genesis 12:1 ")
LAW (See Scofield " Exodus 19:8 ")
GRACE (See Scofield " John 1:17 ")
KINGDOM (See Scofield " Ephesians 1:10 ")
the Lord said in heart
The Third Dispensation: Human Government. Under Conscience, as in Innocency, man utterly failed, and the judgment of the Flood marks the end of the second dispensation and the beginning of the third. The declaration of the Noahic Covenant subjects humanity to a new test. Its distinctive feature is the institution, for the first time, of human government--the government of man by man. The highest function of government is the judicial taking of life. All other governmental powers are implied in that. It follows that the third dispensation is distinctively that of human government. Man is responsible to govern the world for God. That responsibility rested upon the whole race, Jew and Gentile, until the failure of Israel under the Palestinian Covenant ( Deuteronomy 28:1 to Deuteronomy 30:10 ) brought the judgment of the Captivities, when "the times of the Gentiles" (See); Luke 21:24 ; Revelation 16:14 began, and the government of the world passed exclusively into Gentile hands; Daniel 2:36-45 ; Luke 21:24 ; Acts 15:14-17 . That both Israel and the Gentiles have governed for self, not God, is sadly apparent. The judgment of the confusion of tongues ended the racial testing; that of the captivities the Jewish; while the Gentile testing will end in the smiting of the Image (Daniel 2.) and the judgment of the nations Matthew 25:31-46 .
See, for the other six dispensations:
INNOCENCE (See Scofield " Genesis 1:28 ")
CONSCIENCE (See Scofield " Genesis 3:23 ")
PROMISE (See Scofield " Genesis 12:1 ")
LAW (See Scofield " Exodus 19:8 ")
GRACE (See Scofield " John 1:17 ")
KINGDOM (See Scofield " Ephesians 1:10 ")

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 9:1 mean?

So blessed God - Noah and his sons and said to them Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־ נֹ֖חַ וְאֶת־ בָּנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֧אמֶר לָהֶ֛ם פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֖וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ הָאָֽרֶץ

וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ  So  blessed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּרַךְ 
Sense: to bless, kneel.
אֱלֹהִ֔ים  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
נֹ֖חַ  Noah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נׄחַ  
Sense: son of Lamech, father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; builder of the ark which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood.
בָּנָ֑יו  his  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לָהֶ֛ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
פְּר֥וּ  Be  fruitful 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: פָּרָה 
Sense: to bear fruit, be fruitful, branch off.
וּרְב֖וּ  and  multiply 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
וּמִלְא֥וּ  and  fill 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
הָאָֽרֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.