Genesis 9:1-7

Genesis 9:1-7

[1] And God  blessed  Noah  and his sons,  and said  unto them, Be fruitful,  and multiply,  and replenish  the earth.  [2] 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,  upon all that moveth  upon the earth,  and upon all the fishes  of the sea;  into your hand  are they delivered.  [3] Every moving thing  that liveth  shall be meat  for you; even as the green  herb  have I given  you all things. [4] But  flesh  with the life  thereof, which is the blood  thereof, shall ye not eat.  [5] And surely  your blood  of your lives  will I require;  at the hand  of every beast  will I require it,  and at the hand  of man;  at the hand  of every man's  brother  will I require  the life  of man.  [6] Whoso sheddeth  man's  blood,  by man  shall his blood  be shed:  for in the image  of God  made  he man.  [7] And you, be ye fruitful,  and multiply;  bring forth abundantly  in the earth,  and multiply  therein.

What does Genesis 9:1-7 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

At this new beginning of the human family, God again commanded Noah and his sons to fill the earth with their descendants ( Genesis 9:1; cf. Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:7). [1] As with Adam, He also gave them dominion over the animals and permission to eat food with only one prohibition (cf. Genesis 1:26; Genesis 1:28-29; Genesis 2:16-17).
God gave Noah permission to eat animals ( Genesis 9:3). Until now, evidently people had eaten only plants (cf. Genesis 1:29). Now humanity received the power of life and death over the animal kingdom.
"God did not expressly prohibit the eating of meat in the initial stipulation at creation, but by inference Genesis 9:3"s provision for flesh is used as a dividing mark between the antediluvian and postdiluvian periods. Whether or not early man could eat meat by permission from the beginning, now it is stated formally in the Noahic covenant." [2]
God did, however, prohibit the eating of animal blood to instill respect for the sacredness of life, since blood is a symbol of life (cf. Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:2-27; Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 12:1-24; 1 Samuel 14:32-34).
Until the Mosaic Law, God made no distinction between clean and unclean animals with regard to human consumption. Under the Mosaic Law, the Israelites could not eat certain foods. Under the law of Christ ( Galatians 6:2), we may again eat any foods ( Romans 14:14; 1 Timothy 4:3). These changes illustrate the fact that God has changed some of the rules for human conduct at various strategic times in history. These changes are significant features that help us identify the various dispensations (economies) by which God has ruled historically. [3]
God not only reasserted the cultural mandate to reproduce and modified the food law, but He also reasserted the sanctity of human life (cf. ch4). The reason for capital punishment ( Genesis 9:6) is that God made man in His own image. This is one reason, therefore, that murder is so serious. A person extinguishes a revelation of God when he or she murders someone. [4] Later the writing prophets announced that God would judge certain foreign nations because they shed human blood without divine authorization (e.g, Amos 1:3; Amos 1:11; Amos 1:13; Amos 2:1). God has never countermanded this command, so it is still in force. Before the Flood the lack of capital punishment led to bloody vendettas (cf. ch4).
"This command laid the foundation for all civil government." [5]
"The human government and the governors that existed previously-as in the city which Cain established ( Genesis 4:17), or in the case of the mighty men ( Genesis 6:4)-existed solely on human authority. Now, however, divine authority was conferred on human government to exercise oversight over those who lived under its jurisdiction." [6]
"I sometimes feel that often the hue and cry against capital punishment today does not so much rest upon humanitarian interest or even an interest in justice, but rather in a failure to understand that man is unique. The simple fact is that Genesis 9:6 is a sociological statement: The reason that the punishment for murder can be so severe is that man, being created in the image of God, has a particular value-not just a theoretical value at some time before the Fall, but such a value yet today." [7]