The Meaning of Genesis 9:21 Explained

Genesis 9:21

KJV: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

YLT: and drinketh of the wine, and is drunken, and uncovereth himself in the midst of the tent.

Darby: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken, and he uncovered himself in his tent.

ASV: and he drank of the wine, and was drunken. And he was uncovered within his tent.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he drank  of the wine,  and was drunken;  and he was uncovered  within  his tent. 

What does Genesis 9:21 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 9:18-29 - Noah's Three Sons
Noah's sin reminds us how weak are the best of men; liable to fall, even after the most marvelous deliverances. The love of strong drink will drag a preacher of righteousness into the dust. But if our brethren sin, let us not parade or tell their faults, but cover them with the mantle of divine love. We may abhor the sin, but let us restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, remembering that we also may be tempted. See Galatians 6:1-18 :l-4. The Semitic races have been the source of religious light and teaching to the world. God has been known in their tents. The Japhetic races are the great colonizers and populators of the world, overflowing their own boundaries, and participating in the religious privileges of the Shemites. The progressive ideas of the race of Japheth, which, of course, includes the Indo-European race, have also pervaded the world. The Hamitic races, of which Canaan was one, have always gravitated downward. [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 9:21 mean?

And he drank of the wine and became drunk and he was uncovered within his tent
וַיֵּ֥שְׁתְּ מִן־ הַיַּ֖יִן וַיִּשְׁכָּ֑ר וַיִּתְגַּ֖ל בְּת֥וֹךְ אָהֳלֹֽה‪‬

וַיֵּ֥שְׁתְּ  And  he  drank 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.
הַיַּ֖יִן  the  wine 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.
וַיִּשְׁכָּ֑ר  and  became  drunk 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂכַר 
Sense: to be or become drunk or drunken, be intoxicated.
וַיִּתְגַּ֖ל  and  he  was  uncovered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּלָה  
Sense: to uncover, remove.
בְּת֥וֹךְ  within 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
אָהֳלֹֽה‪‬  his  tent 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֹהֶל  
Sense: tent.