Genesis 9:1
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This isn't just God reiterating a command; it's a profound affirmation that humanity's future, their very continuation, depends entirely on His blessing, not just natural processes. It signifies a fresh start for mankind, placing the future of the world directly into Noah's lineage through divine empowerment.
Fresh from the ark after the devastating flood, Noah and his sons are now the progenitors of a renewed humanity. God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" echoes the original blessing given to Adam, signifying the restart of human life and the repopulation of the earth. This divine mandate is accompanied by a new covenant and a renewed dominion over the animal kingdom, setting the stage for humanity's future on a cleansed earth.
After a world-ending flood, the earth was largely empty. How did God initiate a new start for humanity?
Following the Great Flood, the earth was left desolate. God's first act was to bless Noah and his sons, echoing the blessing given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1. This wasn't just a general good wish; it was a divine commission and promise.
A Divine Mandate
God explicitly commanded them to 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.' This was a critical instruction for repopulating the planet. The very foundation of human civilization and God's continued plan rested on their obedience.
God's Power in Procreation
Commentators like Clarke remind us that even the natural process of having children is a blessing from God. It's His power and wisdom that form life, and His providence that sustains it. This blessing on Noah and his sons reaffirmed that the continuation of humanity was entirely in God's hands, not merely a matter of chance.
The relationship between humans and animals changed drastically after the flood. What new dynamic did God establish?
Alongside the command to multiply, God renewed humanity's dominion over the animal kingdom. This is seen in the new reality that 'the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth.'
A Changed Relationship
After the fall, the relationship between humans and animals was marred by struggle and fear. The flood, in a sense, reset this relationship. While animals were now given for food (Genesis 9:3), their wild nature was tempered by an innate fear of humans.
God's Providence at Work
This 'fear and dread' wasn't a sign of cruelty, but a provision from God. Barnes highlights that it's a sign of a master whose power is respected. It serves as a 'secret bridle' (Calvin) to restrain the violence of wild beasts, ensuring humanity's survival and allowing them to 'subdue the earth' as originally intended, albeit with new parameters.
Understand the original words
barak · Hebrew Verb
To bestow favor, prosperity, and the capacity for growth and life; it signifies divine empowerment for fulfilling one's purpose.
parah · Hebrew Verb
The divine command to propagate the human race, ensuring the continued existence and expansion of humanity across the creation.
rabah · Hebrew Verb
To become numerous or increase in size; often used regarding the multiplication of people, animals, or blessings.
This command to 'be fruitful and multiply' is a renewal of God's original blessing to Adam, but it carries profound weight in the context of a world just cleansed by a devastating flood. It signifies not just a biological imperative, but God's promise of restoration and His continued commitment to humanity's future, establishing a new beginning for all life on Earth.
~2348 BC
The Great Flood
A catastrophic global flood sent by God to cleanse the earth of widespread wickedness, sparing only Noah, his family, and pairs of animals on an ark.
~2347 BC— this verse
Noah and sons emerge from the Ark
After the floodwaters recede, Noah, his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, Japheth), and their wives emerge to repopulate the Earth.
~2347 BC
God establishes a covenant with Noah
God promises never again to destroy all life with a flood, setting the rainbow as a perpetual sign of this covenant.
~2347 BC
Noah's drunkenness and curse on Canaan
Noah plants a vineyard, becomes drunk, and is seen naked by his son Ham. Noah curses Ham's son, Canaan, foretelling servitude for his descendants.
This passage directly echoes the command given to Noah, showing that God's intention for humanity to multiply and fill the earth began with the first creation and was re-established after the flood.
Deuteronomy 7:13This verse speaks of God's blessing on the people of Israel, ensuring fruitfulness and increase, paralleling the blessing given to Noah and his descendants as the foundation for a new beginning.
Matthew 28:19Jesus' Great Commission echoes the mandate to 'go and make disciples of all nations,' reflecting the original command to 'fill the earth' and extending it to a spiritual multiplication.
1 Corinthians 15:45This passage discusses Jesus as the 'last Adam' who brings life, connecting back to Noah as the 'second Adam' through whom humanity and its potential for multiplication were renewed after the flood.
clarkeGenesis 9:1: "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
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.
calvinGenesis 9:1-29: "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto 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, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Et timor vester et pavor vester erit super omnem bestiam terrae, et super omne volatile coeli, cum omnibus quae gradiuntur in terra, et omnibus pi…
This isn't just God reiterating a command; it's a profound affirmation that humanity's future, their very continuation, depends entirely on His blessing, not just natural processes. It signifies a fresh start for mankind, placing the future of the world directly into Noah's lineage through divine empowerment.
Fresh from the ark after the devastating flood, Noah and his sons are now the progenitors of a renewed humanity. God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" echoes the original blessing given to Adam, signifying the restart of human life and the repopulation of the earth. This divine mandate is accompanied by a new covenant and a renewed dominion over the animal kingdom, setting the stage for humanity's future on a cleansed earth.
Fresh from the ark after the devastating flood, Noah and his sons are now the progenitors of a renewed humanity. God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" echoes the original blessing given to Adam, signifying the restart of human life and the repopulation of the earth. This divine mandate is accompanied by a new covenant and a renewed dominion over the animal kingdom, setting the stage for humanity's future on a cleansed earth.
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~2347 BC
Noah blesses Shem and Japheth
Noah pronounces blessings upon his sons Shem and Japheth, prophesying their future roles and prosperity, and predicting Canaan's servitude to them.
~2347 BC
Dispersion of Noah's descendants
The descendants of Noah's sons begin to spread out and populate the Earth, as prophesied in Genesis 9:1.
"And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." — This isn't just God reiterating a command; it's a profound affirmation that humanity's future, their very continuation, depends entirely on His blessing, not just natural processes. It signifies a fr…
