Genesis 9:14

Gen 9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

Ver. 14. The bow shall be seen in the cloud.] In this heaven-bow, there are many wonders: first, the beautiful shape and various colours; in which respect Plato thinks the poets feign Iris, or the rainbow, to be the daughter of Thaumas, or admiration. The waterish colours therein signify (say some) the former overthrow of the world by water. The fiery colours, the future judgment of the world by fire. The green, that present grace of freedom from both, by virtue of God’s covenant, whereof this bow is a sign. Next, the rainbow hath in it two contrary significations, viz., of rain, and fair weather; of this in the evening, of that in the morning, saith Scaliger. Add hereunto, that whereas naturally it is a sign of rain (and is therefore feigned by the poets to be the messenger of Juno, and called imbrifera , or showery), yet it is turned by God into a sure sign of dry weather, and of restraint of waters. Let us learn to look upon it, not only in the natural causes, as it is an effect of the sun in a thick cloud; but as a sacramental sign of the covenant of grace; a monument of God’s both justice in drowning the world, and mercy in conserving it from the like calamity. {Isa 54:9-10} The Jews have an odd conceit, {a} that the name Jehovah is written on the rainbow. And therefore, as oft as it appeareth unto them, they go forth of doors, hide their eyes, confess their sins (that deserved a second deluge), and celebrate God’s goodness, in sparing the wicked world, and remembering his covenant. Set aside their superstition, and their practice invites our imitation. Tam Dei meminisse opus est quam respirare .{ b}

{a} Maimon.

{b} Bern.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. that the bow shall be seen] This should be rendered “and the bow is seen.” The promise is not that the bow shall be seen whenever God sends clouds over the earth, but that, whenever He sends clouds and His bow is visible, then He will remember the covenant.

It is possible that this beautiful employment of the rainbow symbol may be the adaptation of a still earlier semi-mythological conception, according to which the God of Israel is represented in poetry as a warrior armed with bow and arrow (the lightnings are His arrows, cf. Psa_7:12-13; Hab_3:9-11); when His anger had passed, He hung His bow in the clouds. The rainbow does not, however, appear frequently in the imagery of Jewish poetry. In Eze_1:28, and in Rev_4:3; Rev_10:1, it is mentioned in connexion with the appearances of Divine glory. As a feature in nature, it is referred to in Sir_43:12; Sir_50:7.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth,.... Or "cloud a cloud" (u), cause the clouds to gather thick in the heavens, and to hang over the earth ready to pour down great quantities of water; by reason of which the inhabitants might dread another flood coming upon them: wherefore, in order to dissipate such fears, it shall be so ordered:

that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; after it has pretty much discharged itself; for the rainbow is always in a thin, not a thick cloud; after the heavy showers are fallen from the thick clouds, and a small thin one remains, then the rainbow is seen in it; not always, but very frequently, and when the sun and clouds are in a proper position: and this is often so ordered, to put men in mind of this covenant, and to divest them of, or prevent their fears of the world being drowned by a flood; for when they see this, it is a sure sign the rain is going off, since the cloud is thinned, or otherwise the rainbow could not appear: and a most glorious and beautiful sight it is, having such a variety of colours in it, and in such a position and form. Some think that it serves both to put in mind of the destruction of the old world by water, through its watery colours, and of the present world by fire, through its fiery ones. Others make the three predominant colours to denote the three dispensations before the law, under the law, and under the Gospel: rather they may signify the various providences of God, which all work together for the good of his people; however, whenever this bow is seen, it puts in mind of the covenant of preservation made with all the creatures, and the firmness, stability, and duration of it; and is by some considered as an emblem of the covenant of grace, from Isa 54:9 which is of God's making, as this bow is; is a reverberation of Christ the sun of righteousness, the sum and substance of the covenant; consists of various blessings and promises of grace; is expressive of mercy and peace, and is a security from everlasting destruction: or rather it may be thought to be an emblem of Christ himself, who was seen by John clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow on his head, Rev 10:1 this being a wonderful thing, as Christ is wonderful in his person, office, and grace; and as it has in it a variety of beautiful colours, it may represent Christ, who is full of grace and truth, and fairer than the children of men; and may be considered as a symbol of peace and reconciliation by him, whom God looks unto, and remembers the covenant of his grace he has made with him and his chosen ones in him; and who is the rainbow round about the throne of God, and the way of access unto it; Rev 4:3 the Jews have a saying,"till ye see the bow in its luminous colours, do not look for the feet of the Messiah, or his coming (w).''

(u) "cum obnubilavero nubem", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Schmidt. (w) Tikkune Zohar, correct. 18. fol. 32. 2. correct. 37. fol. 81. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Not always, but very frequently, which is sufficient for this purpose.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And it shall come to pan, when I bring a cloud over the earth. Literally, in my clouding a cloud, i.e. gathering clouds, which naturally signify store of rain. (1Ki_18:44, 1Ki_18:45) Clouds are often used to denote afflictions and dangers (cf. Eze_30:3, 18 32:7; Joe_2:2) That the bow shall be seen in the cloud. Literally, and the bow is seen, which it always is when the sun"s rays fall upon it, if the spectator"s back is towards the light, and his face towards the cloud. Thus at the moment when danger seems to threaten most, the many-colored arch arrests the gaze.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

God continues speaking to Noah and his sons.

It will come about when

"Whenever." It is something that would happen many times.

the rainbow is seen

It is not clear who will see the rainbow, but because the covenant is between Yahweh and people, if you need to say who it is who will see the rainbow, it would be best to name both Yahweh and people. This can be translated in active form. AT: "people and I see the rainbow" (See: Active or Passive)

rainbow

the colorful strip of light that appears in the rain when the sun shines from behind the viewer

I will call to mind my covenant

This does not mean that God would first forget. AT: "I will think about my covenant"

me and you

The word "you" is plural. God was speaking to Noah and Noah's sons.

every living creature of all flesh

"every kind of living being"

all flesh

Possible meanings for what "all flesh" represents are 1) all human beings or 2) all physical beings, including humans and animal. See how this is translated in Genesis 6:12. (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

covenant

flesh

flood

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

בענני ענן WHEN I BRING A CLOUD — When I have it in mind to bring darkness and destruction upon the world.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

והיה בענני ענן, I will place clouds for a variety of reasons.

בענני, this word, though without the dagesh in the letter נ is in the conjugation kal. It is not at all unusual that it appears without the dagesh. The reason why G’d repeats the word ענןhaving already said that He speaks of having provided clouds, is to underline the importance of that activity, just as the line מרקר קיר, “tumult and din” in Isaiah 22,5 or ותשרש שרשיה in Psalms 80,10 “and uprooted its roots.”

ונראתה, it will be seen by people.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.