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Genesis Segment 9
All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Before beginning this study, I suggest you pray and ask God to guide you through this study. I also suggest that you do you own study of this material in order to ensure its accuracy.
(Gen 9:1) And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
To bless is to bestow favor upon someone. God bestowed His favor upon Noah and his sons. Why? To reiterate, Noah was a righteous and just man who was perfect in his generations. Noah and his family had NOT mixed with the angels who left their first habitation and came to earth. They then married the daughters of Adam and produced offspring, polluting the seed line of Adam. That seed line was the one through which the Messiah came. Only Noah was found to be perfect in his generations, or of pure Adamic pedigree, not mixed with the fallen angels. That is why God blessed them. They were the only pure survivors of the Adamic race.
The word rendered "replenish" is male' (Strong's 4390). It actually means to fill, not replenish. God told them to fill the earth. Earth could be the entire world, a nation, or a territory.
History bears out the fact that they filled the entire world with the Adamic race. The ten tribes taken into Assyrian captivity populated Europe (from there some went to South Africa), Britain, and the British Commonwealth (including the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others. I am currently doing research for a study on the lost tribes. Look for it in the next few months.
The three Southern tribes, Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, were taken captive by the Babylonians. These were the Jews. After seventy years a portion returned. There is evidence of Jews in Babylon five hundred years after the return to Jerusalem under Ezra (or Esdras). So there were Jews who remained in the nations as well as those from the Ten Tribes. All twelve tribes went out and filled the earth. The Assyrians carried some from the Kingdom of Judah along with most of the Kingdom of Israel north, into captivity.
(Gen 9:2) 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.
There are those who say that the climate changed after the flood. They say that the waters above the atmosphere (Gen 1:6&7) were used to generate the flood. Though I do not believe the flood to haven worldwide, (see Noah's Flood) I have no problem believing that God used those extra-atmospheric waters in the flood. I feel like there were many changes after the flood. Isaiah (11:6) tells us that in the Lord's day, the Millennium, the wolf will lay down with the lamb and the child will lead them. Well, it is possible that it was like that before the flood. The other races were gatherers, and the Adamic race were farmers, but there is no mention of carnivorous (meat-eating) activity.
Here, I believe that God is telling Noah that while the animals were on the ark, there was no fear of men, and there was no carnivorous activity. The animals were in the "get-along-with-your-neighbor" mode while ensconced upon the ark. Now, God is saying, they will no longer be in that mode. Now they will again fear man.
(Gen 9:3) Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
"Every thing that liveth" means "every living thing." In other words, before the flood there was only vegetarianism, but now, eating meat was acceptable. Note that there is no mention of clean and unclean animals for food. EVERY animal was allowed as meat.
(Gen 9:4-5) 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.
We are told not to eat animals while they are still alive with the blood still in them. God tells us that the life of a living thing is in the blood. Dr. Bullinger tells us: "This is the essence and foundation of the doctrine of substitution and atonement1 . . ." Hebrews 9.22 tells us there is no atonement without the shedding of blood. Because of sin, blood is required of man. Either God will take man's blood, or He will accept the blood of His Son in a man's place
1
The Companion Bible note on Genesis 9.4(Gen 9:6) Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
This is God's law concerning murder. It is reiterates in many places in the Law. Jesus repeats it. It is still the law today, but it is not faithfully followed by the courts.
(Gen 9:7) And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
See note on 9:1.
(Gen 9:8-11) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, {9} And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; {10} And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. {11} And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Thus begins the era of the Noahic Covenant, which, by the way, is still in effect today. This promise of God was made unilaterally therefore it is unconditional. No condition has to be fulfilled for this covenant to be in effect. Never again will God destroy man by flood. God destroyed the earth by the flood of Genesis 1:1 & 2. He then destroyed the Nephillim and the Giants by the Flood of Noah. But He will not do so again.
(Gen 9:12-17) And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: {13} I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. {14} And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: {15} And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. {16} And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. {17} And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
It is usually at the end of a tempest that we see the rainbow. It is a token or sign. God remembers His covenant with Noah. Let the rainbow remind you of it.
(Gen 9:18-19) And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. {19} These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
Noah's sons spread the Adamic race around the Middle East, the world of the time. Here, 'erets means the area of the Middle East. But, now they are spread throughout the entire globe.
Let me state again that the KJV translators used the terms earth and world a bit loosely. The word translated world or earth is 'erets, which can mean country, earth, field, ground, land, nation, way, wilderness, or world. Many times the translators used the word earth or world when land or area would have better served. Most of the time the word 'erets means an area of the world and not the entire world.
(Gen 9:20) And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
Remember that Adam was a farmer who tended the Garden of Eden. The other races were gatherers. What is one of the important crops Noah cultivated? Wine. Wine is important because is symbolizes the life in the blood. Wine, the communion element, represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I grow grapes and every year at harvest, I crush grapes for juice, and jelly. When the grapes are crushed, the resulting must (grape juice with grape solids) has the exact consistency of blood. Grapes were very important to ancient peoples.
(Gen 9:21) And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
What does it mean when it says that Noah was uncovered in his tent? Does it mean he was naked? No, it means that his wife was vulnerable to his son. It really does. Look at the next verse.
(Gen 9:22) And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
For the meaning of this verse, let us turn to another scripture that explains what happened. Leviticus 20:11 explains the term: 11And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Ham lay with his mother. It is possible Noah's wife was not Ham's mother. Noah may have lost Ham's mother and remarried before the flood. So let's just say that Ham lay with his father's wife. She conceived, as we shall see in a few verses. Canaan, their offspring, is mentioned in this verse. Ham lay with Noah's wife and then told his brothers.
A good moral to this story is do not get drunk because you loose control.
(Gen 9:23) And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
While it is likely that the garment they took into their father's tent was used to actually cover up Noah's wife to hide Ham's sin, this verse also tells us that Shem and Japhet covered up what had happened to Noah's wife. Noah did not find out until sometime later.
(Gen 9:24) And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
The scripture seems to indicate that Noah woke up the next morning, found out about Ham's actions, and immediately cursed Canaan. This is not so.
According to Dr. Bullinger, the word "awoke" is better rendered "awoke to wisdom."1 The Hebrew is yaqats, meaning simply to awake or to become awake. The Septuagint translated it to eknepho (Strong's 1594), which is a combination of two Greek words, ek, and. The word ek basically means "out of," and nepho means to "abstain from wine." Eknepho literally means "out of abstinence." Figuratively, Noah came out of abstinence from knowledge because his sons had covered up the occurrence.
1
The Companion Bible note on Gen 9.24The context here (v. 25) seems to indicate that Noah did not know for some time after the incident what Ham had done. Noah found out sometime later, perhaps even after the birth of Canaan. Noah cursed Canaan because he was the product of incest between Ham and Noah's wife. By the way, Canaan was of the same race as his father--Adamic. There was no supernatural change of Canaan's race.
(Gen 9:25-26) And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. {26} And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
This came true. Canaan served Shem, the father of the Semitic peoples from which Abraham the Hebrew came. For example, Canaan eventually served the Israelites under Joshua (Josh Chapters 9 & 10).
(Gen 9:27) God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Japheth (yepheth, Strong's 3315) means expansion or enlargement. This is a play on the word pathah (Strong's 6601) which also means enlargement.
Japheth did expand mostly northward into the Baltic Sea area. His descendants did enlarge manifold. Jepheth helped Shem cover up their father's nakedness, therefore he shared in the blessings of Shem. Canaan, the product of a union between Ham and Noah's wife), was cursed to serve both Shem and Japheth, which the Canaanites did.
(Gen 9:28-29) And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. {29} And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
This was the year AM 1998, or 1998 years after Adam's formation.
(Gen 10:1) Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
I will not comment on the nations listed. You may look them up in a concordance or your computer Bible software. You may use an on-line Bible like the Blue Letter Bible or the On Line Study Bible.
(Gen 10:2-4) The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. {3} And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. {4} And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
(Gen 10:5) By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
A gentile actually means a foreign nation. Isles, in the Hebrew, means a habitable spot, or a country or land or area. The "isles of the Gentiles" means the countries of the foreign nations. Genesis tells us that God scattered the people and confused the languages after the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:9). Here we are told that the nations were divided and had their own languages. Is there a discrepancy? No. The Tower of Babel was an attempt at one world government and one world language, which was not God's plan. The time of tower of Babel was when the nations were scattered; this verse tells us how (as do vv. 20 & 32).
(Gen 10:6-9) And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. {7} And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. {8} And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. {9} He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Nimrod means rebel or one who rebels. Nimrod was a gibbor or a tyrant, a warrior, and a bully. Gibbor is the name given to the offspring of the daughters of Adam and the sons of God in Genesis 6:4.
(Gen 10:10) And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Nimrod was the founder of Babylonnia. There is at least one scholar who believes that Cain founded Babylon and that he was Sargon the Magnificent. If this is so, then Nimrod must have consolidated the cities into one nation. The Book is Sargon the Magnificent by Mrs. Sidney Bristowe. It is available from: The Association of the Covenant People, PO Box 1478, Ferndale, WA 98248 OR 7730 Edmonds St., Burnaby, B.C., Canada V3N 1B8. Shepherd's Chapel also stocks the book for sale.
(Gen 10:11) Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Asshur built Ninevah, the capitol of Assyria, Asshur's namesake. Ninevah is given much attention in the Book of Jonah.
(Gen 10:13-19) And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, {14} And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. {15} And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, {16} And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, {17} And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, {18} And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. {19} And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
You will find many of these nations listed as the conquests of Joshua in the Book of Joshua.
(Gen 10:20-21) These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. {21} Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
(Gen 10:22-24) The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. {23} And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. {24} And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
Eber is the progenitor and namesake of the Hebrews. Eber means across on the opposite side of the River. Originally Abram crossed the Euphrates, but during Jacob's Kindgom, Eber meant across the Jordan.
(Gen 10:25) And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
Peleg, Abram's progenitor, means Earthquake and rill (a ditch in which water flows) and comes from a root, palag (Strong's 6385), meaning to split or divide. When was the earth divided? After the flood. Joktan means "to diminish." The earth was divided which dimished the power of men.
(Gen 10:26-31) And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, {27} And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, {28} And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, {29} And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. {30} And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. {31} These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
There are some interesting names here. A good study would be to examine these names with a Hebrew lexicon (such as Strong's). For Ophir and Havilah, I suggest reading about Noah's Flood.
(Gen 10:32) These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
The nations as they were divided or delineated after the flood.
11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
Probably an original form of Hebrew or Chaldee (my opinion). Anthropologists would say Hebrew came from the Northwest Semitic group of the Afroasiatic language family, specifically Canaanite. This fact does not alter my opinion. Canaanite was an early form of Hebrew.
(Gen 11:2) And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
Who are "they"? They are the sons of Noah of the last chapter. Note this for future reference and studies. They moved "from the east," which means they moved toward the west. Throughout history, the Adamic (and Hebrew) races generally always moved toward the west, the exception being the Israelites' trek through the Sinai.
This verse adds confirmation to my belief that the flood of Noah was local and to the east of the Shinar area, in the Tarim Basin. Noah's sons moved toward the west after the flood from the Pamir region of the modern Sinkiang Province of China. See Noah's Flood.
Shinar is an interesting word. It's roots are shanah (Strong's 8138), a primary root meaning to fold or duplicate (or double), and sometimes to change, and nahar (Strong's 5104) meaning river. According to Smith's Bible Dictionary, the word shinar means the same as the word Mesopotamia, "country of two great rivers." Mesopotamia is Greek for "between the rivers," and shana means double and nahar means river, so, quite literally, shinar means double rivers. Shinar is basically Babylonia not including Asshur (Assyria) or Susa. Like Mesopotamia, it was located between the Tigris and Euphrates (modern Iraq).
(Gen 11:3) And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
A more literal rendering is: "And each one said to his neighbor come let us make bricks and burn (them) thoroughly. And brick became to them stone, and slime became to them mortar." The bricks were baked in a kiln rather than dried in the sun.
The slime was what the bricks were made of and probably the cement used to bind the brick together in buildings. Slime (chemar, Strong's 2564) is what Noah used to coat the ark and what Moses' natural mother used on the ark of bulrushes that Moses lay in. According to Strong's it is bitumen, but, with a little research, we find it also means red colored (Strong's 2560). With a little deducing, we may conclude it was red clay. Bricks are made from clay (and straw back then). They baked the bricks made from clay, and also used the clay as mortar to glue the bricks together.
(Gen 11:4) And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
It is important to understand what is going on here. It would not be in the Word if God had not wanted it there. First, they built a city, the city of Babylon, built by Nimrod (rebel), who rebelled against Yehovah (Gen 10:8-12). Nimrod hunted men to rebel with him against God. Here, "they" were those who rebelled with Nimrod. God always preserves a remnant, so not everyone alive at that time joined in the building of the tower. The tower was in the city of Babylon and from the beginning it was a rebellion against God.
Now, let us discuss the tower. Tower is the word migdal (Strong's 4026). It is of interest to note Mary Magdalene. She was from Magdala, which means tower. Her name (Maria) is the Greek word for Miriam, which means rebellious! The phrase Mary Madalene literally means rebelliousness from the tower! She had rebelled against God and had received forgiveness through Jesus. Her rebelliousness, like ours, was from the beginning. Mankind is rebellious and that is why mankind is so anti-God today. Humans have been so since the beginning (in Eden and at Babel). Even though we have a tendency to rebel against our Father, we can receive forgiveness just by asking.
Here is the literal Hebrew for the phrase, " a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven": "a tower with its top the heavens." Dr. Ginsburg puts it like this: "its top with the heavens." In the KJV, italics indicates words added by the translators, supposedly for clarity, but most of the time it obscures the meaning. By adding "may reach", the translators make one think they tried to build a tower so high it would reach all the way to God. This is NOT SO! Churches teach this misapplication as fact. Men surely love their traditions. Let's see what actually happened.
To begin, the word migdal, tower, comes from a root meaning "twisted." It is easy to find a twisted tower today. Look at the minaret. It looks like a twisted tower. Here is a picture of the Suleymaniey Mosque in Istanbul. Note the twisted appearance of the minarets.


Picture from The 1996 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, © 1996.
Egyptian temples each had two towers. The sun's track on the winter solstice was directly between the towers. Here is a diagram:

There are two temples in Egypt with the heavens as their top. One is the temple of Denderah, the other the temple of Esneh. The "heavens" which are part of the temple tops are depictions of the Zodiac. The Zodiac is inscribed on the ceilings of the temples.
My point here is that the group at Shinar wanted to build a tower with the Zodiac at the top. They wanted to become someone (make a name for themselves) by inscribing their version of God's Word in the stars on the ceiling of their temple tower. They, like Nimord, were planning to use the Zodiac to distract people from the worship of Yehovah. God does not like that.
You must note that history tells us that the Babylonians were great astrologers. They studied and corrupted the Zodiac. Today astrology and the Zodiac are used for idolatry. People worship the stars and the Zodiac. That is EXACTLY what the builders of the Tower of Babel were after.
The words, "let us make us a name" can be understood to say, let us put ourselves is a conspicuous position and make a memorial to ourselves. The Hebrew for name here is shem (Strong's 8034). It literally means a name used as a mark or memorial of individuality. By implication it means honor, authority, and character. They were trying to honor themselves and not God. They were doing what many are trying to do today. They were trying to unite in a world government with man as the head, rejecting God as the head. Secular humanism and globalism go hand in hand.
Globalism goes something like this: Mankind has many problems and social ills. Mankind would be able fix those problems and ills if they could just get together. Only by coming together as one world, can mankind finally eradicate all the problems. We don't need God. We can do it without Him.
This is as true today as it was back on the plain of Shinar at the tower of Babel. Men wanted to put themselves above God. Remember what Lucifer did: (Isa 14:13-14) "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: {14} I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." This is what was going on at the tower of Babel. The tower was a monument to themselves.
(Gen 11:5-6) And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. {6} And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Verse five is self expalnatory. God came to earth to behold this. Let me rephrase verse six: "And Yehovah said, Behold, the people are united, they all have one language, and they profane (or wound) themselves by doing this (building the tower). From now on no evil thought or plan will be inaccessible to them." I did not change one Hebrew word here. I just rephrased it using more understandable terms. This is literally what they did.
The word for "united" or "one" is 'echad (Strong's 259). It could just as easily be pronounced akad. Accad or Akkad is one of Nimrod's cities. It is also the early name for Babylonia and it is where the rebellious people united to build the Tower of Babel. Akkadia was in the northern part of Babylonia. Akkad, Sumer, and Babylon were all centers of idolatry and rebellion from God. Many of the world's religions have as their roots the religion of these cities of Nimrod. Many teach that Christianity and Judaism are a mere evolution of polytheism. The reality is that Yehovah was originally worshipped and then men rebelled against God and started their own religions and created their own gods. The worship of Yehovah is from the beginning. All other religions are corruptions.
(Gen 11:7) Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Us =The Trinity. The word for confound means to mix. So God mixed up their speech so they would not as easily communicate. It seems like an instantaneous event.
(Gen 11:8) So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Here, the word to scatter (puwts) literally means to dash in pieces. Not the similarity in meaning to ratsach, the word translated kill in the sixth commandment. The former means to dash in pieces, the latter to dash to pieces. The word for abroad actually means to scatter words. Literally, the verse says that God scattered the people and their words from there outwards over the entire earth, world, area, etc. The Hebrew is 'erets. This confusion caused them to stop building the city of Babylon, though it was eventually built.
(Gen 11:9) Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Strong's definition for Babel:
894. Babel, baw-bel'; from 1101; confusion; Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire:--Babel, Babylon.
1101. balal, baw-lal'; a prim. root; to overflow (specifically with oil); by implication to mix; also (denominative from 1098) to fodder:--anoint, confound, fade, mingle, mix (self), give provender, temper.
1098. beliyl, bel-eel'; from 1101; mixed, i.e. (specifically) feed (for cattle):--corn, fodder, provender.
Whenever you see Babylon in any part of the Bible, including the Revelation, think confusion. Also think about what was attempted at Babel: one world government of man.
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