A Study On The Book Of Genesis
Chapters 9 & 10
Chapter 9
1-3
God blesses Noah and his sons. They are told to be fruitful and multiply. God also announces that life creatures
will fear man. Why? This announcement was not in the original blessing.
4-7
God now for the first time puts a food preparation restriction on Noah and his family. What was that
restriction? God also tells Noah that people are to take responsibility not to shed the blood of other people.
human life is sacred and valued. As far as the author is concerned, what makes human life so sacred?
8-11 God makes a covenant with Noah and his family. Notice that God initiates the covenant. The covenant also is
with his living creatures. This is the first of seven covenants that God makes with his people over the course of
time. The next covenant will be the one with Abraham. In this covenant what does God promise he will do?
Why does God make this promise? What is expected of man in this covenant?
12-16 The sign of this covenant is what? Every time we or God sees a rainbow we are to remember God and the
covenant. Do you do this?
17-18 Once again Noah’s three sons are mentioned. It is also noted that Ham is the father of Canaan.
20-23 We are told that Noah was a crop farmer. Noah was a righteous man but he wasn’t perfect and we see that in
this story. Jewish tradition knocks Ham for telling his brothers about Noah. Why? Once told the two other
brothers seek to correct Noah’s situation and thus spare him from further embarrassment.
24-29 Noah gets mad at Ham for telling his two brothers and curses him. Is this anger justified? It appears as if Ham
was the middle child, because his name always appears second in the list of names. Noah then blesses the
other two sons and places them in superior positions over Ham. This story becomes the justification for
Canaan’s place in history and their conquest by the Hebrew people. Is this fair to Canaan? Noah lives 950 years
and then dies. Apparently God’s decision to limit the years of human life back in chapter 6 did not apply to
Noah.
Chapter 10
1-5
We are now told about Noah’s sons and their families. Japheth’s family line is presented in these verses. We
learn that his family became sailors.
6-12 In these verses we learn about Ham and his lineage. Many of his family were warriors and hunters. One of his
sons was named Egypt. From Egypt’s family we learn about Canaan.
13-20 In these verses we learn about Shem and his family tree. Shem was apparently the youngest of the three sons,
although his name is always listed first, when mentioned with his two brothers. Why? The answer lies with his
family tree and those who would come from the family of Eber. In these chapters there is a fact about the
three brothers and their families that is missing. This fact was always present in the earlier genealogies of those
who came before them. What is this missing fact? We will later discover that Abram comes from Shem’s
extended family.