What I Noticed Today (Genesis 8-11)
Genesis 8
In verses 1-14, the flood waters recede:
- God remembered Noah and caused the wind to blow over the earth, causing the floodwaters to recede.
- The rain and the water from the watery depths ceased.
- After 150 days, the ark came to rest on the seventeenth day of the seventh month on Mount Ararat.
- The water continued to recede until, in the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
- After 40 days, Noah opened a window in the ark and sent out a raven. It flew back and forth until the waters had dried up.
- Then Noah sent out a dove, but it returned because it could find no place to rest.
- Noah waited seven days and sent the dove out again. This time when the dove returned in the evening, it had an olive leaf in her beak.
- Noah waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, but this time the dove did not return.
- In the 601st year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water had receded from the earth.
- Noah removed the cover from the ark and saw the ground was drying.
- By the 27th day of the second month, the ground was dry.
In verses 15-22, Noah leaves the ark:
- Then God told Noah to come out of the ark with his family and all the animals.
- God commanded them to spread over the earth, be fruitful, and multiply.
- So Noah and his family and all the animals came out of the ark in groups.
- Then Noah built an altar to God and took some of every clean animal and bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.
- When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma of the burnt offerings, He promised never again to curse the ground because of man’s sinful nature, and never again to strike down every living creature.
Note: The reference to God smelling the pleasing aroma means He accepted their sacrifice. Elsewhere, God did not smell the aroma and rejected the sacrifice (Leviticus 26:31).
Genesis 9
In verses 1-17, God established a covenant with Noah:
- God blessed Noah and his sons and told them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.
- Every living thing is under your authority.
- Every living creature, along with green plants,, will be your food, except you must not eat meat with its lifeblood.
- Every animal and every man that sheds the blood of another man was to die. Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for man is made in the image of God (v. 6).
Note: God established the superiority of man over animals. A man’s life is held in high regard because he is made in the image of God. Therefore, there must be a penalty for the man who sheds another man’s blood.
- Then God said he was confirming His covenant with Noah, his family, and his descendants, and all the animals that came out of the ark. Never again, said God, will I destroy every creature with a flood.
- The sign of the covenant will be the rainbow in the sky. Whenever I (God) form the clouds, and the rainbow appears, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures.
Note: The Hebrew word for rainbow, qešet, is the same word used for a battle bow. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, God brought judgment using military terms like bow and arrow.
In verses 18-29, Noah prophecies about his family:
- Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who came out of the ark populated the whole earth.
- Noah, a man of the soil, planted a vineyard.
- He drank some of the wine, got drunk, and fell asleep uncovered in his tent.
- Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his brothers.
Note: It seems Ham came upon his father by accident, so the issue was not in seeing his father naked, but in his motive for telling his brothers about what happened.
- Shem and Japheth took a cloak, and turning away so they couldn’t see him, they covered their father.
- When Noah awoke and learned what his sons had done, he said:
- Canaan will be cursed. He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.
- Praise the Lord the God of Shem. Canaan will be his slave.
- God will extend Japheth; he will dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan will be his slave.
Note: Canaan is not being punished for the actions of his father, Ham. God is bringing a prophetic revelation regarding each of Noah's sons. Thus, the curse of Noah against Canaan is a prophetic statement from God as to the future of the Canaanite tribe.
Note: The phrase “Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem” means they will dwell together, not that Japheth will take away the tents of Shem.
- Noah lived 350 years after the flood and was the third-oldest man in the scripture living 950 years, and then he died.
Some thoughts for further consideration:
- Noah was saved because God judged him to be one righteous man that lived upon the earth. Yet, after the flood, Noah got drunk like the pagans God had wiped out.
- The sin nature of man continued despite God’s judgment upon the earth.
Genesis 10
Genesis 10 is known as the table of nations, tracing the 70 descendants of Noah through his sons Japheth (14), Shem (26), and Ham (30).
Note: The table of nations is not what we commonly call a vertical genealogy tracing one descendent to the next. Rather, it is a horizontal genealogy tracing tribes who were aligned in specific territories.
In verses 2-5, the fourteen sons of Japheth are listed. They were coastland people (meaning they were close to a seacoast). They also had their own languages.
Note: Tarshish (v. 4) is Spain, Kittim (v. 4) is Cyprus.
Note: The fact that they had their own languages suggests this description took place after the Tower of Babel (chapter 11). These tribes were all gathered in northern territories.
In verses 6-20, the thirty descendants of Ham are listed.
Note: The tribes of Ham’s descendants lived in the eastern and southern territory of Mesopotamia (northern Africa).
Note: Cush (v. 6) is Ethiopia, Mizraim (v. 6) is Egypt, Put (v. 6) is Libya, Canaan (v. 6) is Palestine, Asshur (v. 11) is Assyria.
Note: Verse 8 inserts the story of Nimrod, a powerful hunter who founded Babylon, Nineveh, and Assyria. The language also changes from “these are the sons of” to “fathered.”
Note: Verses 13-14 describe Mizraim (also translated Egypt). They lived in territories from North Africa to Crete.
Note: Verses 15-20 describe the Canaanite tribes who lived in the Promised Land.
In verses 21-31, the 26 descendants of Shem are listed.
Note: The tribes of Shem’s descendants lived in the eastern hill country and desert (modern-day Arabian Peninsula). Aram (v. 22) is Syria and Mesopotamia.
Genesis 11
From: Deluxe Now and Then Bible Maps, Rose Publishing.
In verses 1-9, the nations are dispersed at Babel:
Note: The dispersion described in the Table of Nations in chapter 10 is likely a result of the account recorded in Genesis 11:1-9).
- The people of the world all spoke one language.
- People migrated to the valley of Shinar from the east.
- They planned to use oven-fired bricks and asphalt for the mortar to build a city and a tower, to make a name for themselves, lest they are scattered over the earth.
Note: This plan not to disperse was in direct opposition to God’s command to “fill the whole earth” (Genesis 9:1).
- God came down and looked to see what they were doing.
- God viewed their unity as the source of their disobedience.
- So the LORD said, “Come, let US confuse their language.”
Note: The word translated “LORD” is Jehovah, the proper name of God, and the “Us” is first-person plural. In some translations, when Jehovah, the proper name of the LORD, is used, it is placed in all capital letters.
- The Lord scattered the people over the whole earth, and they stopped building the city.
- It is called Babylon because it is there the Lord confused their language and scattered them over the earth.
In verses 10-26, the family records of the descendants of Shem through to Abram are recorded.
Note: This is a vertical genealogy establishing the link between Noah, who was blessed God, through Shem, and on down to Abram, who was also blessed by God.
In verses 27-32, the family records of Terah, who was the son of Nahor, are recorded:
- Terah had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot.
- Terah took Abram, his grandson Lot, and Abraham’s wife, Sarai, and journeyed toward Canaan, but they stopped and settled in Haran.
Note: We know from Joshua 24:2 that Terah was an idolater who worshiped other gods.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
