Genesis 9:13
“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”
King James Version (KJV)
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God speaks this as part of the covenant He makes with Noah and every living creature after the flood, promising never again to destroy the earth by water.
What Does Genesis 9:13 Mean?
Genesis 9:13 means that God gives the rainbow as the visible sign of His promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood. After the waters recede, God establishes a covenant with Noah and all living things, and He attaches to it a token that can be seen in the sky: "my bow in the cloud."
A covenant in Scripture is a solemn, binding commitment, and God graciously gives a sign to accompany this one. The rainbow appears in the very clouds that bring rain, so that the thing once associated with judgment now carries a reminder of mercy. Notably, God calls it a token "between me and the earth" -- and later says that when He sees it, He will remember His promise. The sign is for God's own remembering as much as for ours, a vivid way of assuring fearful people that the covenant stands. Every rainbow becomes a sermon in color: that God keeps His word, that His mercy reaches to all the earth, and that the storms of life are bounded by His faithful promise. The bow in the cloud is a standing pledge of grace.
In the Original Language
The Hebrew "qeshet" (bow) is the ordinary word for a warrior's bow, here set in the clouds, while "berith" (covenant) names the binding promise it signifies.
Cross References
“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.”
- Genesis 9:16
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth.”
- Isaiah 54:9
“As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.”
- Ezekiel 1:28
Application
Let the sight of a rainbow recall God's faithfulness to His promises, and take comfort that the One who keeps covenant with the earth keeps faith with you.