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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Genesis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God, Humanity, and Creation
Mistrust, Disobedience, and Death
Covenants and Faith in God’s Promises
The Role of Women
Summary
Analysis
God blesses Noah and Noah’s sons and charges them to “be fruitful and multiply,” filling the earth. All living things will be food for them; the only exception is that a creature’s flesh must not be eaten along with its blood. Also, the shedding of human blood is costly: whoever sheds someone else’s blood must shed his own in payment, because human beings are made in God’s image.
God’s charge to Noah and his sons echoes his original command to the first animals and then to Adam and Eve to procreate and fill the earth. This supports the idea that the flood is a kind of re-creation, a fresh start for humanity. The ethic expressed here—a life for a life—also assumes that people will continue to sin against God, but that infractions will now be dealt with by legal measures.
Themes
Then God tells Noah and his sons that he is establishing a covenant with them and their descendants, and with all living creatures. According to this covenant, God will never again destroy the earth by a flood. The sign of the covenant will be a rainbow in the clouds. Whenever there is a rainbow in the sky, God will remember his everlasting covenant.
This is the first time a covenant—a formal agreement between parties—is explicitly mentioned in Genesis, though it was alluded to when God instructed Noah to build the ark. The covenant even includes animals, which supports the idea that God is starting creation over anew. Covenants come with special signs, in this case a natural phenomenon, to remind the parties of their agreement.
Themes
From Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the whole earth is repopulated. Noah becomes the first to plant a vineyard. One day, Noah gets drunk on wine and lies naked in his tent. After Ham discovers him, Ham and his brothers cover Noah with a garment, the others walking backward so that they won’t see their father’s nakedness. When Noah wakes up, he curses Ham, including Ham’s son Canaan and his offspring, saying they will be slaves to Ham’s brothers and their offspring. He then gives Shem and Japheth blessings. At age 950, Noah dies.
Human beings begin to procreate and disperse once again, as they did after Adam. However, like Adam’s sons, Noah’s sons quickly get into trouble, a kind of second fall of humanity. Ham is cursed for dishonoring his father while his brothers show greater discretion. Although the precise nature of Ham’s offense isn’t clear, he obviously disrespected Noah, reintroducing disharmony into their relationship. This moment also reminds readers of Adam and Eve’s shame in Eden when they realized they were naked.
Themes
