“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth… Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.’”
— Genesis 9:1-7

A world reborn

The floodwaters having subsided, Noah and his family emerge from the ark into a renewed creation cleansed of all murderous violence.

This violence first emerged as Cain killed his brother, and others imitated his sin.

The imitation of murderous violence throughout the Land set in motion a deadly cycle of blood vengeance, depicted in the biblical text as a global flood.

Humanity is wiped out, all but for Noah and his sons, who are charged with re-populating the world.

As heirs and stewards of this new world, God issues the same creation mandate first pronounced in the opening chapters of Genesis: “Be fruitful and multiply.”

But humanity’s tendency to engage in reciprocal violence with one another continues to threaten this goal.

Misreading the text

The claim that “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed” is often presented as a justification for the death penalty in cases of murder.

Yet, as I have argued elsewhere, this reading misrepresents the text.

Rather, this verse should be understood as warning against the destructive nature of reciprocal violence.

A cycle of vengeance

It describes the very process that generated the flood of murderous violence in the first place.

This primal urge for revenge only leads to death and destruction, on both a personal and national level.

“Pre-emptive” and “defensive” strikes launched upon enemy nation states will only be met with more violence, as both sides exchange reciprocal blows.

Choosing peace instead

Instead of stoking the fires of violence, the Genesis flood narrative challenges us to resolve conflict via peaceful means, empowering all humans to flourish on the earth.

• Dr Simon Skidmore is a Brisbane-based biblical scholar and educator. He is the creator of The Mimetic Exegete podcast, which applies mimetic theory to biblical texts, offering unique insights and practical applications. His recent book, Capital Punishment in the Pentateuch, explores ritual killing through René Girard’s mimetic theory.