Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold… I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

— Genesis 9:8-17

I mentioned in an earlier issue that the Genesis flood narrative was inspired by other ancient flood stories, such as the epic of Atrahasis.

This catastrophic global flood, which destroyed all flesh, bar one pious survivor, was accepted as a historical event in the ancient world.

The Hebrew version of this story stars Noah as our pious hero, and replaces the gods of Mesopotamia with the Lord, who sends the flood to destroy all flesh.

Yet, the Writer of the Genesis flood narrative struggles to reconcile this callous, capricious God with their experience of a loving, compassionate God.

A God who reconsiders

Attempting to reconcile these disparate portraits of the Divine, the Hebrew writer suggests that the global flood changes God’s relationship to humanity.

The same God who sends a global flood because he regrets “creating humanity on the earth” (Gen 6:6-7), vows to never do so again (9:17).

This “covenant” or commitment is then baked into creation through the sign of the rainbow.

The bow as a symbol

In the ancient world, the bow and arrow communicated a male deity’s might and virility.

For those who have watched the recent Odyssey movie, a similar idea is conveyed through Odysseus’s unique ability to string and wield his bow with great skill.

For God to hang his bow in the clouds signals his commitment to peace.

A promise against violence

If God is ever tempted to destroy his creation through another global flood, the rainbow will remind him of his covenant with creation, and he will relent from any violence.

This development frames the cataclysm as a “once off,” and reconciles the destructive divine violence once unleashed through the great flood with the Author’s experience of a compassionate God who cares for his creation.

A greater appreciation

As such, this passage challenges us to exchange the portraits of an angry, violent God we may have inherited for a greater appreciation of the Lord’s sustaining grace and love.

• 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.