Genesis 9:13; Rainbows?

Question

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."

According to this, and Christians who have told me this story, God put rainbows in the sky to remind us that he will never flood the Earth again. Correct?

If this is so, did rainbows not exist before this time? Because before the bible was written, and definitely before Noah's time, ancient people recorded the phenomenon of rainbows all around the world.

Answer 1

Okay wise guys, if there was never a flood, explain why large quantities of seashells and sedimentary remains have been found embedded at the highest points of mountains. Hmmm???

I think the actual question has already been answered by a couple other posters as to what the Bible says in Genesis. God did not mean there would not be floods, read the verses again. He said the entire earth would not be flooded again. He has held His promise as always so quit convoluting it! And if someone wants to use what they believe Gruck the caveman must have inscribed on a tablet in the stone age about rainbows, and that even though not found, it must be out there, then I and others can refer to the Bible all we want to.

Answer 2

Before the flood, it had never rained, so there were no rainbows.

Gen 2:5-6
(5) And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground.
(6) But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

God set the rainbows as a reminder to himself so that he would never allow the whole earth to be flooded at the same time again.

Gen 9:11-17
(11) And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
(12) And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations:
(13) I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
(14) And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
(15) And I will remember my covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
(16) 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 of all flesh that [is] upon the earth.
(17) And God said unto Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

Answer 3

The Genesis account does not actually say that rainbows were not around before....just that whenever God sees the rainbow from then on He remembers His promise... Gen: 9 verse 11..." I establish my covernant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
Verse 12, "And God said, "this is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covernant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatres of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
The Bible does not say...there never was a rainbow before this time. ...just that a rainbow will cause God to remember ...He has promised to never again destroy all life on earth with a world-wide flood.
Say my wedding day was a very wet day with rain pouring down. When I come out of the church the sun shines and I see a rainbow. I see it a something to remember.... a sign that after rain and clouds ...there is often a rainbow. So down through the years whenever I see a rainbow I think of my wedding day....of the special moment when I emerged expecting rain and saw the sunshine making a rainbow. That through all kinds of storms my marriage will weather....the sun will come out and a thing of beauty with appear.
Don't you think it amazing that people desparately want to prove the Bible wrong? Lots of other books have been written that no-one bothers to try to prove wrong or attack. And the Bible gets twisted and people believe all kinds of things that aren't really what the Bible actually says. When someone reads it with an open mind...they will be changed for good.

Answer 4

you're right about God setting the rainbow in the sky as His promise to the world that He would never again flood the entire earth. Here's the thing. God killed every living thing on the planet save what was kept alive on the ark. Any "historical" writings would've had to been made after the flood, because i highly doubt that ancient man had already invented waterproof pen and paper. Any documents that claim to be before Noah's time are false and cannot be trusted, as far as the date is concerned. The rainbow was set up after the flooding of the earth, and humanity was repopulated by Noah's family. any decendents surely would've been told the story of the rainbow. the bible was written by moses, who came some time after noah, this is true as well, but the account is still true and correct, time and all. so unless science pulls something out of their rear, the bible has the truthful story.

Answer 5

WOW! I agree that rainbows are simply light reacting with water vapor. Ask the people who have been flooded out of their homes, the ones who go to church every Sunday, who believe in god. Ask the Christian or Baptist people of New Orleans what they think. "God" is a liar in that case. Rainbows have been here as long as water.

For those who had to look it up like I did, this is what Genesis 9:13 is.
Genesis 9:13 (English Standard Version)
“I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

Answer 6

No there were no rainbows before the flood.
Genesis 2:5-6 .... For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, ............ But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole earth.
That is why Noah received a lot of ridicule, as up until the flood it had never rained.

Answer 7

Your thinking is correct in that rainbows MUST have always existed since the world began. Rainbows are, of course, due to natural laws relating to how light works. However, a logical understanding of that scripture would be to say that God chose rainbows specifically to remind Man of his promise. God could just as easily chosen a particular type of cloud formation, or the stars in the sky, or a waterfall. He chose something in nature that he knew would always exist within the world he created so that there would always be a reminder of the promise he made.

Answer 8

The rainbow has a significance in relation to God's covenant with Noah. It does not necessarily mean that rainbow never existed before, at least the Bible does not make such a claim.

Answer 9

the Bible does not say that there was no rainbow before this time, but rather God promised that He will never ever again flood the WHOLE WORLD at the same time. and the promise is a beautiful one - pl see the splendors of God in the rainbow.

Answer 10

The earth was never flooded in the first place. Rainbows will always exist under the right conditions. They are just a scattering of the visible light spectrum.