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Summary
- In the Bible the rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant never again to destroy all life with a flood, made with Noah, his descendants and “every living creature” (Genesis 9:8–17).
- God says the sign is a reminder to him: “I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant” (Genesis 9:16).
- Genesis calls it God’s “bow in the cloud”; the King James Version uses the word “rainbow” only in Revelation 4:3 and 10:1.
- The rainbow also surrounds the glory of God in Ezekiel 1:28 and his throne in Revelation 4:3, where it looks “like unto an emerald.”
- Christians differ on whether there were rainbows before the flood: Henry Morris said no, while John Calvin and Tommy Mitchell of Answers in Genesis held that God gave an existing rainbow a new meaning.
- The Bible gives no meaning to the rainbow’s colours or their number; Isaac Newton popularised the count of seven.
- Scripture makes the rainbow a reminder of God’s promise, not an omen or a sign of luck, and Jewish tradition blesses God “who remembers the Covenant” on seeing one.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version (public domain), via BibleGateway: Genesis 2:5–6; Genesis 9:9–17; Genesis 17:11; Isaiah 54:9–10; Jeremiah 10:2; Ezekiel 1:28; Revelation 4:3; Revelation 10:1. Context checked in Genesis 7:11–12, 8:13–14 and 8:20–22, and Ezekiel 1:1–3 and 1:26–27. Sirach 43:12 and 50:8 (context 50:1) quoted from the Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 American edition (public domain), via BibleGateway.
- BibleGateway keyword search for “rainbow” in the King James Version: biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=rainbow&version=KJV
- Strong’s Hebrew 7198, qesheth (bow), with the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (1906), via Bible Hub: biblehub.com/hebrew/7198.htm
- Strong’s Hebrew 226, ‘oth (sign, token), with the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (1906), via Bible Hub: biblehub.com/hebrew/226.htm
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 56–58 and 71, vatican.va: vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PG.HTM and vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PI.HTM
- H. F. Stander, “Die (reën)boog na die sondvloed (Gen 9:12-17)” [The (rain)bow after the deluge], HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 58, no. 4 (2002), English abstract: hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/711
- John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis, vol. 1, on Genesis 9:13, English translation of 1847, via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library: ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom01.xv.i.html
- Henry M. Morris, “The Rainbow And The Cloud”, Days of Praise, Institute for Creation Research, 4 May 1998: icr.org/article/21318
- Tommy Mitchell, “Was There No Rain Before the Flood?”, Answers in Genesis, 19 October 2010: answersingenesis.org/creationism/arguments-to-avoid/was-there-no-rain-before-the-flood
- “Rainbows: optical wonders”, Met Office: metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/optical-effects/rainbows
- “Noach: What is our most repetitive blessing?”, Office of the Chief Rabbi, 26 October 2022: chiefrabbi.org/?p=10882
- On the books Protestant Bibles call the Apocrypha: Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 120, vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PR.HTM; Orthodox Church in America, “Canon of Scripture”, oca.org/questions/scripture/canon-of-scripture; Church of England, Articles of Religion, Article VI, churchofengland.org
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