Genesis 8:15-17 “The Lord God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 ”Go out from the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you, 17 and bring out with you all the wild animals, all that are with you, and all flesh from birds to livestock, and every reptile moving on the earth, and increase and multiply on the earth.” ”
The flood was over. The destruction of the earth was complete; it was time to begin anew. God commanded humans and animals to increase and multiply. All future generations would be from Noah’s line, though Noah had no other children after the flood.
Noah offered a whole burnt offering from all of the clean livestock and all of the clean birds. The aroma was pleasing to God, and He made a covenant with Noah, saying He would not destroy the world with another flood. God placed a rainbow in the sky as a reminder and a sign of the covenant.
Along with telling Noah to multiply on the earth, God gave Noah some commandments to follow. These instructions were the Torah given to Noah. Animals were available for eating again, but God forbade the eating of meat with blood in it. And God put the death penalty on murder.
Remember back to Cain? punishment? God did not put Cain to death for the murder of Abel. He banished Cain from Eden. Cain worried that someone might kill him for what he had done, but God said He would take vengeance on anyone who killed Cain, sevenfold. We don’t know what that vengeance would look like, but the punishment still was not death. It would be sevenfold, and you can’t put someone to death seven times.
Here, after the flood, God said that anyone who takes man’s blood would have their blood taken by man. The punishment for murder was now death.
There are supposed to be seven Noahide Laws, but these are the only two found in the text of Genesis.
That wraps up the account of the deluge. Next, we’ll look at the events following the flood.