9 (8) God said to Noah and to his sons with him: (9) "I now establish my covenant with you and your offspring to come, (10) and with every living thing that is with you - birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well - all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. (11) I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood to destroy the earth." (12) And God said, "This sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you and every living creature with you, for all ages to come. (13) I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. (14) When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appear in the clouds, (15) I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature among all flesh, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. (16) When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures, all flesh that is on the earth." (17) God said, "That will be the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
		Notes This is the first mention of the word 'covenant,' a term that will have importance significance for the relationship between God and the Jewish people. What is the nature of the covenant, and what is the significance of the rainbow? Here is a contemporary "Mikra'ot G'dolot" of commentaries not found in the traditional Rabbinic Bibles. Commentary Abravanel: Noah did not demand any sign, but God, in God's righteousness wanted to give humanity a visible sign of the permanence of God's unilateral assurance to them. RaMBaN: The rainbow is an already existing natural phenomenon that is henceforth invested with new symbolic significance as an eternal and universal testimony to God's constancy and mercy. This conception has no parallel in biblical literature; no other celestial body is similarly endowed.

Samson Raphael Hirsch: A rainbow is a single clear ray that has been broken down into seven colors. This is symbolic of the variety in mankind, from the darkest to the lightest color. All the different shades of mankind - from the most material person, in whom HaShem's light glimmers but faintly - are joined together in life.

Hillel HaZaken: How does the rainbow symbolize peace, unity and the continued existence of the world? It is because the rainbow is composed of a number of colors, shades and hues, all of which unite into a single whole. The same is true with the differences among people, groups and nations. A life baed on mutual understanding and tolerance, on harmony and peace, is the basis for the existence of the world, "a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth."

RaMBaN: (v. 12) The symbolism of this token it has been said, lies in the following: This bow does not reside with its base above appearing as if it were being aimed downward at the earth, sending God's arrows and scattering them on the earth. Rather, it is shaped the opposite way, to show that it is not aiming anything from heaven at humanity.

Nehama Liebowitz: We are not to look for and ferret out its symbolism in the form of the bowk, its colork, or its physical characteristics. The text simply says, "You should behold it and remember it."

Nahum Sarna: This covenant is strictly an act of divine grace, for it involves no corresponding obligation or participation on the part of man. God binds Himself unconditionaly to maintain His pledge to all humanity. Finally, God sets the rainbow in the sky as a symbolic guarantee of the covenant.

Gunther W. Plaut: The text sees the bow as a sign of God's rulership over the natural order and as God's permanent signature to His promise. The rainbow is thought to remind God of this promise and to remind man of the grace and forbearance of his Creator.