The KJV Holy Bible

 

Genesis Chapter Nine

 

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

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.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Genesis: The Covenant of Light and the Danger of Intoxication

"With the Great Work of Purification complete and the earth restored, Genesis Chapter Nine establishes the new Cosmic parameters for the Spiritually Reborn Seeker. In the Hermetic tradition, the 'Covenant' is not a legal contract with a volatile deity, but an Immutable Alignment with Universal Law. This chapter outlines the strict preservation of the Vital Life Force, introduces the profound Esoteric symbol of the Rainbow as the bridge between dimensions, and serves a stark Alchemical warning through Noah’s intoxication: even a Purified Master must remain Vigilant against the heavy, sleep-inducing gravity of the physical plane."

 

 

Verses 1-7: The New Mandate and the Sanctity of the Vital Force - "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply... But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." 

As the adept steps back into the physical world, the Principle of Generation is immediately re-invoked. However, a strict new Alchemical parameter is set regarding the consumption of blood. In Esoteric Philosophy, blood is the physical carrier of the Prana, or the animal Spiritus (the Vital Life Force). To consume the blood of an animal is to ingest its base, unrefined instinctual frequency, thereby polluting the Newly Purified Vessel. The command to abstain from blood is an instruction to maintain a High-Vibrational State and to honor the Divine Spark residing Within All Sentient Life.

 

 

Verses 8-17: The Rainbow and the Refraction of Divine Light - "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." 

The Rainbow is one of the Most Powerful Esoteric symbols in Western Mystery Traditions. It represents the Single, Invisible White Light of the Divine Mind perfectly refracting through the atmospheric waters of the material plane into Seven distinct colors. These Seven colors correspond to the Seven Hermetic Principles and the Seven classical planetary Energies. The "bow in the cloud" is a visual manifestation of the Law of Correspondence (As above, so below) bridging heaven and earth. As a covenant, it guarantees the Law of Rhythm—an assurance that the Cosmic Pendulum has been permanently calibrated, and the Universe will never again swing so far out of balance as to require total dissolution.

 

 

Verses 18-23: The Vineyard, the Wine, and the Lapse of Vigilance - "And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." 

This is a Profound Psychological Allegory regarding the dangers of Spiritual complacency. Wine, in Alchemy and Mysticism, often symbolizes Spiritual Ecstasy and the Intoxicating Power of Divine Knowledge. However, the physical body (the tent) can only handle so much High-Frequency Energy. Noah becoming "drunken and uncovered" represents a momentary lapse in Alchemical Vigilance—the Master becoming overwhelmed and falling back into a State of Unconsciousness and vulnerability. The reaction of his sons illustrates the Internal Faculties of the Mind: Ham (representing the lower, base intellect) perceives the vulnerability and mocks it, while Shem and Japheth (representing the Higher, Dignified Virtues) walk backward to reverently cover and protect the exposed Spiritual Core without indulging in its degradation.

 

 

Verses 24-29: The Restoration of Order and the Karmic Decree - "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be..." 

Upon Awakening, the Spiritual Consciousness (Noah) immediately recognizes the imbalance caused by the lower intellect's rebellion. The "curse" placed upon Canaan (the lineage of Ham) is the reassertion of the Proper Internal Hierarchy. In the Perfected Alchemical Vessel, the lower, base nature must be made a "servant" to the Higher Spiritual Virtues. It cannot be allowed to rule. Order is restored within the Microcosm, ensuring that the Spiritual Seed (represented by the blessed line of Shem) will continue to guide the Soul's Evolution throughout the remainder of the cycle.