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Genesis 9:7
And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Genesis 1:22,28
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth…

Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Be.

Genesis 9:7,19
And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein…

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 8:17
Bring forth with thee every living thing thatis with thee, of all flesh,both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

and said to them,
This direct communication from God to Noah and his sons highlights the personal nature of God's relationship with humanity. It emphasizes that God is not distant but actively involved in guiding and instructing His creation. This divine speech acts as a covenantal declaration, setting the stage for the responsibilities and expectations God has for Noah and his descendants. It also serves as a reminder of the authority and sovereignty of God, who speaks and commands with purpose and intention.

“Be fruitful and multiply
This command echoes the original mandate given to Adam and Eve, reinforcing the continuity of God's plan for human proliferation and stewardship of the earth. It underscores the importance of family and procreation in God's design for humanity. Historically, this command was crucial for the repopulation of the earth after the flood, ensuring the survival and spread of human civilization. Theologically, it points to the value God places on life and the family unit as foundational to society. This command also prefigures the spiritual multiplication seen in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), where believers are called to make disciples of all nations.

and fill the earth.
This phrase completes the mandate by emphasizing the geographical spread of humanity across the globe. It reflects God's intention for humans to inhabit and steward the entire earth, not just a specific region. This command anticipates the diversity of cultures and peoples that would arise as humanity spreads. It also connects to the Tower of Babel narrative inGenesis 11, where humanity's attempt to centralize and resist this command leads to God's intervention and the scattering of peoples. In a broader theological sense, this phrase can be seen as a type of the eventual filling of the earth with the knowledge of the Lord, as prophesied inHabakkuk 2:14.

– “And God blessed Noah and his sons” (Genesis 9:1).

– The same Creator who “blessed” Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28) now blesses the new head of the human race.

– Blessing here is not a vague wish; it is the divine empowerment to thrive, much like God’s promise to Abram, “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2–3).

– God’s blessing underscores His covenant faithfulness (Genesis 8:21–22) and assures Noah’s family that, though the flood judged sin, God’s purpose for humanity continues.

– God personally “said to them,” showing intimate involvement (compareGenesis 6:13;Hebrews 1:1–2).

– This direct speech highlights authority; what follows is not optional advice but a mandate.

– The family unit hears these words together, echoing later settings where entire households are addressed (Joshua 24:15;Acts 10:2).

– Fruitfulness means bearing offspring, a literal command given earlier to sea creatures, birds, and the first couple (Genesis 1:22, 28).

– Children are portrayed as God’s reward: “Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD” (Psalm 127:3–5).

– The command affirms life after judgment and celebrates God’s gift of fertility, much as He later promises Abraham, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful” (Genesis 17:6).

– Multiplication goes beyond individual fruitfulness to population growth—family lines expanding into nations (Genesis 10).

– Scriptural patterns show that when God’s people multiply, His plans advance (Exodus 1:7;Acts 6:7).

– Multiplication is both biological and missional: more image-bearers reflect more of God’s glory on earth.

– Humanity is to “fill the earth,” dispersing rather than clustering in one spot. This anticipates the later correction at Babel when people resisted spreading out (Genesis 11:4–9).

– Filling the earth aligns with God’s design: “He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18).

– The command carries stewardship—cultivating, governing, and caring for creation (Genesis 1:26;Psalm 8:6–8).

– Ultimately the earth will be filled not only with people but with the knowledge of the LORD (Habakkuk 2:14;Revelation 21:24).

Genesis 9:1 reiterates humanity’s original mandate after the flood: God blesses Noah’s family, speaks directly, and commands them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. These words re-establish life, growth, and global stewardship, assuring us that God’s purposes remain steadfast—even after judgment, His plan for a populated, God-honoring world continues.

(1)God blessed Noah.--The blessing bestowed upon Noah, the second father of mankind, is exactly parallel to that given to our first father inGenesis 1:28-29;Genesis 2:16-17, with a significant addition growing out of the history of the past. There is the same command to fill the world with human life, and the same promise that the fear of man shall rest upon the whole animated creation; but this grant of dominion is so extended that the animals are now given to man for his food. But just as there was a restriction as regards Adam's food, the fruit of the tree of knowledge being refused him, so now there is a prohibition against the eating of blood. The addition is the sanctity given to human life, with the evident object of guarding against such a disruption of the human race as was the result of Cain's murder of Abel. Thus, then, man starts afresh upon his task of subjugating the earth, with increased empire over the animal world, and with his own life more solemnly guarded and made secure.

(1) the apparently great number of passages melts away when we observe the verbally exact reference ofGenesis 8:17;Genesis 9:1, 7 to Genesis 1:28; and ofGenesis 48:4 to Genesis 35:11;

(2) the Elohist does not always employ his "favorite expression" where he might have done so, as, e.g., not inGenesis 1:22;Genesis 17:6;Genesis 28:14;

(3) the Jehovist does not avoid it where the course of thought necessarily calls for it (videLeviticus 26:9), (Keil).And replenish the earth. The words, "and subdue it, which had a place in the Adamic blessing, and which the LXX. insert here in the Noachic (καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς), are omitted for the obvious reason that the world dominion originally assigned to man in Adam had been forfeited by sin, and could only be restored through the ideal Man, the woman's seed, to whom it had been transferred at the fail Hence says Paul, speaking of Christ: "καὶ πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸτοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ (Ephesians 1:22); and the writer to the Hebrews:νῦν δὲ οὔπω ὀρῶμεναὐτῷ (i.e. man)τὰ πάντα ὑποτεταγμένα,τὸν δὲ βραχύτι παρ ἀγγέλους ἠλαττομένονβλέπομεν Ἰησοῦν διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτουδόξη καὶ τιμῆ ἐστεφανωμένον (i.e. the world dominion which David,Psalm 8:6, recognized as belonging to God's ideal man)ὅπως χάριτι θεοῦ ὑπὲρ παντὸς γεύσηταιθανάτου (Genesis 2:8, 9). The original relationship which God had established between man and the lower creatures having been disturbed by sin, the inferior animals, as it were, gradually broke loose from their condition of subjection. As corruption deepened in the human race it was only natural to anticipate that man's lordship over the animal creation would become feebler and feebler. Nor, perhaps, is it an altogether violent hypothesis that, had the Deluge not intervened, in the course of time the beast would have become the master and man the slave. To prevent any such apprehensions in the future, as there was to be no second deluge, the relations of man and the lower creatures were to be placed on a new footing. Ultimately, in the palingenesia, they would be completely restored (cf.Isaiah 11:6); in the mean time, till that glorious consummation should arrive, the otherwise inevitable encroachments of the creatures upon the human family in its sin-created weakness should be restrained by a principle of fear. That was the first important modification made upon the original Adamic blessing.

Parallel Commentaries ...