Not only has this NOT been a question that has puzzled theologians for centuries, I dare say it’s a question that few have ever asked, as the answer seems self-evident. Moses writes that after Noah’s flood, the rainbow was placed in the sky as a promise from Yahweh that He’ll never destroy mankind again with a flood. But, is that the whole answer? Not by a long shot.

For context, we must look at the time prior to the flood and determine what conditions existed on the ground that might be different than what we see today. To do so, we must go back, WAY back, to a time that has only gotten scant mention in scripture. We find in Gen. 2:1 that the “heavens and earth were finished”, but in v. 4, we find something very extraordinary.

The KJV version of the Bible renders this verse as “These [are] the generations of the heavens and earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh Elohim made the earth and the heavens.” There is no word “are” in the original text. It only reads “These the generations…”, so modern translators added the word “are” to allow it to flow. But, it could more accurately have been rendered “were”, as I’ll explain.

Most readers believe that this verse is an introduction to what follows in chapter 2. It’s not. It’s a summary of chapter 1. Keep in mind that the book of Genesis was originally written on a scroll and chapters were only added centuries later for our benefit. It doesn’t take a careful reading of Gen. 2 to understand that none of what follows the thought of v. 4 is a continuation of it. The first 4 verses of chapter 2 should actually be the final 4 verses of chapter 1.

With this in mind, we just finished reading about the days of creation in chapter 1. Moses says that there were only 6 days of creation and 1 day of rest, so why did he just refer to these 7 days as “generations”? Why didn’t he just write “This was the WEEK of the heavens and earth when they were created…”?

Even more confounding, the word rendered “generations” in our modern Bibles comes from the Hebrew word דורות של דורות or “thulduth”, which actually means “genealogical annals”. If it seemed bizarre that Moses referred to the previous 7 days as “generations”, which implies hundreds or thousands of years, it is incomprehensible why he would have used hyperbole and referred to the previous week as “genealogical annals, which implies millions or billions of years! Or, is it?

“Genealogical annals” is, in fact, an accurate description of the two periods of creation. Yes, there were two. The first period is spoken of only in Gen. 1:1. This short verse identifies heaven and earth, but the sun and moon had not yet been created. This would not occur until day 4 of creation (Gen. 1:14-18). So, the creation described in v. 1 is something different. And, without the sun and moon to measure time as we know it today, that “day” can only mean a period of time of incalculable length. Genealogical annals, perhaps?

We can all agree on one thing. 100% of everything that Elohim creates is perfect, correct? He does not make “mistakes”. He does not create something, look at it and say to Himself, “Well, that blows. What a screw up I am! Now, I’m going to have to repair this lousy thing I just made because this one is just NOT working for me. Let me fix it.” I use this tongue-in-cheek description to introduce v. 2—“And the earth was without form, and void….”

But this is not even close to what Moses wrote. The inference here is that Elohim made the earth “without form” and “void”. That is far from the truth. Here is how v. 2 reads in Hebrew: והארץ הייתה בלי צורה, ומחלל, וחשכה על פני תהום. ואת, or: “And the earth she became chaos and vacancy and darkness over surfaces of abyss and spirit of Elohim vibrating over surfaces of the waters.”

It sounds choppy, I know, but do you understand the significance of what Moses actually reveals here? In one short verse, he tells us that the earth BECAME CHAOS. In other words, the perfect creation of v. 1 (Elohim doesn’t make mistakes) underwent a violent change! “Chaos” suggests total upheaval with destructive results! But even more importantly, read the rest of v. 2. Moses doesn’t just tell us that that the earth became chaos. He tells us that it also BECAME VACANT! What could this possibly mean? In order for something to “become” vacant, it must FIRST HAVE HAD OCCUPANTS! The earth could not be described as having become vacant if all there was is “void” and “darkness”, as rendered in our modern Bibles.

The occupants that disappeared, which were created in v. 1, but were destroyed from the chaos and violence of v. 2, can be seen in their fossilized remains all over the world. We can find tropical plants, trees and the skeletal remains of all kinds of living creatures. We know for a fact that these proofs of prehistoric life on this planet are real and existed 100’s of millions of years before Yahweh made man.

THIS is why Moses used the expression “genealogical annals” to summarize BOTH periods of creation in Gen. 1. It is not a misprint. Moses did not have to be a paleontologist to know about the first period of creation. Yahweh told him about it. There is no other explanation as to why Moses would have used this term if all he intended to do was describe a mere 7 days of creation. If people would actually study scripture for what it actually says, doing a deep dive into the original language of the author, we could realize, again, that science and religion do not have to be incompatible with one another. The scientist knows that the earth has existed for 100’s of millions of years. If the Bible believer truly believes what is written, why not just trust that the words Moses wrote are also true? (2 Tim 2:15—“Study to show yourself approved unto Elohim, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”)

The kinds of weather patterns that we have today are completely different than the weather that existed in prehistoric times. At that time, much of the earth had lush vegetation on it and was much warmer, as we can see in the various ferns discovered in fossils. These could only grow in lush, moisture-laden environments. But, after the creation of man with Adam in the garden of Eden, we begin to see a different environment on earth.

Immediately following Moses’ description of the genealogical annals which identified Yahweh’s creation (Gen 2:4), we immediately come to a totally different description of vegetation, beginning in v. 5. Read this carefully—“…for Yahweh Elohim HAD NOT CAUSED IT TO RAIN UPON THE GROUND, AND THERE WAS NOT A MAN TO TILL THE GROUND.” Moses is not revealing to us, the reader, that it had been a lousy week of dry weather. Nor is he revealing to us that it was a dry season. V. 5 tells us, point blank, that from the first moment that man was created, Yahweh allowed ZERO rain on the earth. Again, Moses did not write that there “was hardly any rain” or that “there was insufficient rain”. He wrote that there was none.

But if there was no rain, then how did anything grow? The answer to that obvious question is found in v. 6—“But there went up a mist [humidity, fog, dew] FROM the earth that watered the whole face of the ground.” The water that was necessary to sustain life did not descend from above, down ONTO the earth. It was something that came from WITHIN the earth. There was moisture underground, but insufficient moisture in the atmosphere to cause moisture-laden clouds to bring the needed rains to water plants and crops.

In the Garden of Eden, the source of water that Adam had to use to sustain life came from the river that flowed through it (v. 10). Life in the Garden of Eden was good until the day Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and were banished from the garden. In Gen. 3:17-19, we learn that as a result of their sin, the land would be parched and dry from that day forward: “…CURSED is the ground for thy sake; in SORROW shall you eat of it all the days of your life! Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee…. In the SWEAT of thy face shall you eat bread….”

Today, our modern farmers work hard to produce food for us to consume. While nobody would suggest that it’s not hard work, it certainly cannot be considered “sorrow” to plant and grow crops. The seed is planted in the soil, and nature does the rest. But in the earliest days of Adam, he did not have to till the soil to grow plants. It happened naturally and Yahweh provided sufficient moisture to grow everything in the garden. It wasn’t until Adam and Eve were banished from the garden that Yahweh told him that from that point forward, he would have to till the soil to grow food (Gen. 3:23). This is the first mention of mankind having to work the soil to eat. Afterward, generation after generation had to work exceedingly hard just to survive. Life on earth was a struggle unlike anything that man would ever know, until after the great flood.

1,056 years after Adam was created, Noah was born (Gen. 5:29). This was no ordinary birth and his name signified the reason why. In Gen. 5:29, we’re told “…he called his name Noah, saying, this same shall COMFORT US concerning our work and toil of our hands, BECAUSE OF THE GROUND WHICH YAHWEH HAD CURSED!”

To get an even better understanding of the meaning of Noah’s name, as a person to finally give comfort to a struggling human race, trying to survive, look at how other translations speak of this moment:

Hebrew: “…he shall console us from deed of us and from GRIEF of us….”

AMP: “…from the DREADFUL toil of our hands….”

CEV: “…as we struggle HARD to make a living….”

GNV: “…our work and SORROW of our hands…”

GW: “…the work and PAINFUL LABOR of our hands….”

NIV: “…in the labor and PAINFUL TOIL of our hands….”

Clearly, it was unbelievably hard to produce food from the ground, not at all like we do today. It was not a “routine task” of just bringing in the harvest in the fall.

Even though the name “Noah” means “comfort”, it would take another 600 years after his birth before Yahweh would instruct him to build the ark and the flood was finally upon the earth (Gen. 7:11). Thus, it was 1,656 years since Adam that mankind had to work this hard just to produce food from the ground, including the first 600 years of Noah’s life.  We all know the story of what happened next: He built the ark which carried him and his family plus all the animals to safety while the floods came.

When the waters finally receded and evaporated, Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh. THIS was the moment that the curse, which lasted all those years, finally ended. Gen. 8:21—“…and Yahweh said in His heart, I WILL NOT AGAIN CURSE THE GROUND ANY MORE FOR MAN’S SAKE….” From this point forward, seedtime and harvest would become much, much easier. Until this moment, it was NOT routine. But v. 22 tells us “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Why is this such an amazing promise? It is because it is the FIRST INTRODUCTION into the normal seasons and the normal growing cycle. Until now, seedtime and harvest were uncertain. Cold and heat were uncertain. Summer and winter were uncertain. NOW, for the first time since creation, growing crops in the ground would have the certainty of sun, water, wind and heat.

Which brings us to the rainbow of Gen. 9: 8-17.

As I mentioned in my previous note (see here), the icy ring that had surrounded the earth, which became the source of much of the water of Noah’s flood, was now gone. This phenomena no longer existed, as all of the water that had previously been in outer space was now occupying places on earth. The curse of insufficient water on the planet had now ended. Noah HAD brought “comfort” to humanity by making life much easier and growing food much less of a struggle. With the added water that was now on earth, all living things will be able to grow without as much cultivation or irrigation.

Then Yahweh placed His rainbow in the sky as a promise that He will never again destroy all life on earth with a flood. Until this moment, for the previous 1,656 years, the icy ring that had been above the firmament, caused all sunlight to pass THROUGH it before reaching the earth. Every living thing that depended on the sun to grow, attained ample sunlight, but it was “filtered” through the billions of ice particles that made up the composition of that icy ring. This caused the sunbeams to be spread in a billion directions instead of a straight line onto the earth.

Rainbows cannot be created by anything other than DIRECT SUNLIGHT.

The reason this rainbow was such a breathtaking, wonderful and monumental event was because THIS WAS THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF A RAINBOW TO EVER EXIST ON EARTH SINCE THE CREATION OF MAN! Now, the icy ring no longer was preventing direct sunlight to reach the earth. The new, improved moisture in the air would allow man to expend less energy in growing crops.

As Yahweh was making his covenant with Noah, with the sun brightly shining in the sky, its rays were, for the first time, unobstructed. Thus, the very first rainbow in human history appeared. It had to be the most awesome sight human eyes had ever seen, bordering on the impossible. This was something that no doubt happened billions of times in prehistoric years, but it took 1,656 years until the first rainbow of human existence to be seen.

The heavens of old which Peter told us about in 2 Pet. 3:5-7 are now the new heavens. This fundamental truth, something the world is willfully ignorant of, is as plain as a summer rainbow.

If you know where to look.

Psalm 119:165