Rainbow (Bible)

Occurrences in the Bible

• Genesis 9:12-17: After Noah's Flood, God makes a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature that came out of the ark. He promises never again to destroy all living things by water, and as the token of this covenant (a sign that makes the promise visible) He says, "I do set my bow in the cloud" (Genesis 9:13). When the bow appears in the cloud, God says He will look upon it and remember "the everlasting covenant" (Genesis 9:16).
• Ezekiel 1:28: In a vision seen by the prophet Ezekiel, the brightness surrounding the glory of God is described "as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain."
• Revelation 4:3: A rainbow "in sight like unto an emerald" surrounds the heavenly throne.
• Revelation 10:1: A rainbow is upon the head of a mighty angel.

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew word used in Genesis, qeshet, is a general term that refers not only to the rainbow but also to a bow used in war or hunting. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, likewise renders it in Genesis as toxon, meaning "bow." The book of Revelation, by contrast, uses iris, the word for "rainbow."

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Noahic covenant is distinguished from other biblical covenants in that God makes the promise unilaterally, without regard to any human conditions, and in that it extends not only to humanity but to all living creatures. Like circumcision and the Sabbath, the rainbow is a sign attached to a covenant. The text, however, presents this sign less as something for people to remember than as something God will "look upon" and "remember," thereby emphasizing God's own faithfulness.

In the New Testament, the rainbow reappears in Revelation. Amid a series of visions of judgment, a rainbow surrounds the throne and the angel, and many commentators read this imagery as a reminder of God's mercy in keeping His promises even in the midst of judgment. Second Peter likewise sets the destruction of the old world by water alongside the judgment to come (2 Peter 3:10-13).

Interpretations and Debates

• The bow as symbol: Because qeshet means "bow," some interpret the rainbow as a symbol of reconciliation and peace, signifying that God has laid down His bow of war and hung it in the sky. This interpretation is drawn from the word itself and is not stated directly in the text.
• The rainbow before the Flood: John Calvin and a number of other commentators held that the rainbow was an already existing natural phenomenon to which God gave new meaning at this time. By contrast, some creationists who hold to young-earth creationism argue that the rainbow first appeared after the Flood, based on an interpretation that there was no rain before the Flood (see Genesis 2:5-6).
• Seven colors: The Bible mentions neither the colors of the rainbow nor their number. Dividing the rainbow into seven colors is a modern convention, so explanations that attach biblical symbolism to seven colors are interpretations from outside the text.