Rainbow

After the flood, God speaks to Noah and sets a sign in the sky. “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” The promise in Genesis 9 is that the waters will never again destroy all flesh, and the bow is there so God himself will see it and remember. It is given to every living creature, not only to Noah’s family. Many years later, John sees “a rainbow round about the throne.” Read Genesis 9:8-17 as the full promise, then Revelation 4 for the vision.

10 verses

Genesis

Genesis 9:8

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

Genesis 9:9

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

Genesis 9:10

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.

Genesis 9:11

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.

Genesis 9:12

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:

Genesis 9:13

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:14

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

Genesis 9:15

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.

Genesis 9:16

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.

Revelation

Revelation 4:3

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Caused by the reflection and refraction of the rays of the sun shining on falling rain. It was appointed as a witness of the divine faithfulness (Gen. 9:12-17). It existed indeed before, but it was then constituted as a sign of the covenant. Others, however (as Delitzsch, Commentary on Pentateuch), think that it “appeared then for the first time in the vault and clouds of heaven.” It is argued by those holding this opinion that the atmosphere was differently constituted before the Flood. It is referred to three other times in Scripture (Ezek. 1:27, 28; Rev. 4:1-3; 10:1).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

the token of the covenant which God made with Noah when he came forth from the ark that the waters should no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. The right interpretation of (Genesis 9:13) seems to be that God took the rainbow, which had hitherto been but a beautiful object shining in the heavens when the sun’s rays fell on falling rain, and consecrated it as the sign of his love and the witness of his promise. Ecclus. 43:11. The rainbow is a symbol of God’s faithfulness and mercy. In the "rainbow around the throne," (Revelation 4:3) is seen the symbol of hope and the bright emblem of mercy and love, all the more true as a symbol because it is reflected from the storm itself.