Gen 11, 1-9 The LORD scattered them from there

Genesis 11

(Gen 11, 1-9) The LORD scattered them from there

[1] The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words. [2] While men were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. [3] They said to one another, "Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire." They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. [4] Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth." [5] LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men had built. [6] Then the LORD said: "If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. [7] Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says." [8] Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. [9] That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world. It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

(CCC 58) The covenant with Noah remains in force during the times of the Gentiles, until the universal proclamation of the Gospel (Cf. Gen 9:16; Lk 21:24; DV 3). The Bible venerates several great figures among the Gentiles: Abel the just, the king-priest Melchisedek - a figure of Christ - and the upright "Noah, Daniel, and Job" (Cf. Gen 14:18; Heb 7:3; Ezek 14:14). Scripture thus expresses the heights of sanctity that can be reached by those who live according to the covenant of Noah, waiting for Christ to "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (Jn 11:52). (CCC 59) In order to gather together scattered humanity God calls Abram from his country, his kindred and his father's house (Gen 12:1), and makes him Abraham, that is, "the father of a multitude of nations". "In you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen 17:5; 12:3 (LXX); cf. Gal 3:8). (CCC 60) The people descended from Abraham would be the trustees of the promise made to the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for that day when God would gather all his children into the unity of the Church (Cf. Rom 11:28; Jn 11:52; 10:16). They would be the root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe (Cf. Rom 11:17-18, 24).

Gen 10, 1…32 These are the descendants of Noah's sons

Genesis 10

(Gen 10, 1…32) These are the descendants of Noah's sons

[1] These are the descendants of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom sons were born after the flood. … [32] These are the groupings of Noah's sons, according to their origins and by their nations. From these the other nations of the earth branched out after the flood.

(CCC 56) After the unity of the human race was shattered by sin God at once sought to save humanity part by part. The covenant with Noah after the flood gives expression to the principle of the divine economy toward the "nations", in other words, towards men grouped "in their lands, each with (its) own language, by their families, in their nations" (Gen 10:5; cf. 9:9-10, 16; 10:20-31).

Gen 9, 8-17 I am now establishing my covenant with you

(Gen 9, 8-17) I am now establishing my covenant with you

[8] God said to Noah and to his sons with him: [9] "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you [10] and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. [11] I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth." [12] God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: [13] I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. [14] When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, [15] I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings. [16] As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings - all mortal creatures that are on earth." [17] God told Noah: "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth."

(CCC 56) After the unity of the human race was shattered by sin God at once sought to save humanity part by part. The covenant with Noah after the flood gives expression to the principle of the divine economy toward the "nations", in other words, towards men grouped "in their lands, each with (its) own language, by their families, in their nations" (Gen 10:5; cf. 9:9-10, 16; 10:20-31). (CCC 57) This state of division into many nations is at once cosmic, social and religious. It is intended to limit the pride of fallen humanity (Cf. Acts 17:26-27), united only in its perverse ambition to forge its own unity as at Babel (Cf. Wis 10:5; Gen 11:4-6). But, because of sin, both polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers constantly threaten this provisional economy with the perversion of paganism (Cf. Rom 1:18-25). (CCC 58) The covenant with Noah remains in force during the times of the Gentiles, until the universal proclamation of the Gospel (Cf. Gen 9:16; Lk 21:24; DV 3). The Bible venerates several great figures among the Gentiles: Abel the just, the king-priest Melchisedek - a figure of Christ - and the upright "Noah, Daniel, and Job" (Cf. Gen 14:18; Heb 7:3; Ezek 14:14). Scripture thus expresses the heights of sanctity that can be reached by those who live according to the covenant of Noah, waiting for Christ to "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (Jn 11:52).

Gen 9, 4-6 I will demand an accounting

(Gen 9, 4-6) I will demand an accounting

[4] Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. [5] For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life. [6] If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made.

(CCC 2260) The covenant between God and mankind is interwoven with reminders of God's gift of human life and man's murderous violence: For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning.... Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image (Gen 9:5-6). The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life (Cf. Lev 17:14). This teaching remains necessary for all time.

Gen 9, 1-3 Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth

Genesis 9

(Gen 9, 1-3) Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth

[1] God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. [2] Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. [3] Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.

(CCC 2417) God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image (Cf. Gen 2:19-20; 9:1-4). Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice, if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives. (CCC 2415) The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity (Cf. Gen 128-31). Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation (Cf. CA 37-38).

Gen 8, 14-22 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD

Genesis 8

(Gen 8, 14-22) Then Noah built an altar to the LORD

[14] In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. [15] Then God said to Noah: [16] "Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons' wives. [17] Bring out with you every living thing that is with you - all bodily creatures, be they birds or animals or creeping things of the earth - and let them abound on the earth, breeding and multiplying on it." [18] So Noah came out, together with his wife and his sons and his sons' wives; [19] and all the animals, wild and tame, all the birds, and all the creeping creatures of the earth left the ark, one kind after another. [20] Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered holocausts on the altar. [21] When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: "Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the desires of man's heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. [22] As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

(CCC 701) The dove. At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign that the earth was again habitable (Cf. Gen 8:8-12). When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him (Cf. Mt 3:16 and parallels). The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of the baptized. In certain churches, the Eucharist is reserved in a metal receptacle in the form of a dove (columbarium) suspended above the altar. Christian iconography traditionally uses a dove to suggest the Spirit. (CCC 2099) It is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice" (St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 10, 6: PL 41, 283). (CCC 2100) Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...." (PS 51:17). The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor (Cf. Am 5:21-25; Isa 1:10-20). Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Mt 9:13; 12:7; Cf. Hos 6:6). The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father's love and for our salvation (Cf. Heb 9:13-14). By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.

Gen 6, 8… 22 Noah found favor with the LORD

(Gen 6, 8… 22) Noah found favor with the LORD

[8] But Noah found favor with the LORD. … [22] This Noah did; he carried out all the commands that God gave him.

(CCC 407) The doctrine of original sin, closely connected with that of redemption by Christ, provides lucid discernment of man's situation and activity in the world. By our first parents' sin, the devil has acquired a certain domination over man, even though man remains free. Original sin entails "captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Council of Trent (1546): DS 1511; cf. Heb 2:14). Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action (Cf. John Paul II, CA 25) and morals. (CCC 408) The consequences of original sin and of all men's personal sins put the world as a whole in the sinful condition aptly described in St. John's expression, "the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). This expression can also refer to the negative influence exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are the fruit of men's sins (Cf. John Paul II, RP 16). (CCC 409) This dramatic situation of "the whole world [which] is in the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19; cf. 1 Pt 5:8) makes man's life a battle: The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity (GS 37 § 2).