I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.
Rainbows did not exist before approximately 4,000 years ago.
Meteorology
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The cited passage
What current science says
Rainbows are caused by sunlight bending (refracting) through water droplets in the air - it's basic physics. Rainbows have existed for billions of years, long before humans. Whenever sunlight hits water droplets at the right angle (about 42 degrees), you get a rainbow.
What the text says
Genesis 9:13 says God set his 'bow in the cloud' as the sign of his covenant never to flood the earth again - presenting the rainbow as something newly established after the flood, roughly 4,000 years ago.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.