Genesis 9:20 - Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

Bible Comments

‘Noah, a man of the soil (ish ha adamah), began and planted vineyard.'

There is possibly a reference here back to words of Lamech at Noah's birth (Genesis 5:29). The man who came from the adamah, which had been cursed, now from that adamah produces a source of comfort for man. Compare Psalms 104:15 where wine is described as gladdening men's hearts.

But sadly the tale of woe continues, for Noah misuses that which God has given. To suggest that this is inconsistent with the earlier picture of the ‘perfect man' is true, but this brings out not that the two are contradictory, but that even the best of men can fall into temptation and sin. The horror with which Noah views his fall and its consequences comes out in his final words.

Genesis 9:20

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: