According to Genesis, God placed a rainbow in the clouds after the Flood.
Genesis 9 describes a covenant between God and Noah, his descendants, and every living creature. The rainbow is presented as the sign of that covenant, serving as a reminder that the earth would not again be destroyed by a flood of the same kind.
The passage places the rainbow in the clouds after Noah leaves the ark and builds an altar. It is therefore a post-Flood covenant symbol within the biblical narrative, not an object Noah carries aboard the vessel.
The rainbow has acquired many later cultural meanings, but the Genesis account specifically connects it with the covenant and the promise concerning future floods. The story also broadens the covenant beyond Noah’s family to include animals and the earth itself, making the sign part of a universal pledge in the text.