According to Genesis, a rainbow marked God’s covenant after Noah’s Ark landed. In Genesis 9:13, God places the rainbow in the clouds as the sign of a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature.
The covenant follows the flood narrative and includes a promise that waters will not again become a flood destroying all life. The rainbow therefore functions in the story as a visible reminder of that promise.
This episode is distinct from the dove that Noah sends from the Ark to test whether the waters have receded. The dove and the rainbow are both important images in the narrative, but they serve different roles.
The passage also expands the covenant beyond Noah’s household. It explicitly includes animals and the earth, making the sign part of a universal post-flood promise within the biblical account.