What sign did God place in the clouds after the Noah flood story?

After the flood, Genesis says God placed a rainbow in the clouds as the sign of the covenant with Noah and every living creature. Genesis 9:13 introduces the rainbow after Noah leaves the Ark and offers a sacrifice.

The covenant promises that a flood will not again destroy all flesh and the earth. The rainbow is therefore presented as a visible reminder of that promise, not merely as a weather observation. Genesis repeats the connection between the sign and the covenant in the following verses.

The Hebrew word can refer broadly to a bow, including a weapon, which has led interpreters to see the image as a divine bow set in the clouds. English translations usually say “rainbow.”

The story does not say that rainbows first appeared after the flood. Its focus is the meaning assigned to the phenomenon as a covenant sign.