a visible sign of Jehovah’s covenant promise that ‘no more would all flesh be cut off by waters of a deluge, and no more would there occur a deluge to bring the earth to ruin.’ (Ge 9:11-16)

The first Biblical reference to a rainbow is in the account of the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring after the Flood survivors came out of the ark. (Ge 9:8-17; Isa 54:9, 10)