Genesis — Chapter 6

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1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them,

2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose.

3And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.

4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.

5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.

9These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, [and] perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God.

10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon this earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die.

18But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons` wives with thee.

19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

1When humankind began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,

2the sons of God saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose.

3So the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain in humankind indefinitely, since they are mortal. They will remain for 120 more years.”

4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days (and also after this) when the sons of God would sleep with the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. They were the mighty heroes of old, the famous men.

5But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.

6The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.

7So the Lord said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”

8But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.

9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a godly man; he was blameless among his contemporaries. He walked with God.

10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence.

12God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful.

13So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth.

14Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and out.

15This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

16Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches from the top. Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks.

17I am about to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. Everything that is on the earth will die,

18but I will confirm my covenant with you. You will enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

19You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

20Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.

21And you must take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten, and gather it together. It will be food for you and for them.”

22And Noah did all that God commanded him—he did indeed.

1When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,

2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.

3Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”

4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

5Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.

6Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.

7Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.”

8But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.

9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.

10Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

13God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth.

14Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.

15This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

16You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels.

17I, even I, do bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die.

18But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

19Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.

20Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive.

21Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.”

22Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

Humanity's wickedness grieves God; He determines to send a flood but saves Noah by grace.

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Chapter 6 describes the world's moral collapse before the flood and God's decision to judge humanity while preserving Noah. The chapter raises difficult interpretive questions (the "sons of God," the Nephilim) but its main point is clear: sin had so corrupted humanity that God grieved having made them. Yet grace prevails — "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (v.8). God provides a way of salvation even as He announces judgment.
The Corruption of Humanity (vv.1-7): "Sons of God" took "daughters of men" (v.2) — debated: (1) fallen angels cohabiting with humans (cf. Jude 6-7, 2 Pet 2:4), (2) the godly line of Seth intermarrying with Cain's ungodly line, (3) powerful rulers/tyrants taking women by force. The result: Nephilim ("giants/fallen ones," v.4) and total moral corruption. "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (v.5). God was "grieved at his heart" (v.6) and determined to destroy (v.7).
Noah Finds Grace (vv.8-10): "But Noah found grace" (v.8) — the first mention of grace in Scripture. Noah was "just" (righteous), "perfect in his generations" (blameless among his contemporaries), and "walked with God" (v.9).
The Ark Commanded (vv.11-22): The earth was "corrupt" and "filled with violence" (vv.11-12). God tells Noah His plan and commands him to build an ark (vv.13-16): 300 cubits long (~450 feet), 50 wide (~75 feet), 30 high (~45 feet). God establishes His covenant with Noah (v.18). Two of every kind to be preserved (vv.19-20). "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he" (v.22).

Map & Geography

  • No specific geography in this chapter — the focus is on universal human wickedness and God's command to build the ark.
  • The flood narrative is global in scope; no particular region is named.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the "sons of God" debate, the Nephilim, total depravity, God's grief, Noah's grace, and the ark's construction.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Noah Found Grace" on v.8 (MTP Vol. 22, No. 1310) "BUT Noah — the most important 'but' in the chapter. The whole world is corrupt, violent, evil continually — BUT Noah. In a sea of wickedness, one man stands. And how? He FOUND grace — he didn't earn it, didn't deserve it, didn't manufacture it. He found it. Grace found him. In the darkest hour of human history, grace was still available. It still is." Sermon: "Complete Obedience" on v.22 (MTP Vol. 14, No. 827) "According to ALL that God commanded him, so did he. Not some — all. Not mostly — completely. Not approximately — exactly. Noah didn't edit God's instructions. He didn't improve on the design. He didn't skip the hard parts. All that God commanded — so did he. This is the obedience that saves: complete, unquestioning, faithful."

Reflection

  • 1. "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (v.5). This describes humanity without God's restraint. What does your thought life look like? Are you guarding your mind or letting it run unchecked?
  • 2. "Noah found grace" (v.8). In the worst generation in history, grace was available. No matter how dark your world, grace is findable. Have you found it?
  • 3. "Noah walked with God" (v.9). Like Enoch before him (5:24), Noah walked with God in a corrupt generation. You don't need a godly culture to walk with God — you can walk with Him anywhere. Are you?
  • 4. "According to all that God commanded him, so did he" (v.22). Noah's obedience was complete — not partial, not selective. Is your obedience complete? Or do you obey the comfortable commands and ignore the hard ones?
  • 5. The ark had one door (v.16). There was one way of salvation. Jesus said: "I am the door" (John 10:9). Have you entered through the one door?