Genesis — Chapter 7

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1Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

2You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate;

3and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.

4For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”

5And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.

6Now Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth.

7And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

8The clean and unclean animals, the birds, and everything that crawls along the ground

9came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

10And after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

12And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—

14they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature.

15They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life.

16And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

17For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth.

18So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.

19Finally, the waters completely prevailed upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.

20The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits.

21And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.

22Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

23And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.

24And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.

1And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

3Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

5And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

8Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

9There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

10And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

14They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

18And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

21And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

24And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

1And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female:

3of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground.

5And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him.

6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons` wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

8Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creepeth upon the ground,

9there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

10And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah`s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah`s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

14they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.

15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life.

16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him: and Jehovah shut him in.

17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.

18And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered.

20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

21And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both birds, and cattle, and beasts, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land, died.

23And every living thing was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark.

24And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

1The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.

2You must take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

3and also seven pairs of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the entire earth.

4For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”

5And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.

6Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed the earth.

7Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because of the floodwaters.

8Pairs of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground,

9male and female, came into the ark to Noah, just as God had commanded him.

10And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

12And the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights.

13On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives.

14They entered, along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings.

15Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah.

16Those that entered were male and female, just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

17The flood engulfed the earth for 40 days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth.

18The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.

19The waters completely inundated the earth so that even all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered.

20The waters rose more than 20 feet above the mountains.

21And all living things that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind.

22Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

23So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.

24The waters prevailed over the earth for 150 days.

1Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.

2You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.

3Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.

4In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”

5Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him.

6Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.

7Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.

8Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground

9went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

10After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened.

12It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth—the sons of Noah—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship—

14they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.

15Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah.

16Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then Yahweh shut him in.

17The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth.

18The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.

19The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered.

20The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

21All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

22All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

23Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.

24The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

God commands Noah to enter the ark with his family, taking seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean animal, seven days before the flood begins (vv. 1-4). Noah, then six hundred years old, obeys and enters the ark with his wife, sons, and their wives as the animals come to him in pairs (vv. 5-9). The flood begins on the seventeenth day of the second month, with the springs of the great deep bursting forth and rain falling for forty days and nights (vv. 10-12). God shuts Noah inside the ark, and the waters rise until they cover even the highest mountains, destroying every living thing on the earth except those in the ark (vv. 13-23). The floodwaters prevail on the earth for one hundred fifty days (v. 24).

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Chapter 7 records the flood itself — God's judgment on a corrupt world and His preservation of Noah's family and the animals. The flood is presented as a de-creation: the waters above and below (separated in 1:6-7) come back together, returning the earth to its pre-creation watery state. It is both judgment (destruction of the wicked) and salvation (preservation of the righteous). The NT uses the flood as a type of both baptism (1 Pet 3:20-21) and future judgment (2 Pet 3:5-7).
Classification: Historical Narrative
Key Themes: an invitation to come rather than go into the ark, God already present there awaiting Noah's family, clean animals gathered by sevens and unclean by twos, a flood traced to two separate sources, the fountains of the great deep and the windows of heaven, opening on the very same day, forty days of rain followed by a hundred fifty days of prevailing water, and a single line noting that the LORD himself shut the door once everyone was inside
Entering the Ark (vv.1-10): God invites Noah: "Come thou and all thy house into the ark" (v.1) — "come" not "go" (God is already there). Clean animals by sevens; unclean by twos (v.2). Seven days' warning before the rain (v.4). "Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him" (v.5). Noah was 600 years old when the flood came (v.6).
The Flood Begins (vv.11-16): Precise dating: "the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day" (v.11). Two sources: "the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened" (v.11). Rain for forty days and nights (v.12). "The LORD shut him in" (v.16) — God Himself closed the door.
The Flood's Devastation (vv.17-24): Waters increased, lifted the ark (v.17). Waters prevailed "exceedingly" — covering all high hills and mountains (vv.19- 20). "All flesh died" — every land creature and every person outside the ark (vv.21-23). "Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark" (v.23). Waters prevailed 150 days (v.24).

Map & Geography

  • No specific geography — the flood covers the entire earth (vv.19-20).
  • The "fountains of the great deep" and "windows of heaven" (v.11) describe waters from below and above engulfing all known geography.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the invitation to the ark, the flood's sources, the devastation, and the typological significance.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Genesis 6-7 | The Flood | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

God Destroys The World With A Flood - Genesis 7
David Guzik

Articles

  • BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: how its opening chapters work as literature and how they set up everything that follows.
  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Genesis -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • An Invitation to Come In (v.1) — God tells Noah to "come" into the ark rather than "go," because He is already there waiting. Are you responding to God's invitation to come to Him, or picturing Him as sending you away?
  • Obedience as the Response to Grace (v.5) — Noah does everything the LORD commands him, entering the ark God provided out of grace. God supplies the way of salvation, but have you responded with the obedience of actually entering it?
  • Secured by God's Own Hand (v.16) — It's the LORD, not Noah, who shuts the ark door, meaning Noah's safety depends on God's action rather than his own grip. Does resting your security in God's hand rather than your own effort give you confidence?
  • Nothing Left Untouched by the Flood (vv.19-21) — The waters rise until every high mountain is covered and everything with the breath of life outside the ark perishes. Does the totality of that judgment shape how seriously you take God's warnings today?
  • Only One Way of Survival (v.23) — Only Noah and those with him in the ark remain alive, showing there was exactly one way of escape from judgment. Have you entered the one way of salvation God has provided?