Genesis 6

Human wickedness spreads until God grieves over the world He made and decides to bring a flood. One man, Noah, finds favor and walks with God. God gives him exact instructions for an ark and promises a covenant, and Noah obeys.

Genesis 6:1-2

As the human family grew, a troubling mixing began. The “sons of God” saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took whomever they chose. The emphasis falls on choosing by desire alone, with no thought of God. Who these “sons of God” were is understood differently among believers.

BSA: chose (“desired, wanted”): Their choice was driven by appetite, not by any regard for God’s will. sons (“descendants, having God’s nature”): The title speaks of some close relation to God, though readers differ on who is meant.

Genesis 6:3

God warns that His Spirit will not go on striving with humanity without end. Man is frail flesh, and his days will be limited to 120 years. Many take this as a period of patient warning before judgment. God’s patience is real but has a limit.

BSA: contend (“strive, judge”): God’s Spirit had been pleading and restraining, not simply watching. mortal (“flesh, frail”): Humans are weak and perishing creatures who depend on God for life.

See also: 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5.

Genesis 6:4

The Nephilim, meaning something like “fallen ones” or tyrants, lived in those days and later. Their offspring were famous mighty men. The verse shows a world impressed by power and fame, while God looked at the heart. Believers differ over exactly who they were.

BSA: Nephilim (“giants, bullies, or tyrants”): The name suggests people known for violent strength who lorded it over others. renown (“famous, well-known, having a great name”): Literally men of name; they made a name for themselves apart from God.

Hebrew: נְפִלִים (nephilim, H5303) — “fallen ones, tyrants.” The word seems to come from a root meaning “to fall.” It may describe men who fell upon others in violence, or men who were themselves fallen.

Genesis 6:5

The LORD sees the full depth of the problem. It was not only wrong actions but the inner life. Every plan and imagination of the heart was only evil, and it went on all the time. Sin had reached the root and filled the whole person.

BSA: inclination (“intention, plan, or thought”): The Hebrew word suggests something shaped or molded in the mind, like a settled bent. heart (“the seat of feelings, will, and intellect”): The whole inner person was corrupt, not only the emotions.

Hebrew: יֵצֶר (yetser, H3336) — “what is formed, a mental framing or purpose.” It comes from the word for a potter shaping clay. The heart’s plans had been molded into one fixed direction: evil.

See also: Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19.

Genesis 6:6

God is not cold or indifferent. He regrets making man on the earth and is grieved in His heart. This is the language of a wounded Father, not of a God taken by surprise. Sin hurts God, and this shows His tenderness.

BSA: grieved (“hurt, pained”): Sin causes God real pain, as a loved one’s betrayal would. regretted (“was sorry, had sorrow”): The word speaks of deep sorrow and a change of course in response to human sin.

See also: Ephesians 4:30.

Genesis 6:7

God announces judgment. He will blot out man from the earth, and with him the animals and birds, whose world was bound up with man’s. The word “blot out” pictures wiping a dish clean. The decision comes from sorrow, not from rage.

BSA: blot out (“destroy, wipe away”): It pictures wiping a surface clean so that a fresh start can be made.

Genesis 6:8

Against the dark background, one bright line: Noah found favor in the LORD’s eyes. Favor is grace, a gift not earned. Noah’s righteousness, described next, grows out of this grace, and does not buy it.

BSA: favor (“grace, kindness”): Noah was met by unearned kindness from God; he did not earn his rescue.

Hebrew: חֵן (chen, H2580) — “grace, favor.” It is the first time “grace” appears in the Bible, and it is Noah’s name spelled backward in Hebrew. Grace is the starting point of his story.

See also: Ephesians 2:8-9.

Genesis 6:9

Noah is described as righteous and blameless among his contemporaries, and he walked with God. “Blameless” does not mean sinless; it means whole-hearted and sincere. Walking with God means steady, daily companionship, like Enoch before him.

BSA: blameless (“unblemished, perfect”): The word pictures a sacrifice without defect, a life of integrity and wholeness. walked (“lived, had a close relationship”): It speaks of ongoing, everyday fellowship, not a single act.

See also: Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:7.

Genesis 6:10

Noah’s three sons are named: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They matter because the human race will be renewed through them. Noah’s godliness was lived out within a family that would share in the rescue.

See also: Genesis 10:1.

Genesis 6:11-12

The earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence. God looked and saw that all flesh had corrupted their way. The picture is of a world ruined from within, with violence spilling out into society. God sees clearly and judges justly.

BSA: corrupt (“ruined, destroyed, or evil”): The word means spoiled or ruined, like something good that has rotted. violence (“cruelty, injustice, or lawless behavior”): Wrong done to others, with cruelty and lawlessness, filled the land.

Hebrew: שָׁחַת (shachat, H7843) — “to ruin, to spoil, to destroy.” The same word is used for the corruption of the earth and for God’s coming act of destroying it. Their ruin of the world brought ruin on themselves.

Genesis 6:13

God tells Noah what He will do and why. The end of all flesh has come before Him, because violence fills the earth. God does not hide His plans from His friend. The destruction will cover both people and the earth they spoiled.

BSA: end (“conclusion, finality”): The time allowed to this generation had reached its limit. destroy (“ruin, corrupt”): The same word as “corrupt” in verse 12: what they ruined, God now ruins.

See also: Amos 3:7.

Genesis 6:14

God’s plan of rescue is a boat. Noah is to build an ark of gopher wood, with rooms inside, sealed with pitch inside and out. The wood is not certainly identified. The pitch made it watertight, a picture of safety for those within.

BSA: ark (“a large boat, vessel of safety”): It was not a ship for sailing but a shelter that carried its occupants through judgment. coat (“cover, seal”): The covering kept the waters out.

Hebrew: כָּפַר (kaphar, H3722) — “to cover, to coat with pitch.” This is the same root used elsewhere for atonement, “covering” sin. Here it is used only for the pitch, but it quietly pictures a covering that keeps judgment out.

See also: Hebrews 11:7.

Genesis 6:15

God gives exact measurements: 300 cubits long, 50 wide, 30 high. A cubit was roughly the length of a forearm, about a foot and a half. That makes the ark about 450 feet long, a vast vessel, designed for floating and carrying capacity.

Genesis 6:16

The ark needs a roof, an opening just under it for light and air, a door in the side, and three decks. God plans the details. There is one door, and that is the way in. Those inside would be sheltered, level upon level.

BSA: door (“entrance, opening”): There was a single way in, which later God Himself shut.

See also: Genesis 7:16; John 10:9.

Genesis 6:17

God states plainly what He will bring: floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature with the breath of life. Everything on earth will perish. The word “Behold” signals that He is about to act. Judgment is certain, and so is His warning.

BSA: floodwaters (“a great deluge, overwhelming waters”): This was a flood unlike any ordinary river overflowing. perish (“die, come to an end, expire”): Life on land would end, as the Creator withdrew its support.

See also: Matthew 24:37-39.

Genesis 6:18

Here the word “covenant” appears for the first time in the Bible. In the midst of judgment God promises to establish a binding agreement with Noah. Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives will enter the ark. Eight people are carried through by God’s promise.

BSA: covenant (“agreement, promise”): This was a solemn pledge made by God, resting on His faithfulness. establish (“make firm, confirm”): God Himself makes the promise stand firm.

Hebrew: בְּרִית (berith, H1285) — “covenant, binding promise.” It is a sworn agreement in which God commits Himself. It is the first of many covenants that run through the whole Bible.

See also: Genesis 9:9-11; 1 Peter 3:20.

Genesis 6:19-20

Pairs of living creatures, male and female, are to be brought into the ark to be kept alive with Noah. The animals come to him; he does not hunt them. God’s rescue includes the creatures, and it is God who gathers them.

BSA: alive (“living, in life”): The purpose of the ark is the preservation of life through judgment. come (“approach, go in”): The animals came to Noah by God’s leading, not by his effort.

See also: Genesis 7:8-9.

Genesis 6:21

Noah is also told to gather all the food needed for his family and the animals. Faith involves practical preparation. God provides the plan, and Noah must do the work of gathering and storing.

BSA: food (“sustenance, nourishment”): God cares for the daily needs of those He saves, people and animals alike.

Genesis 6:22

The chapter ends with Noah’s response: he did everything precisely as God had commanded him. He had never seen such a flood, yet he trusted and obeyed. His faith shows itself in action, over what must have been many years of work.

BSA: commanded (“given orders, instructed”): Noah took God’s word as an order to carry out, not a suggestion.

See also: Hebrews 11:7; James 2:22.