Genesis 6, God's Covenant with Noah

We have moved quickly from Adam to Noah. The story of Noah is the second story of humanity in Genesis; it includes the second covenant of God with man (if we count Genesis 1:28 as the first.)

Genesis 6:1-3, God contends with humanity

When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

Change is described here.  In chapters four and five we appear to have individuals living a long time; now we see evil, corruption, and confrontation with God. 

The meaning of the phrase "sons of God" (ḇə·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm, בְנֵי־ הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙) is unclear. Walton points out that the term only appears elsewhere in the Old Testament in the ancient book of Job (1:6, 2:1, 38:7), where it is translated "angels" by the NIV. But the writer of Genesis need not be using the term in the same manner as the writer of Job. That these individuals married "any women they chose" seemed to be linked to the growing corruption of humanity. That corruption then leads to a decision by YHWH to cap human lifespan at 120 years.

In verse 3, the NIV translates the Hebrew word basar ( בָּשָׂר) as "mortal." The word is often translated "flesh" (as in Genesis 2:24) but, says the NIV, that word could also here be translated "corrupt." 

Genesis 6:4, Nephilim

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

The identity of the "Nephilim" has long been a source of debate. Some ancient views were "fallen angels" or simply "giants", or maybe merely "those who entice others to fall."  (See this Wikipedia page.)  The word occurs again in Numbers 13:32-33 where the Israelites refuse to enter Canaan because there are giants there.

Genesis 6:5-7, Mankind's wickedness

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them."

God grieves. (What does this mean?) Walton says that the Hebrew word (nihamti) translated "grieved" in verse 6 is rather complex in meaning.  As an example of its complexity, it is translated into ten different English words in the modern NIV translation and into ten different Greek words in the Septuagint. It sometimes indicates a reset, a correction, bringing something back into balance.

In Genesis 1:28, God tells mankind to multiply. As they have multiplied, so has their wickedness.

Genesis 6:8-12, A righteous man

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

We begin a new "account" (toledoth, תּוֹלְדָה), the story of a man named Noah. Despite the universal corruption of mankind, there is still one individual who is "righteous" and "blameless." (In the context of Genesis, this righteousness is relative; Noah is mostly good; see Genesis 9, later.)

The Hebrew word chamas (חָמָס) is translated "violence". An Arabic version of that word, meaning "agitation", has been taken by the Gaza terrorist group Hamas.

Genesis 6:13-17, Build an ark

So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.

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

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

I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.

God has just finished creating the universe, the earth, animal life and humankind. Now we are destined for a re-creation.

The NIV footnotes say that the meaning of the Hebrew translated "cypress wood" is uncertain. The NIV footnotes also suggest that "finishing the ark" might mean making an opening for light; Alter translates that phrase as "make a skylight".

As Alter points out, the Hebrew word shachath, translated "destroy" in verse 13, is the same word translated as "corrupted" in verses 11 and 12. Alter suggests a symmetry here: the result of the humans' corrupting the earth is the divine "corruption" of the Flood.

The measurements of the ark are in cubits, an English word coming from a Latin translation of the Hebrew word ammah (אַמָּה), which the NIV translates into feet. The cubit is traditionally the length of a man's arm from elbow to fingertip, about half a yard.  (See this Wikipedia page on cubit.) 

Genesis 6:18-22, A covenant with Noah

But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.

You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.  You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

God details a survival plan for Noah, promising a future covenant. The covenant includes Noah's family and animals brought into the ark in pairs. (More specific details will be given in the next chapter.)

Some Hebrew Vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is leb, a masculine noun, "heart, mind."

לֵב

The word appears in verses 5 and 6 above, describing God's heart as He grieves.

Some Random Thoughts

The story of Noah is ancient, probably predating the Hebrew language. In the text, some of the Hebrew words are unclear. As many have pointed out, there are other flood narratives in ancient cultures. (See this Wikipedia page.) Some involve gods angry at men; the diversity of the accounts is considerable. The ancient flood account closest to the Genesis account is that of Gilgamesh.

First published Jan 7, 2023; updated Jan 7, 2026