18 | Genesis 6:5
chil dren by them . They were the he roes of old , men of re nown .
5
The Lord saw how great the wick ed ness of the hu man race had be come on the earth , and that every in cli na tion of the thoughts of the hu man heart was only evil all the time . 6 The Lord re gret ted that he had made hu man be ings on the earth , and his heart was deep ly trou bled . 7 So the Lord said , “ I will wipe from the face of the earth the hu man race I have cre at ed — and with them the an i mals , the birds and the crea tures that move along the ground — for I re gret that I have made them .” 8 But Noah found fa vor in the eyes of the Lord .
Noah and the Flood
9
This is the ac count of Noah and his fam i ly .
Noah was a righ teous man , blame less among the peo ple of his time , and he walked faith ful ly with God . 10 Noah had three sons : Shem , Ham and Ja pheth .
11
Now the earth was cor rupt in God ’ s sight and was full of vi o lence . 12 God saw how cor rupt the earth had be come , for all the peo ple on earth had cor rupt ed their ways . 13 So God said to Noah , “ I am go ing to put an end to all peo ple , for the earth is filled with vi o lence be cause of them . I am sure ly go ing to de stroy both them and the earth . 14 So make your self an ark of cy press a wood ; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch in side and out . 15 This is how you are to build it : The ark is to be three hun dred cu bits long , fif ty cu bits wide and thir ty cu bits high . b 16 Make a roof for it , leav ing be low the roof an open ing one cu bit c high all around . d Put a door in the side of the ark and make low er , mid dle and up per decks . 17 I am go ing to bring flood wa ters on
a
14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain . b
15 That is , about 450 feet long , 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long , 23 meters wide and 14 meters high c
16 That is , about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters d
16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain . survivors of the flood ( compare note on Ge 6:17 ). Perhaps Noah ’ s family did not escape the cohabitation of the sons of God described in 6:2 . Some later extra-Biblical Jewish texts , such as 1 Enoch , agree with this view , but Noah and his generations are called blameless ( v . 9 ), which suggests that none of the members of Noah ’ s family are Nephilim . This would lend credibility to the view that the flood was localized , not global : The Nephilim survived because there was no flood where they were at the time ( see 7:19 and note ). heroes This may refer to the Nephilim — which would make them the offspring of the sons of God and human women ( see note on 6:2 ) — or introduce another ancient mighty group spawned by the sons of God .
Genesis 6:4
NEPHILIM Ancient Jewish texts and translations of the OT render the Hebrew word nephilim with terms that describe men of inordinate height . The Septuagint ( the ancient Greek translation of the OT ) renders the term gigantes (“ giants ”). The term is not a synonym for “ sons of God ” ( see Ge 6:2 and note ); the Nephilim could , though , be the offspring of the sons of God from cohabiting with the daughters of humans .
6:6 his heart was deeply troubled Anthropomorphisms — the attribution of human characteristics to God — suggest that God feels emotions as a result of human behavior . 6:7 I will wipe The Hebrew verb used here , machah — which may be translated “ to erase ” or “ to remove completely ” — often appears in contexts where something is washed away or erased with water ( Nu 5:23 ; 2Ki 21:13 ). 6:8 Noah found favor God ’ s choice of Noah is not necessarily connected to Noah ’ s character , although his honorable character is also mentioned in Ge 6:9 . Noah finding favor in God ’ s eyes means only that God is inclined to help him .
6:9 — 7:24 The first half of the flood narrative describes God ’ s plan to bring a flood , his instructions to Noah about building an ark , the requirement to bring animals and food , and the flood ’ s destruction .
6:9 account of Noah God chose Noah to survive the great flood along with his wife , his sons , and their wives . See note on Ge 5:1 . blameless The Hebrew word used here , tamim , refers to being free from defect ; it is often used in sacrificial contexts to describe an unblemished animal presented to God ( Ex 12:5 ; Lev 1:3,10 ; 3:1,6 ). However , this does not mean Noah was sinless ( compare Job 1:1 and note ). This phrase is similar to the modern descriptions like wholesome , godly or honorable ( compare Ge 17:1 ; Dt 18:13 ; Ps 15:2 ). he walked faithfully with God The OT describes a pattern of personal , divine encounters that precede a calling for divine ser vice . The pattern begins with Adam , who spoke with God face to face and , along with Eve , received the dominion ( stewardship ) mandate of Ge 1:26 – 28 . It appears next with Enoch who , as Noah , walked with God ( see 5:22 and note ). 6:10 Shem Noah ’ s first son is presented as the ancestor of the Semitic people groups , one line of which produces Abraham , Isaac and Jacob ( 9:26 ; 11:10 – 25 ). Ham This name is either derived from a Hebrew word meaning “ hot ” or “ warm ” or the Egyptian word khemet , meaning “ black land ” — a name for the land of Egypt that describes the black soil produced by the flooding of the Nile . In the Table of Nations ( ch . 10 ), the descendants of Ham occupy the hot lands of the southern Mediterranean and African regions ( 10:6 – 20 ). The name Ham is also used at times in parallel with Egypt ( Ps 78:51 ; 105:23,27 ; 106:22 ). Japheth The derivation of this name is uncertain . The Table of Nations ( Ge 10 ) locates Japheth ’ s descendants in Greece and the northern Mediterranean region ( 10:2 – 5 ).
6:11 – 22 The account of the great flood has many ancient parallels . These stories — especially the Babylonian flood stories like the Epic of Gilgamesh — have detailed similarities and often sharp differences from the Biblical flood story .
6:11 – 12 As in 6:5 , the description conveys totality — a sweeping condition of humanity , not one confined to a small locality .
6:15 ark is to be three hundred cubits long A cubit was roughly 18 inches , so the ark would have been 450 feet by 75 feet by 45 feet . See the infographic “ Inside Noah ’ s Ark ” on p . 19 . 6:17 destroy all life This language could describe a