Genesis 6:9-22

Cross-references For Better Understanding a Related Topics b Additional Materials c

Summary

• Noah is instructed to build the ark, to protect his family and the air-breathing species of animals.

Details

• Noah's spiritual condition, the world's spiritual condition; the need to destroy the inhabitants of the world.

• Instructions for building the ark and what to put in it.

• Noah's obedience.

Scripture

Genesis 6:8-22 - Noah's Task; Noah's Obedience

• This passage begins the third historical "eyewitness" account in Genesis.

Scripture Passage	Comments and Links
Gen 6:9 This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. Gen 6:10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.	Enoch also walked with God; we will walk with Jesus, physically, in the future. (We can't do so right now, since he is in a different location for a while.) Use of the Word "Righteous" Walking with God
Gen 6:11 The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. Gen 6:12 God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Gen 6:13 God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.	This is why the Flood was necessary. A repeat of the the concepts mentioned at the end of the previous account (beginning of chapter 6). Second World - Reasons for Judgment The Days of Noah Ecological disaster (judgment) must come because of the moral disaster that has occurred. The Moral Basis for Ecological Disaster
Gen 6:14 Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch. Gen 6:15 This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship will be three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Gen 6:16 You 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.	The ark was probably like a huge wooden chest, a box. There was no need for it to be shaped like a modern boat, because it wasn't going anywhere! (All it had to do was float and wait until the floodwaters subsided.) Note that the "pitch" is not a fossil fuel, mentioned in some passages after the Flood. Fossil Fuels and Related Compounds With the given information, one can calculate its size. Many have done so and have determined that it was large enough to hold everything that might be needed - based on the numbers of species that would be present, their average sizes, etc. - and they didn't have to be full-grown animals! The design was made for optimum stability, ventilation was provided for, etc. Noah's Ark - Description and Contents
Gen 6:17 I, 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. Gen 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you. ...	A description (again) of what is going to happen. Breath of Life But because Noah is righteous, God is going to make a covenant (promise or agreement) with him. It would apply also to his family. Noah has nothing to fear. (The next reference to this covenant is in chapters 8 and 9.) God's Covenant with Noah Covenants
... You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. Gen 6:19 Of 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. Gen 6:20 Of 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 shall come to you, to keep them alive. Gen 6:21 Take with you of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them."	Because of Noah's righteousness, the whole family was saved from the flood. TO BE TAKEN: Noah/family. Two each of each "kind" of animal. (According to a later passage, there will be seven, if they are "clean" animals.) All the necessary food. Concepts of "Clean" and "Unclean" The word "kind" is the Hebrew word "min" - which refers to something between "family" and "species." The Concept of "Kind" (Hebrew Word "min") How Did Species Become Extinct?
Gen 6:22 Thus Noah did. According to all that God commanded him, so he did.	Obedience - an act of faith. Faith and Obedience

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—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——

The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.

Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.