Genesis 6: Wickedness, Judgment & One Righteous Man
Genesis 5 ended with Noah, named for “comfort” from the curse. Genesis 6 reveals why that comfort was needed: humanity had become utterly corrupt, every inclination of their hearts only evil continually. Yet in the midst of global wickedness, one man “found favor”—Noah, who walked with God. This chapter sets up the flood narrative by establishing both the depth of human depravity and God’s provision of grace through a remnant.
Table of Contents
- The Three Movements
- Conceptual Flow
- The Judgment Architecture
- Section Analysis
- Unified Framework
- Diagnostic Summary
- Chapter in One Sentence
- Cross-References
- Application Questions
The Three Movements
| Section | Focus | Core Reality |
|---|---|---|
| The Corruption (vv. 1-7) | Humanity’s evil | Every inclination only evil → God regrets, resolves judgment |
| The Exception (vv. 8-10) | Noah’s righteousness | One man finds favor, walks with God |
| The Provision (vv. 11-22) | Ark instructions | God provides way of escape → Noah obeys exactly |
Conceptual Flow
GENESIS 6 STRUCTURE
│
├─ vv. 1-4 BOUNDARY VIOLATION → Sons of God + daughters of humans
│ ├─► Population increases
│ ├─► Forbidden union
│ ├─► Nephilim appear
│ └─► Spirit's striving limited: 120 years
│ │
│ → Corruption spreading
│
├─ vv. 5-7 GOD'S ASSESSMENT → Total depravity diagnosed
│ ├─► Wickedness GREAT
│ ├─► Every inclination ONLY evil ALL the time
│ ├─► LORD regrets making humans
│ └─► Resolves to wipe out creation
│ │
│ → Judgment deserved
│
├─ v. 8 NOAH FINDS FAVOR → Grace interrupts judgment
│ └─► BUT Noah found favor
│ Hinge verse
│ │
│ → Exception to universal corruption
│
├─ vv. 9-10 NOAH'S CHARACTER → Righteous, blameless, walked with God
│ ├─► Toledot: "account of Noah"
│ ├─► Three qualifications
│ └─► Three sons
│ │
│ → Why he found favor
│
├─ vv. 11-13 EARTH'S CORRUPTION → Violence fills the earth
│ ├─► Corrupt in God's sight
│ ├─► Full of violence (חָמָס - hamas)
│ └─► God announces end
│ │
│ → Diagnosis confirmed
│
├─ vv. 14-16 ARK SPECIFICATIONS → Precise dimensions given
│ ├─► Material: cypress wood
│ ├─► Size: 300 × 50 × 30 cubits
│ ├─► Structure: rooms, pitch, decks
│ └─► Door: one entrance
│ │
│ → Provision for salvation
│
├─ vv. 17-21 FLOOD ANNOUNCED → All flesh will perish
│ ├─► Floodwaters destroy all life
│ ├─► Covenant with Noah
│ ├─► Animals preserved (pairs)
│ └─► Food stored
│ │
│ → Judgment + grace
│
└─ v. 22 NOAH OBEYS → Did everything God commanded
└─► Perfect obedience
│
→ Response to graceThe Judgment Architecture
CHAPTER 5 ENDED:
│
└─► NOAH INTRODUCED (5:28-32)
│
└─► Lamech prophesies: "comfort from toil"
Noah born
Has three sons
│
CHAPTER 6 OPENS:
│
└─► EXPLAINING WHY COMFORT NEEDED
│
├─ Corruption spreads
├─ Violence fills earth
└─► God resolves judgment
│
BUT:
│
└─► Noah finds favor
Provides way of escape
THE ESCALATION PATTERN:
│
├─ Gen 3: One sin (eating fruit)
│ └─► Result: Expelled from garden
│
├─ Gen 4: One murder (Cain kills Abel)
│ └─► Result: Marked, exiled
│
├─ Gen 4: Violence amplified (Lamech's boast)
│ └─► Result: Civilization without God
│
└─► Gen 6: UNIVERSAL corruption
│
└─► "Every inclination... only evil ALL the time"
│
Result: GLOBAL judgment
│
→ Sin's progression:
Personal → familial → cultural → global
│
Judgment's progression:
Exile → marking → warning → flood
THE CONTRAST:
│
├─ HUMANITY (vv. 5-7, 11-13)
│ │
│ ├─ Wickedness GREAT
│ ├─ Every thought ONLY evil
│ ├─ Earth CORRUPT
│ └─► Full of VIOLENCE
│ │
│ → Total depravity
│ Irredeemable corruption
│
└─► NOAH (vv. 8-10)
│
├─ Found FAVOR
├─ RIGHTEOUS man
├─ BLAMELESS among his generation
└─► WALKED with God
│
→ Singular exception
Grace's recipientTHE THEOLOGICAL TENSION:
│
├─ GOD'S REGRET (vv. 6-7)
│ │
│ └─► "LORD regretted... his heart was troubled"
│ │
│ ├─ Does God change His mind?
│ │ └─► 1 Sam 15:29: "Glory of Israel does not lie
│ │ or change his mind"
│ │ Num 23:19: "God is not human... that he should
│ │ change his mind"
│ │ │
│ │ → God's character unchangeable
│ │ God's purposes immutable
│ │
│ └─► Then what does "regret" mean?
│ │
│ └─► נָחַם (nacham) — "regret, relent, be sorry"
│ │
│ ├─ Not: Change of plan
│ │ └─► God knew sin would come
│ │ Planned redemption before foundation
│ │ │
│ │ 1 Pet 1:20: "Chosen before creation"
│ │
│ └─► IS: Genuine grief over sin's result
│ │
│ → Anthropopathism: human emotion attributed to God
│ To express His real sorrow over sin
│ │
│ "Heart was troubled" (עָצַב - atsav)
│ = "grieved, pained"
│ │
│ → God's holy grief
│ Over creation's corruption
│
└─► GOD'S GRACE (v. 8)
│
└─► "BUT Noah found favor"
│
├─ וְנֹחַ מָצָא חֵן (veNoach matsa chen)
│ "But Noah found grace"
│ │
│ └─► חֵן (chen) = "grace, favor"
│ Unmerited kindness
│ │
│ Not: Noah earned it
│ IS: God granted it
│
└─► Tension resolved:
│
├─ God's justice: Must judge sin
└─► God's mercy: Preserves remnant
│
→ Both fully expressed
Justice in flood
Mercy in arkSection Analysis
1. The Sons of God and Daughters of Humans (vv. 1-4)
Key Hebrew:
- בְּנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים (benei-ha’elohim) — “sons of God”
- בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם (benot ha’adam) — “daughters of humans/Adam”
- נְפִלִים (Nephilim) — “fallen ones” or “giants”
- גִּבֹּרִים (gibborim) — “mighty men, warriors”
THE SETTING (vv. 1-2)
│
└─► "When human beings began to increase in number on the earth
and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful,
and they married any of them they chose"
│
└─► Three elements:
│
├─ POPULATION INCREASE
│ │
│ └─► Fulfilling Gen 1:28: "Be fruitful, multiply"
│ Humanity spreading
│ │
│ → Opportunity for both obedience and corruption
│
├─ "SONS OF GOD" (בְּנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים)
│ │
│ └─► Debated interpretation:
│ │
│ ├─ VIEW 1: Angelic beings
│ │ │
│ │ └─► Support:
│ │ │
│ │ ├─ Job 1:6; 2:1: "sons of God" = angels
│ │ ├─ Job 38:7: "sons of God" shouted at creation
│ │ ├─ Jude 6: Angels "did not keep their positions"
│ │ ├─ 2 Pet 2:4: "God did not spare angels when sinned"
│ │ └─► 1 Pet 3:19-20: Spirits in prison, disobedient in Noah's day
│ │ │
│ │ → Boundary violation: angelic/human union
│ │ Unnatural mixing
│ │ │
│ │ Problem: Matt 22:30: "Angels do not marry"
│ │ → But could mean: in resurrection
│ │ Not prohibition of past rebellion
│ │
│ ├─ VIEW 2: Line of Seth (godly)
│ │ │
│ │ └─► Support:
│ │ │
│ │ ├─ Context: ch 5 just traced Seth's line
│ │ ├─ "Sons of God" = godly line
│ │ ├─ "Daughters of men" = Cain's line
│ │ └─► Intermarriage between godly/ungodly
│ │ │
│ │ → Spiritual compromise
│ │ │
│ │ Problem: Why produce Nephilim?
│ │ Why limit Spirit's striving?
│ │ Seems too mild for context
│ │
│ └─ VIEW 3: Rulers/despots
│ │
│ └─► "Sons of God" = powerful men taking multiple wives
│ Tyranny, polygamy
│ │
│ Problem: Unusual use of phrase
│ Doesn't explain Nephilim
│
└─► "DAUGHTERS OF HUMANS" (בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם)
│
└─► "They were beautiful" (טֹבֹת - tovot)
"Married any they chose"
│
→ Lust-driven selection
No regard for God's design
│
Taking "any" (כֹּל - kol) = indiscriminate
│
→ Boundary violation
Corruption of creation order
THE LORD'S RESPONSE (v. 3)
│
└─► "Then the LORD said,
'My Spirit will not contend with humans forever,
for they are mortal;
their days will be a hundred and twenty years'"
│
└─► Three statements:
│
├─ "My Spirit will not CONTEND"
│ │
│ └─► יָדוֹן (yadon) — "strive, contend, judge"
│ │
│ → God's Spirit striving with humanity
│ But limit to patience
│ │
│ Gen 2:7: Spirit gave life
│ Now: Spirit withdraws striving
│
├─ "They are MORTAL"
│ │
│ └─► בְּשַׁגַּם הוּא בָשָׂר (beshagam hu vasar)
│ "In that he is flesh"
│ │
│ → בָּשָׂר (basar) = "flesh"
│ │
│ Weak, fallen, corruptible
│ Not worthy of eternal striving
│
└─► "120 years"
│
└─► Two possible meanings:
│
├─ OPTION 1: Countdown to flood
│ └─► 120 years until judgment
│ Time to repent
│ │
│ → 1 Pet 3:20: "God waited patiently
│ in days of Noah
│ while ark being built"
│ │
│ 120 years of grace
│
└─► OPTION 2: New lifespan limit
│
└─► After flood, lifespans decline
By Moses: 120 years (Deut 34:7)
│
→ Limit on human life
Judgment on corruption
THE NEPHILIM (v. 4)
│
└─► "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—
and also afterward—
when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans
and had children by them.
They were the heroes of old, men of renown"
│
└─► נְפִלִים (Nephilim)
│
├─ Etymology: From נָפַל (naphal) = "to fall"
│ │
│ └─► "Fallen ones"
│ Or: "those who cause to fall"
│
├─ Identity: Giants, mighty warriors
│ │
│ └─► Num 13:33: "We saw Nephilim there...
│ We seemed like grasshoppers"
│ │
│ → Physically imposing
│ Fearsome reputation
│
├─ Offspring of forbidden union
│ │
│ └─► Result of "sons of God" + "daughters of humans"
│ Hybrid beings
│ │
│ → Corruption of humanity
│ Unnatural generation
│
└─► "Also afterward"
│
└─► Survived flood somehow?
Or: New occurrence post-flood?
│
Deut 2:10-11: Emim "like Anakim"
Deut 2:20-21: Rephaim "strong and numerous"
│
→ Giants in Canaan
Goliath descended from them?
│
→ Persistent corruption
Even post-flood
"HEROES OF OLD, MEN OF RENOWN"
│
└─► גִּבֹּרִים (gibborim) — "mighty men, warriors"
אַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם (anshei hashem) — "men of the name"
│
→ Famous, legendary
│
BUT: Not heroes in moral sense
Heroes in power/fame
│
Like Nimrod (10:8-9): "mighty warrior"
│
→ Human glory apart from God
Violence and reputation
│
Gen 11:4: Tower of Babel "make name for ourselves"
│
→ Same pattern: human fame vs. God's glory2. The LORD’s Assessment and Resolve (vv. 5-7)
Key Hebrew:
- רָעָה (ra’ah) — “evil, wickedness”
- יֵצֶר (yetser) — “inclination, imagination, thought”
- נָחַם (nacham) — “regret, relent, be sorry”
- מָחָה (machah) — “wipe out, blot out”
THE DIAGNOSIS (v. 5)
│
└─► "The LORD saw how GREAT the wickedness of the human race
had become on the earth,
and that EVERY inclination of the thoughts of the human heart
was ONLY evil ALL the time"
│
└─► Five-fold intensification:
│
├─ "GREAT" (רַבָּה - rabbah)
│ └─► Wickedness multiplied, abundant
│
├─ "EVERY" (כָּל - kol)
│ └─► No exception, universal
│
├─ "INCLINATION" (יֵצֶר - yetser)
│ │
│ └─► "Formation, imagination, intent"
│ │
│ → Not just actions
│ The THOUGHTS themselves
│ The BENT of the heart
│ │
│ Jer 17:9: "Heart deceitful above all things"
│ Matt 15:19: "Out of heart come evil thoughts"
│
├─ "ONLY" (רַק - raq)
│ └─► Exclusively evil
│ No good mixed in
│
└─► "ALL THE TIME" (כָּל־הַיּוֹם - kol-hayom)
│
└─► "All the day" = continually
Without interruption
│
→ TOTAL DEPRAVITY:
│
├─ Scope: EVERY person
├─ Depth: ONLY evil
├─ Duration: ALL the time
└─► Source: HEART (thoughts, inclinations)
│
→ Not: Humans have some good
IS: Corrupted through and through
│
Rom 3:10-12: "None righteous, not even one...
no one who seeks God...
all have turned away"
│
Rom 3:23: "All have sinned, fall short"
│
→ Universal corruption
Except Noah (v. 8)
THE LORD'S GRIEF (v. 6)
│
└─► "The LORD REGRETTED that he had made human beings on the earth,
and his heart was DEEPLY TROUBLED"
│
└─► Two emotions:
│
├─ "REGRETTED" (וַיִּנָּחֶם - vayinachem)
│ │
│ └─► From נָחַם (nacham)
│ │
│ Same root: Noah's name (5:29 - "comfort")
│ │
│ → Lamech: Noah will "comfort us"
│ God: "regrets" making mankind
│ │
│ Irony: comfort needed because of grief
│
└─► "DEEPLY TROUBLED" (וַיִּתְעַצֵּב - vayit'atsev)
│
└─► From עָצַב (atsav) — "grieve, hurt, pain"
│
Same root: Gen 3:16-17 "painful toil"
│
→ God's pain over sin
Deep grief
│
NOT: Regret as in "mistake"
IS: Sorrow over rebellion's result
│
Eph 4:30: "Do not grieve Holy Spirit"
Isa 63:10: "They rebelled, grieved his Holy Spirit"
THE RESOLVE (v. 7)
│
└─► "So the LORD said,
'I will WIPE FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH
the human race I have created—
and with them the animals, the birds
and the creatures that move along the ground—
for I REGRET that I have made them'"
│
└─► The judgment:
│
├─ "WIPE OUT" (אֶמְחֶה - emcheh)
│ │
│ └─► From מָחָה (machah) — "blot out, wipe away"
│ │
│ → Erase, obliterate
│ Complete removal
│ │
│ Ex 32:32-33: Moses: "Blot me out of your book"
│ God: "Whoever sinned... blot out"
│
├─ SCOPE: Universal
│ │
│ └─► "Human race I have created"
│ "Animals... birds... creatures"
│ │
│ → All land-dwelling life
│ │
│ Why animals too?
│ │
│ └─► Created FOR humanity (Gen 1:26-28)
│ Under humanity's dominion
│ │
│ Humanity corrupted → creation suffers
│ │
│ Rom 8:20-22: "Creation subjected to frustration...
│ bondage to decay...
│ groaning as in pains of childbirth"
│
└─► "For I REGRET"
│
└─► Repetition of v. 6
Emphasizes God's grief
│
→ Judgment not arbitrary
Judgment from holy sorrow
Over corrupted creation3. Noah Finds Favor (v. 8)
Key Hebrew:
- חֵן (chen) — “grace, favor”
- מָצָא (matsa) — “found”
THE HINGE (v. 8)
│
└─► "BUT Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD"
│
└─► וְנֹחַ מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה
(veNoach matsa chen be'einei YHWH)
│
→ Most important "but" in Scripture
│
├─ vv. 5-7: Universal judgment
└─► v. 8: One exception
│
→ Grace interrupts justice
"FOUND FAVOR"
│
└─► מָצָא חֵן (matsa chen)
│
├─ "Found" (מָצָא - matsa)
│ │
│ └─► Not: "earned" or "deserved"
│ IS: "found, discovered, came upon"
│ │
│ → Grace cannot be earned
│ Only received
│
└─► "Favor" (חֵן - chen)
│
└─► "Grace, kindness, favor"
Unmerited favor
│
→ Eph 2:8-9: "By grace you have been saved,
through faith—
not of works,
so that no one can boast"
│
→ Noah didn't earn it
God granted it
"IN THE EYES OF THE LORD"
│
└─► בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה (be'einei YHWH)
│
→ "In the eyes of" = from perspective of
│
Humans saw: evil all around
God saw: ONE righteous man
│
→ Divine perspective
Sees what others miss
│
1 Sam 16:7: "LORD looks at heart"
WHY NOAH?
│
└─► Next verses explain (vv. 9-10)
│
But note:
│
└─► Favor PRECEDES righteousness in text
│
v. 8: Found favor
v. 9: Was righteous
│
→ Which came first?
│
├─ Did God choose Noah because righteous?
│ └─► Merit-based selection
│
└─► Or was Noah righteous because chosen?
│
└─► Grace-enabled righteousness
│
Both/and:
│
├─ God's grace: unmerited
└─► Noah's response: obedience
│
→ Grace doesn't negate responsibility
Responsibility doesn't negate grace4. Noah’s Character (vv. 9-10)
Key Hebrew:
- תּוֹלְדֹת (toledot) — “generations, account”
- צַדִּיק (tsaddiq) — “righteous”
- תָּמִים (tamim) — “blameless, complete”
- הִתְהַלֶּךְ (hithalekh) — “walked”
THE TOLEDOT FORMULA (v. 9a)
│
└─► "This is the account of Noah and his family"
│
└─► אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ (eleh toledot Noach)
"These are the generations of Noah"
│
→ 10th occurrence of toledot in Genesis
Structural marker
│
New section begins
THREE QUALIFICATIONS (v. 9b)
│
└─► "Noah was a RIGHTEOUS man,
BLAMELESS among the people of his time,
and he WALKED FAITHFULLY WITH GOD"
│
└─► Three-fold description:
│
├─ "RIGHTEOUS" (צַדִּיק - tsaddiq)
│ │
│ └─► "Just, righteous, in right standing"
│ │
│ → Before God: justified
│ │
│ Not sinless (no one is)
│ But: right relationship with God
│ │
│ Hab 2:4: "Righteous will live by faith"
│ Rom 1:17: Quoted in NT
│ │
│ → Faith-based righteousness
│ Not works-based
│ │
│ Heb 11:7: "By FAITH Noah...
│ became heir of righteousness
│ that is in keeping with faith"
│
├─ "BLAMELESS" (תָּמִים - tamim)
│ │
│ └─► "Complete, without defect, integrity"
│ │
│ → Among his generation: stood out
│ │
│ "Among people of his time" (בְּדֹרֹתָיו - bedorotav)
│ │
│ ├─ Relative to peers: blameless
│ │ While all were corrupt
│ │ Noah maintained integrity
│ │
│ └─► OR: Despite his generation
│ In midst of corruption
│ Remained unblemished
│ │
│ → Countercultural righteousness
│ Swimming upstream
│ │
│ Not perfect (see Gen 9:20-21)
│ But whole-hearted in devotion
│
└─► "WALKED FAITHFULLY WITH GOD"
│
└─► הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹחַ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים
(hithalekh-Noach et-ha'elohim)
│
Same phrase: Enoch (Gen 5:22, 24)
│
→ Second person with this commendation
│
├─ Enoch: walked 300 years, taken
└─► Noah: walked, saved through flood
│
→ Walking with God:
│
├─ Intimate fellowship
├─ Consistent obedience
└─► Life in step with God
│
Mic 6:8: "Walk humbly with your God"
│
→ Not religious performance
Relationship with person
THE COMBINATION:
│
└─► Righteous + Blameless + Walking with God
│
→ Complete character sketch
│
├─ Righteous: Standing before God
├─ Blameless: Conduct before people
└─► Walking: Relationship with God
│
→ Internal + external + relational
All three required
THE FAMILY (v. 10)
│
└─► "Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth"
│
→ Same as 5:32
Repeated for emphasis
│
These three: repopulate earth
│
Gen 10: Table of nations
All from these three5. The Earth’s Corruption (vv. 11-13)
Key Hebrew:
- שָׁחַת (shachat) — “corrupt, destroy, ruin”
- חָמָס (chamas) — “violence, wrong”
THE ASSESSMENT (vv. 11-12)
│
└─► "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"
│
└─► Key word: CORRUPT (repeated 3x)
│
├─ v. 11: "Earth was corrupt"
├─ v. 12: "How corrupt earth had become"
└─► v. 12: "All people corrupted their ways"
│
→ שָׁחַת (shachat) — "to ruin, destroy, corrupt"
│
Same word used for judgment (v. 13, 17)
│
→ Corruption leads to destruction
They corrupted → God will destroy
│
Wordplay: measure for measure
"IN GOD'S SIGHT"
│
└─► לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים (lifnei ha'elohim)
│
→ "Before God, in presence of God"
│
Not just human corruption
Corruption BEFORE HOLY GOD
│
→ Offense to His holiness
"FULL OF VIOLENCE"
│
└─► חָמָס (chamas)
│
├─ "Violence, wrong, injustice"
│ │
│ └─► Not just individual sin
│ Societal violence
│ │
│ ├─ Gen 4:23: Lamech's violence
│ ├─ Gen 49:5: Simeon/Levi: "weapons of violence"
│ └─► Hab 2:17: "Violence you have done"
│ │
│ → Violence endemic
│ Fills the earth
│
└─► Result of corruption:
│
Evil hearts → violent actions
│
→ Matt 15:19: "Out of heart come...
murder, adultery..."
"ALL THE PEOPLE"
│
└─► כָּל־בָּשָׂר (kol-basar) — "all flesh"
│
→ Universal corruption
No pockets of righteousness
│
EXCEPT: Noah (v. 8)
THE ANNOUNCEMENT (v. 13)
│
└─► "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'"
│
└─► Direct address to Noah
│
├─ "End of all people" (קֵץ כָּל־בָּשָׂר - qets kol-basar)
│ │
│ └─► "End of all flesh"
│ Termination point
│ │
│ → No more patience
│ Judgment imminent
│
├─ "Earth filled with violence"
│ │
│ └─► מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס (mal'ah ha'arets chamas)
│ │
│ → Violence reached critical mass
│ Cup of wrath full
│
└─► "I am surely going to destroy"
│
└─► הִנְנִי מַשְׁחִיתָם (hineni mashchitam)
"Behold I am destroying them"
│
→ Emphatic: "Behold!"
Certain judgment
│
Same root: שָׁחַת (shachat)
They corrupted (שָׁחַת)
God will destroy (שָׁחַת)
│
→ Poetic justice6. Ark Instructions (vv. 14-21)
Key Hebrew:
- תֵּבָה (tevah) — “ark, chest, box”
- גֹפֶר (gopher) — “cypress” (uncertain)
- כֹּפֶר (kopher) — “pitch, covering”
- אַמָּה (ammah) — “cubit” (~18 inches)
THE COMMAND (v. 14)
│
└─► "So make yourself an ARK of CYPRESS wood;
make ROOMS in it
and coat it with PITCH inside and out"
│
└─► Three elements:
│
├─ "ARK" (תֵּבָה - tevah)
│ │
│ └─► Not typical "ark" (אֲרוֹן - aron)
│ Special word
│ │
│ Only used 2x in Bible:
│ │
│ ├─ Noah's ark (Gen 6-9)
│ └─► Moses' basket (Ex 2:3, 5)
│ │
│ → Both: vessels of salvation
│ Preservation through water
│ │
│ → Typology: salvation through judgment
│
├─ "CYPRESS wood" (עֲצֵי־גֹפֶר - atsei-gopher)
│ │
│ └─► גֹפֶר (gopher) — uncertain translation
│ │
│ Possibilities:
│ ├─ Cypress
│ ├─ Acacia
│ └─► Some resinous wood
│ │
│ → Durable, water-resistant
│
├─ "ROOMS" (קִנִּים - qinnim)
│ │
│ └─► "Nests, compartments"
│ Divided spaces
│ │
│ → For different animal kinds
│
└─► "PITCH" (כֹּפֶר - kopher)
│
└─► "Covering, atonement"
│
Same root: כָּפַר (kaphar) = "to atone, cover"
│
→ Wordplay:
Pitch COVERS ark (waterproofs)
Atonement COVERS sin
│
→ Ark = type of salvation
Covered by atonement
│
1 Pet 3:20-21: "Saved through water...
baptism now saves you"
THE DIMENSIONS (vv. 15-16)
│
└─► "This is how you are to build it:
The ark is to be 300 cubits long,
50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high.
Make a roof for it,
leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around.
Put a door in the side of the ark
and make lower, middle and upper decks"
│
└─► Specifications:
│
├─ LENGTH: 300 cubits = ~450 feet (137m)
├─ WIDTH: 50 cubits = ~75 feet (23m)
├─ HEIGHT: 30 cubits = ~45 feet (14m)
│ │
│ └─► Massive vessel
│ │
│ ├─ Volume: ~1.5 million cubic feet
│ ├─ Capacity: ~522 modern railroad cars
│ └─► Ratio 30:5:3 (optimal for stability)
│ │
│ → Not a boat (no rudder, sails)
│ A floating box
│ Designed to survive, not navigate
│
├─ ROOF with opening (צֹהַר - tsohar)
│ │
│ └─► Light/ventilation
│ One cubit below roof
│ │
│ → Breathing space
│
├─ ONE DOOR (פֶּתַח - petach)
│ │
│ └─► Single entrance
│ │
│ → John 10:9: Jesus: "I am the door"
│ One way of salvation
│
└─► THREE DECKS
│
└─► Lower, middle, upper
Organization for animals/supplies
THE PURPOSE (vv. 17-21)
│
├─ JUDGMENT ANNOUNCED (v. 17)
│ │
│ └─► "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"
│ │
│ └─► מַבּוּל (mabbul) — "flood, deluge"
│ │
│ Special word for Noah's flood
│ Not used for other floods
│ │
│ → Unique, global catastrophe
│ │
│ "All life... every creature... everything"
│ Universal destruction
│
├─ COVENANT PROMISED (v. 18)
│ │
│ └─► "But I will establish my COVENANT with you"
│ │
│ └─► בְּרִית (berit) — "covenant"
│ │
│ First use of word in Bible
│ │
│ → God initiates covenant
│ Before flood, promises preservation
│ │
│ Grace precedes judgment
│
├─ FAMILY SAVED (v. 18b)
│ │
│ └─► "You will enter the ark—
│ you and your sons
│ and your wife
│ and your sons' wives with you"
│ │
│ → Eight people total
│ │
│ 1 Pet 3:20: "Only a few people, eight in all,
│ were saved through water"
│ 2 Pet 2:5: "Noah, a preacher of righteousness,
│ with seven others"
│
├─ ANIMALS PRESERVED (vv. 19-20)
│ │
│ └─► "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"
│ │
│ └─► Two of each kind
│ │
│ → Later: clean animals = seven pairs (7:2)
│ Unclean = one pair
│ │
│ "Will come to you"
│ │
│ → God brings them
│ Noah doesn't hunt/gather
│ Supernatural provision
│
└─► FOOD STORED (v. 21)
│
└─► "You are to take every kind of food
that is to be eaten
and store it away as food for you and for them"
│
→ Provision for voyage
Both humans and animals
│
→ God commands
Noah provides
God preserves7. Noah’s Obedience (v. 22)
Key Hebrew:
- עָשָׂה (asah) — “did, made”
- צִוָּה (tsivvah) — “commanded”
THE RESPONSE (v. 22)
│
└─► "Noah did EVERYTHING just as God commanded him"
│
└─► וַיַּעַשׂ נֹחַ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים כֵּן עָשָׂה
(vaya'as Noach kekhol asher tsivvah oto elohim ken asah)
│
"And Noah did according to ALL that God commanded him,
thus he did"
│
→ Emphatic repetition:
│
├─ "Did" (עָשָׂה - asah) used TWICE
│ → Beginning and end
│ Bookends his obedience
│
├─ "EVERYTHING" (כְּכֹל - kekhol)
│ → "According to all"
│ Total obedience
│ │
│ Nothing omitted
│ Nothing added
│
└─► "Just as God commanded"
│
→ Exact obedience
No modifications
No improvements
│
→ Pattern for faith:
│
Heb 11:7: "By FAITH Noah... built an ark"
│
├─ Faith hears God's word
├─ Faith obeys completely
└─► Faith acts despite circumstances
│
→ No rain yet (never rained before?)
Mocked by contemporaries?
120 years of labor
│
Yet: "Noah did everything"
│
→ Faith = obedience
James 2:22: "Faith made complete by works"
THE SIGNIFICANCE:
│
└─► Contrast with:
│
├─ Gen 3: Adam/Eve didn't obey one command
│ → Judgment on humanity
│
└─► Gen 6: Noah obeyed all commands
→ Salvation for humanity
│
→ One man's disobedience → death
One man's obedience → life
│
Rom 5:19: "Through disobedience of one man
many made sinners;
through obedience of the one man
many will be made righteous"
│
→ Noah = type of Christ
Obedient one who savesUnified Framework
GENESIS 6 ARCHITECTURE:
│
├─ CORRUPTION DIAGNOSED (vv. 1-7, 11-13)
│ │
│ └─► Every inclination only evil all the time
│ Earth filled with violence
│ │
│ → Total depravity
│ Universal judgment necessary
│
├─ GRACE INTERVENES (v. 8)
│ │
│ └─► "BUT Noah found favor"
│ │
│ → One righteous man
│ Exception to corruption
│
├─ CHARACTER EXPLAINED (vv. 9-10)
│ │
│ └─► Righteous, blameless, walked with God
│ │
│ → Why he found favor
│ (Though favor comes first)
│
└─► PROVISION GIVEN (vv. 14-22)
│
└─► Ark specifications
Covenant promised
Noah obeys completely
│
→ Salvation through judgment
Grace provides wayTHE THREAD THROUGH GENESIS 6:
│
├─ SIN'S EXTENT (vv. 5, 11-12)
│ └─► Every inclination only evil
│ All people corrupted
│ Violence fills earth
│ │
│ → Worst depiction of humanity in Scripture
│
├─ GOD'S RESPONSE (vv. 6-7, 13, 17)
│ └─► Grief over corruption
│ Resolution to judge
│ Announcement of flood
│ │
│ → Holy God cannot tolerate sin
│
├─ GRACE'S INTERVENTION (v. 8)
│ └─► Noah finds favor
│ One man saved
│ │
│ → Mercy triumphs over judgment
│
└─► FAITH'S EXPRESSION (v. 22)
└─► Noah obeys everything
Builds ark
│
→ Faith demonstrated by worksDiagnostic Summary
DEPRAVITY QUESTION:
│
└─► How bad is human sin?
│
└─► "Every inclination... only evil all the time"
│
├─ Scope: Every person (except Noah)
├─ Depth: Only evil (no good mixed in)
├─ Duration: All the time (continual)
└─► Source: Heart (thoughts, inclinations)
│
→ Total depravity
Not: "as bad as could be"
IS: "Corrupted in every part"
│
Rom 3:10-12, 23
Jer 17:9
JUDGMENT QUESTION:
│
└─► Why does God judge?
│
├─ His holiness: Cannot tolerate sin
├─ His justice: Must punish evil
└─► His grief: Sorrows over corruption
│
→ Judgment flows from character
Not arbitrary or vindictive
│
"Heart was deeply troubled" (v. 6)
GRACE QUESTION:
│
└─► Why does God save anyone?
│
└─► "Noah found FAVOR"
│
├─ Not because deserved
│ → Grace = unmerited
│
└─► Because God chose to show mercy
│
→ Eph 2:8-9: "By grace... not of works"
│
Even Noah's righteousness
= Response to grace
Not grounds for it
ARK QUESTION:
│
└─► What does ark represent?
│
├─ Salvation through judgment
│ → Water destroys/preserves
│
├─ One way of escape
│ → One door
│
├─ Covered by pitch (atonement)
│ → Sin covered
│
└─► Faith's obedience required
│
→ Type of Christ:
│
├─ 1 Pet 3:20-21: Saved through water
└─► John 10:9: Jesus = doorChapter in One Sentence
Genesis 6 reveals humanity’s total corruption (every inclination only evil all the time) and God’s grieving resolve to judge through a flood, yet in the midst of universal wickedness one man found favor—Noah, who was righteous, blameless, and walked with God—and through his complete obedience in building the ark, God provided a way of salvation through judgment.
Cross-References
| Verse | Reference | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| 6:2 | Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 | ”Sons of God” = angels |
| 6:2 | Jude 6; 2 Pet 2:4 | Angels who sinned, bound |
| 6:3 | Gen 2:7 | Spirit gives life |
| 6:3 | 1 Pet 3:20 | God’s patience while ark built |
| 6:4 | Num 13:33 | Nephilim/giants in land |
| 6:5 | Jer 17:9 | Heart deceitful above all |
| 6:5 | Matt 15:19 | Out of heart come evil thoughts |
| 6:5 | Rom 3:10-12, 23 | None righteous, all sinned |
| 6:6 | 1 Sam 15:29; Num 23:19 | God does not change mind |
| 6:6 | Eph 4:30 | Do not grieve Holy Spirit |
| 6:8 | Eph 2:8-9 | By grace, not works |
| 6:9 | Gen 5:22, 24 | Enoch also walked with God |
| 6:9 | Mic 6:8 | Walk humbly with your God |
| 6:9 | Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17 | Righteous live by faith |
| 6:9 | Heb 11:7 | By faith Noah… heir of righteousness |
| 6:11-12 | Rom 8:20-22 | Creation subjected to frustration |
| 6:14 | Ex 2:3, 5 | Moses’ basket (same word: ark) |
| 6:18 | Gen 9:9-17 | Covenant with Noah established |
| 6:19-20 | Gen 7:2 | Clean animals: 7 pairs; unclean: 1 pair |
| 6:20 | 1 Pet 3:20 | Eight people saved through water |
| 6:20 | 2 Pet 2:5 | Noah, preacher of righteousness |
| 6:22 | James 2:22 | Faith made complete by works |
| 6:22 | Heb 11:7 | By faith Noah built ark |
| 6 (whole) | 1 Pet 3:20-21 | Baptism now saves (antitype) |
| 6 (whole) | 2 Pet 3:5-6 | World deluged with water, perished |
Application Questions
Total Depravity
The Diagnosis (v. 5): “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
Questions to consider:
- What does “every inclination” reveal about the extent of sin’s reach?
- How does this assessment challenge views of human goodness or moral neutrality?
- What’s the relationship between thoughts/inclinations and actions?
- How does Romans 3:10-23 parallel this diagnosis?
Divine Grief
The Regret (vv. 6-7): God “regretted” making humanity and His “heart was deeply troubled.”
Questions to consider:
- How can God “regret” if He’s unchanging and sovereign?
- What does God’s grief reveal about His character?
- How does sin affect God emotionally (Eph 4:30, Isa 63:10)?
- What’s the relationship between God’s sorrow and His judgment?
Finding Favor
The Exception (v. 8): “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
Questions to consider:
- What’s the difference between “finding favor” and “earning salvation”?
- How does grace precede righteousness in the text (v. 8 before v. 9)?
- What’s the relationship between God’s favor and Noah’s character?
- How does Ephesians 2:8-9 illuminate this passage?
Walking with God
The Character (v. 9): Noah was “righteous,” “blameless among the people of his time,” and “walked faithfully with God.”
Questions to consider:
- What does it mean to “walk with God” in a corrupt generation?
- How can someone be “blameless” without being sinless?
- What’s the relationship between being righteous before God and blameless before people?
- How does Enoch’s similar description (Gen 5:22, 24) inform this?
Complete Obedience
The Response (v. 22): “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”
Questions to consider:
- What does “everything” reveal about the nature of faith?
- How does Noah’s obedience prefigure Christ (Rom 5:19)?
- What might 120 years of ark-building require in terms of faith and endurance?
- How does James 2:22 (“faith made complete by works”) relate to this?
Chapter Synthesis
Central Tension: Universal corruption vs. singular grace
The Pattern:
- Humanity corrupts utterly (vv. 1-7, 11-13)
- God grieves and resolves judgment (vv. 6-7, 13, 17)
- Grace intervenes through one man (v. 8)
- Faith obeys completely (v. 22)
Diagnostic Questions:
- How does Genesis 6:5 define “total depravity”?
- What’s the relationship between God’s grief (v. 6) and God’s judgment (v. 7)?
- Why is Noah’s favor mentioned before his righteousness in the text?
- How does the ark function as both judgment (water destroys) and grace (ark saves)?
- What does Noah’s complete obedience (v. 22) teach about faith’s expression?