Genesis 6

Genesis 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Genesis. Genesis 5 ends with the genealogy from Adam to Noah and his three sons. This chapter begins the account of Noah's Flood, which continues in Genesis 7.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: The sons of God take the daughters of men as wives. God declares that man's days shall be 120 years. The Nephilim were on the earth at that time.
• Verses 5–8: Because human wickedness fills the world, God repents that He has made man and says He will destroy man from the face of the earth. Noah, however, finds grace.
• Verses 9–12: Noah is a righteous man who walks with God. He fathers three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The whole earth is corrupt and filled with violence.
• Verses 13–17: God commands Noah to build an ark. It is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high (about 135 meters long if a cubit is taken as roughly 45 centimeters), built in three stories and coated with pitch.
• Verses 18–22: God says He will establish His covenant with Noah and directs him to bring into the ark his family, a male and a female of every kind of living creature, and food. Noah does everything as he is commanded.

Key Verses

• Genesis 6:5: "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" — This verse gives the reason for the judgment of the Flood and is often cited in discussions of human sin.
• Genesis 6:8: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" — A turning point at which, in the midst of judgment, grace appears first.
• Genesis 6:22: "according to all that God commanded him, so did he" — This verse summarizes Noah's obedience.

Characters and Places

• Noah: The son of Lamech, a righteous man who walked with God.
• Shem, Ham, and Japheth: Noah's three sons.
• The sons of God and the daughters of men: Two groups mentioned in verses 1–4, whose identity is disputed among interpreters.
• The Nephilim: Beings who were on the earth at that time; they are also named in Numbers 13:33.

Points for Reflection

• The sons of God: Interpretations include fallen angels (held in some Jewish traditions and by some early Church Fathers), the godly descendants of Seth (the view widely accepted in Protestantism, following Augustine), and ancient kings or rulers. The text itself does not explain their identity.
• 120 years: Some understand this as a limit on the human lifespan; others see it as a period of reprieve remaining before the Flood.
• God's repenting: Some interpret this as a figure of speech describing God in terms of human emotion, while others hold that it reveals God's genuine grief.
• The ark's material: The Korean Revised Version renders it as "pine," while the New Korean Revised Version preserves the original Hebrew term with "gopher wood."
• The question of how to read the Flood as a historical event also bears on the creation and evolution debate.
• In the New Testament, Jesus compares the time of His return to "the days of Noah" (Matthew 24); Noah's faith is mentioned in Hebrews 11:7, and Noah is called "a preacher of righteousness" in 2 Peter 2:4–5.

In the Korean Church

The story of Noah's ark is a staple of Sunday school lessons and children's sermons. The phrase "walked with God" in verse 9 is frequently cited, together with the example of Enoch (Genesis 5:24), in sermons exhorting believers in the Christian life.