Genesis 7

Genesis 7 is the chapter of Genesis in which the flood itself begins, within the account of Noah's flood. It follows Genesis 6, where God sees the corruption of the earth and has Noah build the ark, and the account of the receding waters continues in Genesis 8.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 The LORD commands Noah and all his household to enter the ark. He instructs him to take clean animals and birds by sevens, male and female, and unclean animals by twos, male and female, and says that in seven days He will send rain for forty days and forty nights. Noah does all that he is commanded.
• Verses 6–10 When Noah is six hundred years old, he enters the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, and the animals also go in two by two, male and female. After seven days the flood covers the earth.
• Verses 11–16 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the fountains of the great deep are broken up and the windows of heaven are opened, and rain falls for forty days and forty nights. After every living creature has entered according to its kind, the LORD shuts the door of the ark.
• Verses 17–20 The waters increase and lift up the ark; all the high mountains are covered, and the waters rise fifteen cubits (about 7 meters) above them.
• Verses 21–24 Every breathing creature on the land, along with all humankind, dies, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remain. The waters prevail on the earth for one hundred fifty days.

Key Verses

• Genesis 7:1 "For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation" — The text itself states why Noah was delivered from the flood.
• Genesis 7:16 "And the LORD shut him in" — The text records that it was God, not Noah, who closed the door of the ark.
• Genesis 7:23 "And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark" — This is read as the first appearance of the remnant theme that runs throughout Scripture.

Characters and Places

• Noah — The man recognized as righteous, who entered the ark with his family.
• Shem, Ham, and Japheth — Noah's three sons, named in verse 13.
• Noah's wife and three daughters-in-law — Their names are not given in the text.
• The ark — The great vessel Noah built at God's command and the setting of this chapter.

Points to Consider

• Chapter 6 calls for bringing in animals "two of every sort," male and female, whereas 7:2–3 calls for clean animals and birds "by sevens." Traditional interpretation regards chapter 6 as the general principle and chapter 7 as a supplementary instruction to provide for the sacrifice offered after the flood (8:20). Some scholars explain the difference as evidence that distinct traditions were combined. Interpreters also differ over whether "by sevens" means seven animals or seven pairs.
• It is also frequently noted that the distinction between clean and unclean animals appears before the law given in Leviticus.
• The rain fell for forty days, whereas the waters covered the earth for one hundred fifty days; the two numbers refer to different periods.
• Regarding the extent of the flood, some read it as a global flood covering the entire earth, while others read it as a local flood confined to the region inhabited by people at the time. This debate is discussed in the article Creation and Evolution.
• Because "the great deep" and "the windows of heaven" recall the waters divided at creation in Genesis 1, some read the flood as a return to the chaos that preceded creation.
• Scenes in which people mock Noah or pound on the closed door do not appear in the text; they are later additions passed down in tradition.
• In the New Testament, Jesus compares the coming of the Son of Man to the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37–39), and 1 Peter 3:20–21 connects the eight persons saved by water in the ark with baptism. Hebrews 11:7 commends Noah's faith.

In the Korean Church

The story of Noah's ark is a frequent subject in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. Sermons often liken the ark to salvation or to the church, and the scene in which God shuts the door (verse 16) is commonly interpreted to mean that the time of grace has a fixed limit.