Bible Study Genesis 6
‹ Genesis

Genesis 6 · WEB

Human Wickedness and Noah's Commission

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,
2God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.
3Yahweh said, "My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years."
4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.
7Yahweh said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground — man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky — for I am sorry that I have made them."
8But Noah found favor in Yahweh's eyes.
9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
10Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
13God said to Noah, "I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth.
14Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.
15This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship will be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16You 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.
17"I, even I, will 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.
18But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
19Of 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.
20Of 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 will come to you, to keep them alive.
21Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them."
22Noah did everything that God commanded him to do.
✶

Summary

As human population grows, so does wickedness — to the point that every thought of every human heart is only evil continually. God grieves and determines to judge the earth with a flood. Yet Noah stands out as righteous and blameless, walking with God, so God extends grace to him by warning him and giving detailed instructions for building an ark to save his family and representatives of all animal life. Noah obeys completely.

Themes

  • The devastating spread of sin and violence throughout humanity
  • God's genuine grief and sorrow over human corruption
  • Grace as undeserved favor — Noah "found" favor, he did not earn it
  • Obedience as the proper response to God's revelation
  • The first explicit mention of a divine covenant

Key verses

  • Gen 6:22 — “Noah did everything that God commanded him to do.”
  • Gen 6:5 — “Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
  • Gen 6:8 — “But Noah found favor in Yahweh's eyes.”

Context & background

The identity of the "sons of God" in verse 2 is one of the most debated passages in Genesis. Three main views exist: (1) fallen angels who took human wives (the view of most early Jewish interpreters and referenced in Jude 6-7); (2) godly descendants of Seth intermarrying with ungodly descendants of Cain; (3) powerful kings or rulers. The Nephilim (literally "fallen ones" or "giants") appear again in Numbers 13:33. The ark's dimensions (300 x 50 x 30 cubits, roughly 450 x 75 x 45 feet) give a vessel of enormous capacity and a practical hull ratio consistent with modern barge design. God's "grief" (Hebrew: atsab) indicates deep emotional pain, not regret over a mistake.

Cross-references

  • 1 Peter 3:20 — only eight people were saved through water in the ark
  • 2 Peter 2:5 — Noah called a "preacher of righteousness"
  • Ezekiel 14:14 — Noah listed among the most righteous men in Scripture
  • Hebrews 11:7 — Noah built the ark by faith, condemning the world and becoming an heir of righteousness
  • Matthew 24:37-39 — Jesus uses Noah's day as a picture of the coming judgment

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    How does verse 5 describe the state of human wickedness, and what was God's emotional response according to verse 6?

  2. Observe

    What was Noah's character according to verses 8-9, and what single statement closes the chapter about his response to God's commands?

  3. Interpret

    God said he was "sorry" and "grieved in his heart" that he made humanity (v. 6). What does this language reveal about God's relationship with his creation?

  4. Interpret

    Verse 8 says "Noah found favor in Yahweh's eyes." What does the word "found" suggest about the nature of grace, rather than earning or deserving it?

  5. Apply

    Noah was righteous and blameless "among the people of his time" — a context of total moral corruption (v. 9). What does this suggest about the possibility of faithfulness in a corrupt environment?

  6. Apply

    God gave Noah precise instructions for a massive project with no precedent — a flood had never happened. Noah obeyed completely (v. 22). What does this kind of obedience reveal about the relationship between faith and understanding?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)