Genesis Chapter 6 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Genesis 6:1–2
In time, when men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
At first glance, this seems good because man was designed to be married to a woman. To fully understand this chapter, we need to look at the meaning of “sons of God” and “daughters of men.”
Some have said that “sons of God” refers to angels, but that is not correct because good angels would not sin and bad angels would not be called sons of God. They are called demons. The phrase is talking about the descendants of Adam through Seth, which, as we saw in Genesis Chapter 5, were the line of godly men.
The phrase “daughters of men” refers to the descendants of Adam through Cain, which, as we saw in Genesis Chapter 4, were worldly men. We see that the godly men of Seth were tempted by the beauty of the daughters of the worldly men of Cain and married them.
Notice that they “chose” to marry them, which is the opposite of the way God designed marriage to happen. As we saw in Genesis Chapter 2, God’s plan for marriage was that He would create a woman for a man and present the woman to the man. All the man had to do was wait on God and accept the gift of the woman created specifically for him.
In this short passage, we see the struggle that continues in the world today: the inner struggle of man between the call of God, the spirit, and the call of the world, the flesh.
Genesis 6:3
ADONAI said, “My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years.”
Why did the men and women mentioned in the previous chapters live so much longer than we do today? The answer is simple: God, in His mercy, limits the number of years that we have to fight the battle here on earth.
In the previous passage, we saw that the battle we face is between the Spirit of God in us and the ways of the world, the flesh. Here, God limits our years on earth and therefore limits the length of time that we struggle with the temptations of the flesh.
God was also giving mankind another 120 years to repent of their evil ways before He brought judgment in the form of the flood. Even in announcing judgment, God gave time for repentance.
Genesis 6:4
The N’filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown.
Who were the Nephilim? The word comes from napha, which means fallen. Some people say they were aliens or fallen angels, but this study understands the passage as speaking of humans that had totally fallen away from God and been turned over to Satan.
As we have seen, the sons of God refers to people following God through the line of Seth, while the daughters of men refers to the daughters of Cain’s descendants, who after a few generations had become totally turned over to Satan.
The Nephilim were the children of these unholy marriages and were clearly under demonic control. We see that these children became leaders in the world as they were known as “men of renown.”
Genesis 6:5
ADONAI saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only.
These sons of God probably did not intend to turn their backs on God. They may have even thought that they could bring these women to the Lord. Instead, what happened was that these women led the men away from God and into idolatry, especially what we would call today humanism.
Like Cain’s descendants, these sons of God and their children went into a downward spiral until they were completely controlled by sin and Satan. The corruption was not only occasional or partial; the imaginings of their hearts were always directed toward evil.
Genesis 6:6
ADONAI regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart.
Just as we mourn at the death of a loved one, God was mourning the sad state of His creation. His heart ached for the people and for all of the creatures that were under man’s care.
Just as a parent is filled with sorrow when they see their child going down the wrong path, God was pained to watch His children not only walking down the wrong path but even running in the wrong direction.
Genesis 6:7
ADONAI said, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them.”
God is love, and with the deepest of love comes the dark side of love, which is jealousy. Man was created for God, and He could not allow this complete disregard for Him to continue.
The judgment described here was not a careless act. It came after the earth had become corrupted, violent, and continually opposed to the Creator. The creatures of the earth were under man’s care, and the consequences of human sin had touched all creation.
Genesis 6:8
But Noach found grace in the sight of ADONAI.
This is the first case of God keeping a remnant of mankind for Himself. This is a pattern that we see throughout the Old Testament and all the way to the end of this age in Revelation.
In the middle of widespread corruption and coming judgment, Noah found grace in the sight of God. The salvation of Noah’s family began not with human achievement but with God’s grace.
Genesis 6:9
Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with God.
We see that Noah wanted to honor God and did not do the things that the rest of the people around him were doing. We, as Christians, are God’s remnant in this world today, but too many people forget that a remnant does not get caught up in doing the same things as the rest of the world.
A remnant stands out as being different instead of blending in with the crowd. The Hebrew word tamim is translated here as wholehearted, and it speaks about being in a state of single-mindedness.
Noah recognized his own insufficiency and realized that he needed the direction of God for all things and at all times in his life. Walking with God was the focus of his life every day, all day long.
Genesis 6:10
Noach fathered three sons, Shem, Ham and Yefet.
Here, we see God’s will for man displayed again in the fact that Noah had three sons. Through these sons, the human family would be preserved through the flood and the world would be repopulated after the judgment.
Genesis 6:11–13
The earth was corrupt before God, the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and, yes, it was corrupt; for all living beings had corrupted their ways on the earth. God said to Noach, “The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with the earth.”
The Hebrew word shachath is translated here as corrupt, but that does not fully bring out the Hebrew meaning. The word speaks of the earth being polluted to the point of ruin.
The mixing of the children of God with those who did not follow God did not result in more children of God. Instead, God’s people turned their backs on Him. The result was violence, corruption, and the destruction of the moral order God had established.
All living beings, including animals, were affected by this corruption. God told Noah that judgment was coming for all of them because the earth had become filled with violence and ruin.
Genesis 6:14–16
Make yourself an ark of gofer-wood; you are to make the ark with rooms and cover it with pitch both outside and inside. Here is how you are to build it: the length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width seventy-five feet and its height forty-five feet. You are to make an opening for daylight in the ark eighteen inches below its roof. Put a door in its side; and build it with lower, second and third decks.
The word tevah is translated as ark, and it literally means a floating box without a rudder or crew. God gave Noah specific instructions for building a large vessel so that he and his family could be saved from the coming flood.
God did not give Noah a selection of boat plans from which to choose. He gave him exact plans for the ark. This reminds us that there is only one way that we may be saved, and that is through our ark, which is Jesus Christ.
The ark had one door. Noah’s safety was not found in creating his own plan, changing God’s design, or trusting his own ability to survive the flood. His safety was found in obeying God’s word and entering the provision God had made.
Genesis 6:17–18
“Then I myself will bring the flood of water over the earth to destroy from under heaven every living thing that breathes; everything on earth will be destroyed. But I will establish my covenant with you; you will come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you.”
God established a covenant, or contract, with Noah. He told him that every living thing on the earth was going to die, but if Noah built the ark and entered it, he would be saved.
This is a covenant because both parties have obligations that bind the other party. God promised salvation and preservation, while Noah was called to trust God’s word, build the ark according to God’s instructions, and enter the place of safety God provided.
Genesis 6:19–20
“From everything living, from each kind of living being, you are to bring two into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they are to be male and female. Of each kind of bird, each kind of livestock, and each kind of animal creeping on the ground, two are to come to you, so that they can be kept alive.”
God’s instructions to Noah included saving animals to repopulate the earth. In this, we see a picture of our job as Christians and the way people come to Christ, who is our ark.
Notice that Noah did not have to chase around after the animals in order to save them. Instead, God brought them to him. Most of us will not be giving up our homes and moving to another country to be a missionary, but like Noah, God will bring people to us whom He wants us to lead into the ark of Christ.
Our part is to keep our eyes open for those God brings to us and to show them the door to the ark. God is the One who draws people, but believers are called to be ready to welcome, serve, and point them toward the salvation He provides.
Genesis 6:21–22
“Also take from all the kinds of food that are eaten, and collect it for yourself; it is to be food for you and for them.” This is what Noach did; he did all that God ordered him to do.
God also told Noah to gather food for his family and all of the animals. We see that Noah was obedient in everything that he was told.
If Noah had not obeyed in the details, such as gathering food, the ark would not have done them much good because they would have starved during the coming flood. Noah’s obedience was not partial; he did all that God ordered him to do.
The final statement of Genesis 6 provides a powerful contrast to the corruption described at the beginning of the chapter. While the world had rejected God’s ways, Noah listened, trusted, prepared, and obeyed.