Chapter Six
Bible Study Tip No. 2
In the previous Bible study tip, we talked about how God consistently uses words. Here we would like to introduce you to the need for Bible readers to be consistent in the interpretation of the text of the Bible. Just like any book, if the reader interprets what they are reading differently than what the author intended, then there is a disconnect between the author and reader. This is why tools have been developed to guide those that read the Bible to interpret correctly. Through the years there have been many scholars, theologians, philosophers, and even church leaders that have created their own interpretations, resulting in a wide variety of Bible study rules, tools, and theological concepts that produce a number of ideas that are often contradictory to each other. This is why we need to examine Scripture carefully and methodically, while trying hard to avoid any of our own presuppositions (or those of a well-intended teacher).
True, it is a funny-sounding scholarly term, but it is essential as it refers to the process of interpretation. In Christianity it refers to the process of knowing how to interpret the Bible properly and consistently. The word is hermeneutics (pronounced hur-muh-noo-tiks) and it is an invaluable tool to aid in our understanding of the Bible. This is what the apostle Paul undoubtedly meant when he wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). That also implies that there are wrong ways too!
The goal of Biblical hermeneutics is to point us to the correct interpretation, namely, the only one that counts, the one that God intended. Any incorrect application of Scripture could lead us away from God, instead of towards Him. Some of the rules of Christian hermeneutics include literal, historical, grammatical, and contextual interpretation.
Literal interpretation means you understand the Bible in its normal or plain meaning. The Bible essentially says what it means and means what it says. Many make the mistake of trying to read between the lines and come up with meanings for Scripture that are not truly in the text. That doesn’t mean there are not areas where there are some ‘spiritual truths’ behind the plain meanings of Scripture, however that does not mean every passage has a hidden spiritual truth, or that the plain text is wrong. Biblical hermeneutics helps us to remain faithful to the intended meaning and away from allegorizing and symbolizing verses and passages that should be understood literally. Each verse or passage should also be examined and interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually.
Historical interpretation refers to understanding the culture, background, and situation, which prompted the text.
Grammatical interpretation is recognizing the rules of grammar and nuances of the original language (Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek) and applying those principles to the understanding of a passage.
Contextual interpretation involves always taking the surrounding context of a verse or passage into consideration when trying to determine the meaning. That is why it is important to always read several verses before and after any verse you want to look up or study.
Some mistakenly view Biblical hermeneutics as limiting our ability to learn new truths from God's Word or stifling the Holy Spirit's ability to reveal to us the meaning of God's Word. This is not the case. Biblical hermeneutics provides the structure that, when used properly, will point us to the true meaning and application of Scripture. The author of the book of Hebrews reminds us, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
An important component of hermeneutics is exegesis (pronounced ek-si-jee-sis), just as the name implies (based on the Greek word ‘ek’[1] for out or out of; more about this word below) it provides the basic rules that are used to closely examine each verse with the goal of finding the proper interpretation out of the definition, meaning, and context of the text. Students of the Bible should be aware of the principles of Christian exegesis, although don’t let the process be more important than the message, here is a list some of the more often-used rules:
The Grammatical Principle
Grammatical interpretation refers to recognizing the rules of grammar of the original languages and applying those principles to the understanding of a passage.
The principle begins with the words and their definition. It is important that the words be defined according to their original intent and not according to modern usage. Care must be taken to examine the use and history of words, as the strict translation of a word may not always reflect the meaning the author intended. The primary tools for this task are comprehensive ancient Hebrew and Greek dictionaries.
Followed by an examination of the syntax and the grammatical relationships of the words in the passage, one needs to identify which ideas are primary and which are subordinate to discover the actions, subjects, and of course, the use of any modifiers, if employed. Many scholars use a method called diagraming, essentially the same way you diagram a sentence using a Kellogg-Reed diagram for any work of literature.
The Literal Principle
A literal interpretation is to understand the text in a straightforward manner without any special considerations or modifications. Many make the mistake of trying to read between the lines and come up with meanings for Scriptures that are not truly in the text. That doesn’t mean there are not areas where there are some ‘spiritual truths’ behind the plain meanings of Scripture, however that does not mean that every Scripture has a hidden spiritual truth. Biblical hermeneutics helps us remain faithful to the intended meaning of Scripture and away from allegorizing and symbolizing Bible verses and passages that should be understood literally. The principle assumes that each word in a passage has a normal, literal meaning, unless there is good reason to view it as a figure of speech, preventing one from improperly spiritualizing or allegorizing. The principle encourages readers to allow the words to mean what each word actually means.
The Historical Principle
Historical interpretation refers to understanding the culture, background, and situation, which prompted the text. As time passes, culture changes, points of view change and language changes. This principle guards against interpreting the Word of God according to how current culture views things; one must always place Scripture in its historical context. Tools include the use of the Bible (for example, understanding the Old Testament helps us understand values, rituals, holy days, etc. that are found later in New Testament), Bible dictionaries, timelines, commentaries, and on occasion, extra-Biblical books on history.
The Synthesis Principle
As mentioned above some of the best ways to interpret Scripture is to use Scripture itself. The principle encourages one to examine passages in relation to its immediate context (the verses surrounding it), its wider context (the book it’s found in), and its complete context (the Bible as a whole). Since the Bible does not contradict itself, any theological statement in one verse can and should be harmonized with theological statements in other parts of the Bible. Some scholars refer to this principle as the Agreement Principle.
The Analogy of Faith Principle
Similar to the Synthesis Principle, the Analogy of Faith Principle (or analogia fidei) draws on the fact that the Bible is a unified whole (the ultimate author being God) that the teaching is consistent from cover to cover and that a single verse cannot contradict the clear teachings of other verses. If a passage appears to contradict another, the principle suggests that the unclear passage should therefore be interpreted in light of the clearer passage.
The Expositional Constancy Principle
This was the subject of the first Bible study tip given earlier. Even though the Bible contains the work of several authors from a variety of cultures and time periods, the use of terms and idioms used by these writers are consistent. (An idiom is an expression peculiar to a people or community, having a meaning that cannot be derived outside of that people or community; more on this figure of speech below.) This consistency is additional evidence that the true author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. This principle also helps us weed out potentially incorrect interpretations and commentaries. Since words and phrases should be consistently interpreted, any commentator who feels they need to introduce a “special interpretation” to explain a passage, should raise a ‘red flag’ for us.
Contextual Principle
Perhaps the most important principle, contextual interpretation involves always taking the surrounding context of a verse or passage into consideration when trying to determine the meaning. That is why it is important to always read several verses before and after any verse you are studying. This easy-to-use principle can prevent the most common of all interpretation errors, taking a verse out of context.
Exegesis vs. Eisegesis
The word exegesis literally means, “to lead out of,” meaning that the interpreter was led by the text. However, some interpreters use the opposite approach referred to as “eisegesis,” which means “to lead into” (based on the Greek word ‘eis’[2]) allowing the interpreter to inject their own ideas into the text (or read between the lines). Some people read the Bible by using their imagination, presupposition, or some form of visualization to explore where a verse takes them. This approach is not ‘Biblical’ and certainly not real Bible study. Warning, this practice takes us away from God, not towards Him, which is the very definition of evil.
You are probably wondering why this lesson on interpretation was inserted between Genesis chapters five and six. This was to introduce you to what we call “Christian Vectors.” The word vector has several meanings. As a noun, ‘vector’ means having some direction and magnitude, or it can relate to an organism that transmits a disease to another organism; as a verb it can refer to a change in direction and magnitude to get to a desired point. If we incorrectly interpret the Word of God we can ultimately ‘vector’ away from God and, like the disease carried by an organism, we can suffer serious consequences. Sadly, Christianity is not without vectors, there are several vectors in Biblical interpretation. Some are the result of difficult passages (like what we are going to encounter in the next couple of chapters) that have been interpreted by theologians in the past and often never get reexamined, while other interpretations are based on either a presupposition or invalid thinking. The tragic nature of vectors is that they are rarely reviewed and corrected with the opposite being more than likely, the vehement defense of their position. This often occurs in the expense of evangelism and obedience to God.
In Genesis chapter six we see a number of ‘issues’ that have become vectors in our society today, including:
1) Was Noah’s flood a worldwide flood?
2) Who are the sons of God?
3) Who are the Nephilim?
4) What does it mean that God regretted making man?
Using the tools listed above, hopefully we can answer these questions to everyone’s satisfaction.
As the result of a heightened level of wickedness in the world, God is about to “change the page” on humanity. Perhaps as a model of yet-future judgment, God essentially “reboots” creation, which allows the last remnant of faithful followers safely through to repopulate the world. It is important for us to see this as an actual event. If you are having trouble in accepting that, remember the words of Jesus. When He was asked, “What will be a sign of your coming?” (See Matthew 24:3), Jesus went on to describe conditions of His return and of the end times, when He got to the point regarding when this was going to happen, He said: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away,” (Matthew 24:37-39a) By saying this, Jesus verified that the flood was a real event in history. This passage should also encourage us to study the Genesis account to better understand why God would want to destroy the world!
6:1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
Chapter six opens with a verification that mankind was doing what God had told them to do, being fruitful and multiplying (see Genesis 1:28) and again we read that daughters were being born (see Genesis 5:4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 26, 30). Everything appears normal in verse one, but verse two raises some interesting questions such as:
1) Who are the sons of God?
2) What is really happening here?
If everything was normal, why is God angry? (See verse 3) Yes, that’s right, we are now face to face with one of those vectors! We have two primary viewpoints to consider; one could be called the friendly, or ‘G’ rated version and the other ‘R’ rated. This is one reason why, as adult Christians, we need to continue studying the Bible; first to satisfy our hunger and need for the Word of God, but also to correct our past understanding of stories like these, as many stories from the Bible were “cleaned up” for teaching to children.
As noted earlier there are some scholars that like to tag the family of Cain as being ungodly. While many of them were indeed ungodly, we know that this identification was not necessarily true for all of them. Many of the same scholars like to call the lineage of Seth as being godly. Again, while that may be true and they followed God, we know that they were sinners just like everyone else. These scholars go on to explain that the “sons of God” are from the godly line of Seth and the “daughters of men” are from the line of Cain. Two things come to mind. First there is nothing mentioned in the Bible to support any of these ideas and secondly, if that is what God meant to say, why the convoluted language? God did not restrict these families from intermarrying, they were all human beings. We must understand that sin was the problem then and it still is a problem today. Regardless of being a believer or not, we are all sinners and as a result of being a sinner, we continue to sin. It is true that the Bible will focus on the thread that started with Adam through the line of Seth to Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that everyone else are ungodly or condemned.
When we look forward to verse five, we see that this all leads to something so outrageously horrendous that God was ready to destroy the world. Was the line of Cain so bad and the level of corruption and disobedience so intense that God wanted to destroy the descendants of both lines, or was there something else going on? Not an easy question to answer as we read in history that there have been many ideas and theories attempting to explain this verse, including having royalty commingling with non-royalty, alien life with humans, some have even considered incestuous mating with animals as being the issue. Answers like these should not surprise us as, we have already seen in regard to creation, many people prefer to answer difficult questions or explain the otherwise inexplicable, with ‘natural’ answers or ‘fanciful’ thinking instead of the truth involving the supernatural.
Instead of fantasizing, let’s use some hermeneutic principles to see if we can come up with a different solution. Let’s start with the phrase, “sons of God.” To begin with, it appears to be used very differently in the Old Testament than how it is used in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the Hebrew is “ḇenê hā’ ‘ělō·hîm’,” a phrase that is only used here in chapter six (verses 2 and 4) and in the book of Job (1:6; 2:1 and 38:7). In Job the verses refer to only angels, those that were created by God directly. The New Testament equivalent is the Greek phrase, “hulos ho theos,” referring to Jesus (as “The Son of God,” for some examples: Matthew 4:3; 27:43, 54; Acts 9:20; Revelation 2:18) or a believer (Matthew 5:9; Luke 20:36; Romans 8:14, 19; Galatians 3:26). Now to clarify, Biblically speaking, all human beings are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, but as sinners we are not considered sons and daughters of God. The good news is, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Romans 8:14-16). Believers have been adopted by God!
However, in the Old Testament the phrase is never used to refer to a human being. According to Augustine, some manuscripts of the Septuagint render the phrase in verses 2 and 4, as “Αγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ” (angels of God)[3]. There are many other early examples of this interpretation, including the Midrashim (early Jewish rabbinic literature containing interpretations and commentary)[4] and many of the early historians and commentators). We do find similar phrases in the Old Testament, ḇǎr ‘ělā·hîn’ in Daniel 3:25 and beně’ ‘ē·lîm’ in Psalm 29:1 and 89:6, but again, each one refers to either angels or heavenly beings, not humans.
If the sons of God are angels and the daughters of man are human women and they marry, then…wait is that even possible? Well, we do know that angels can appear like humans (see Genesis 19:1-22; Hebrews 13:2), but is it possible for an angel to have relations with a human woman? No one can truly answer that question. Some like to point out Matthew 22:30, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven,” however that statement does not preclude angels from procreation (okay, maybe we should change that from a “R” rating to an “X” rating!) Perhaps now we can see why many try to find a less-obscene explanation. We must remember that whatever happened, God seriously did not like it, as His response certainly could not be considered minor!
6:3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
God responds with a chilling statement; He will not contend with man forever (ESV alternate wording). If we heard similar words from a loved one or our boss, we would probably be shaken for we would undoubtedly expect the worst. In His proclamation, He reminds us that mankind is flesh, and ever since the fall, flesh is perishable. The last third of this verse is usually interpreted one of two ways. The New Living Translation renders the verse, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” (NLT) This translation is one of several that promote the interpretation that mankind’s life span, because of continual disobedience has been reduced to less than 120 years. However, there are some commentators that point out that this proclamation was a warning to mankind that judgment would occur in 120 years, giving more than ample time for them to repent. Not only is this interpretation in alignment with apostle Peter’s statement, “…because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared” (1 Peter 3:20), we see that it fits the countdown to the beginning of the worldwide flood. God is a just God, meaning judgment will occur, but He is also a gracious and loving God, meaning He is patient. Peter again explains, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
We are introduced to a new word, ‘Nephilim’,[5] transliterated from the Hebrew ‘nepi·lîm’, it is always found in the plural. Let me begin this discussion with the fact that there are several Hebrew words found in the Bible that we do not know with absolute confidence their meanings. This word is one of those words and it is often the subject of great debate, and we will see why shortly. Many translations use the word ‘giants’ (KJV, NKJV), as it is identified in the Septuagint. However, many Hebrew scholars now think that the etymology of the word is not based on the word ‘nāpal’ from the word ‘nē’·pěl’[6] (untimely birth, see Job 3:16) but ‘nā’·pǎl’[7] meaning “to fall” or “be cast down,” and should be used as a noun referring to a unique group of people. However, these people appear to actually be big like giants! So, who are they? They are the offspring of the union of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of man.” Perhaps a better question would be, what are they? What type of hybrid do you get in that unholy union? Would they still be human? Moses helps us out a little since he had encountered some many generations later. He added the comment “and also afterward,” he encountered them on their way to the Promised Land and knew them by their tribal names ‘Anakim’ and ‘Rephaim’ (see Numbers 13:31-33; Deuteronomy 1:28, 2:10-21, 3:11, 9:2; see also Joshua 11:21-22, 14:12-15; Amos 2:9 and 2 Samuel 21:15-22). Do you remember why the Israelites were not allowed to enter the land and had to remain in the desert until that generation has passed away? Because ten of the twelve people that God sent in to spy the land were afraid of the giants. Not trusting God has consequences. Even though the Philistines were not considered descendants of the Nephilim, the Anakim lived in Gath, where Goliath was born (see Joshua 11:22 and 1 Samuel 17:4), this could help explain the size of Goliath.
The text calls these Nephilim, mighty men, and men of renown. The term “mighty men” comes from the Hebrew word ‘gib·bō·rîm’[8] meaning strong and mighty and the phrase “men of renown” comes from the Hebrew words “ǎn·šê’ ha šēm,” referring to males who are famous or have a reputation. None of the words imply that these individuals are necessarily human, just mighty and everyone knew about them. The word that is translated as ‘old’ is the Hebrew word ‘ô·lām’,[9] referring to a long duration or everlasting, some have defined it as “continuous existence.”
Okay, let’s be honest, you are undoubtedly ready to stop reading (if you haven’t already), hoping for a more realistic explanation! You’re probably thinking, enough of this mythology stuff! True, there is a lot that we do not know, but we are not making this stuff up. One thing you should know by now is that Satan will do just about anything to stop the advancement of God’s plan for salvation, including the unspeakable.
6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
If nothing else, we can see that mankind at this point was truly corrupt, so much so that God observed that everyone’s thoughts were continually motivated by evil. Can God really regret doing something? Yes, but not in the same sense that we might regret doing something and then cause us to change our minds. Here the Hebrew word is ‘yin·nā’·ḥěm’,[10] which does carry the meaning of being sorry, but the verb almost always means to console or comfort. When Samuel was explaining to King Saul that God had removed the kingdom from him, he said, “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” (1 Samuel 15:29, NIV) The words translated in this verse as “change his mind”, in both instances, is the same Hebrew word ’yin·nā·ḥem’, found here in Genesis 6:6. The next question would be, can God be grieved? Absolutely! The Hebrew word describes a hurt or pain (the Apostle Paul warns us that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit, see Ephesians 4:30). With mankind only thinking about evil, this would have undoubtedly hurt God in ways that we may never understand, perhaps the closest would be the way a parent grieves when a child has turned away from them and blatantly disobeyed.
One of the great dilemmas for us to comprehend is to understand how an omniscient God can know what was going to happen and yet still allow it to happen. This dilemma has two levels, the first in regard to God allowing people to disobey and the other is in regard to a specific event or occurrence. God knew that man’s hearts would get corrupted, yet He gave man a free will to either obey or disobey. Why? As we discussed earlier, God did not want mindless robots, but faithful followers. In that sense, we truly cannot disappoint Him, as He already knows what we are going to do, but we can certainly cause Him great sorrow. The other level regarding specific events is equally difficult to understand, we are simply not wired to fully understand. One can use the example of a newly hired mail-room employee questioning a decision that a company CEO made; we don’t have access to all the facts, nor do we have the training or ability to process the information even if we did have access. The only answer we have is that God loves us, why? The Bible teaches that the answer to that question is beyond our ability to comprehend (see Ephesians 3:19). We know that the description of man’s thinking in verse five is not as widespread today (although some days it appears to be there), so what did God do to change that? Before all was lost, God intervened in one rather sizable and catastrophic judgment.
6:7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
To “blot out” is a nice way of saying, to obliterate, not just one person, but all things living. Why all? Perhaps the animals were created for man, especially those acceptable for sacrifice where innocent blood was used to atone for sins. All we are told is that God was ready to “pull the plug.” The Hebrew word translated here as ‘sorry’, is from the root of the same word that we looked at earlier in verse six, ’yin·nā·ḥem’, referring to regret. We then encounter a marker of contrast, translated here as ‘but’, as there was at least one remnant that was still faithful to God and his name was Noah. He found favor in the eyes of God, the word for ‘favor’ is the Hebrew word ‘ḥēn’,[11] which is often translated as ‘grace’ (the Septuagint translates it as ‘charis’,[12] the Greek word that describes God’s grace in the New Testament), meaning to rejoice, a loving expression of favor without any expectation of return. This is the first appearance of this word in the Bible, but is it a coincidence that the concept of grace is being introduced here at the cusp of the annihilation of mankind? No! Mankind was spared because of the grace of God back in Noah’s day and since Jesus was victorious on the cross, all believers are permanently saved from sin by the grace of God today!
Up to verse seven it looked like Satan might be getting his way, the world being corrupt with everyone thinking evil all the time while moving further away from God, forcing Him to bring judgment to all of mankind and renege on His promise of a coming Savior. But what Satan and the world need to remember is that when God makes a promise, He keeps it! God knew that Noah and his family would still be faithful to Him. Noah found favor in the eyes of God, did that mean that the annihilation was canceled? No, we will see that God will do amazing things with those that remain true and faithful to Him throughout the Bible. God often uses remnants of faithful followers to continue His work, even today.
Considerations
The subject of the Nephilim is probably the weirdest and most unbelievable story of the Bible. It just seems so outrageous that it feels like a Hollywood horror story or, at minimum, a bad science fiction premise. But, whoever, or whatever they were, God was not going to let them continue. If they only existed prior to the worldwide flood, one could understand why we don’t see any of their remains, but we know that Satan tried this again later in an attempt to keep the Israelites out of the Promised Land. So where is the evidence? There have been many discoveries of giant skeletons from all around the world, some more credible than others; it is sad that there are so many frauds. Advice to those that desire to fake evidence to support the Bible: Stop! If they are to be revealed, God will reveal evidence at the time He chooses; lying to the public is not, in any situation, God pleasing.
While we are on the subject of things being weird, have you ever wondered about demons? What are they? Some believe that they are the fallen angels, and that is undoubtedly true. But there are some questions that remain, such as, why do some seek embodiment? Do you remember the story of the demons pleading with Jesus to enter a herd of pigs (see Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-39)? Why did they plead? Is there something different between a fallen angel and a demon? Perhaps, but if that is true where did they come from? God certainly would not have created disembodied spirits to make their homes in people, right? Here’s a wild idea that is strictly speculation (that means it is only a guess and it’s a weird one at that), if the Nephilim were a hybrid of human and angel, what happens when they die? The physical body of a human is perishable, not immortal at this point, so the Nephilim body would also probably die. But what about their angel component, could their ‘spirit’ live on without a body? Could demons be the result of the Nephilim that died? Just something to consider. Okay, we’re going back to reality now.
Noah and the Worldwide Flood
6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Noah was indeed someone special, he was righteous in God’s eyes (since God sets the rules, his opinion is the only one that counts). The Hebrew word ’ṣǎd·dîq’[13] refers to conformance, in this case to God’s standards, as this is the first time the word is used in the Bible, it sets the standard for what is righteous for the rest of the Bible. Knowing that Noah was a sinner like all human beings, and hearing that he was righteous and blameless, makes us wonder what’s going on. How then did Noah get right with God? To answer that we must again fast-forward back to the New Testament book of Hebrews and pick up where we left off after reading about Enoch, where we also heard that without faith it is impossible to please God (see Hebrews 11:6). In the following verse, we find, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) Even though Noah will do all that God asked him to do (see Genesis 6:22; 7:5, 9, 16), it was not his actions that made him righteous or blameless, it was his faith! Noah and his family would obtain salvation the same way any other man can, by the grace of God through faith. The word ‘righteous’ also carries the meaning of being justified or that of being declared to be righteous.
Noah is also described as walking with God, using the same phrase we explored in Genesis 5:22-24 regarding Enoch walking with God. Noah enjoyed close fellowship with God, instead of being taken by God like Enoch, “Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment.” (Excerpt from 2 Peter 2:5, NLT), but no one listened. He undoubtedly was ridiculed and scorned, but he and his family faithfully followed God’s instructions.
We are once again introduced to the three sons of Noah (see previous list in Genesis 5:32). Why twice? Some believe that these are the only sons that survived the flood, a viewpoint that is not supported in the Bible. Others believe that since chapter six begins another generation (Hebrew ’tô·lē·ḏôṯ’)[14] and so the names are repeated to include them in this generation’s listing.
6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
From verse five we knew that man’s wickedness was great and that their hearts were motivated by evil all the time, now we see the scope of the problem. The word translated here as ‘corrupt’ is the Hebrew word ’niš·ḥā’·ṯā(h)’,[15] appears for the first time here, it can also be translated ‘destroy’ or ‘destruction’, the inevitable result of corruption. The text says that the earth is filled with violence, this should not surprise anyone as violence seemingly always erupts when self-absorbed, egotistical, pleasure seeking, wicked people take to the streets. Noah and his family would have lived in the midst of this corrupt and wicked society, and only by the grace of God were they able to resist and survive.
God told Noah that He was going to put an end to all this and destroy (same word used previous verses translated as corrupt) them with (Hebrew word ‘ěṯ’,[16] meaning together) the earth. God was not going to disintegrate the world or even burn it, He was going to destroy it as a life-sustaining planet (see 2 Peter 3:6), for at least a little while, not permanent (that comes much later, see Revelation 20:11; 21:1). There is no record of any comment by Noah in regard to this, or for that fact, any instructions given to him.
6:14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.
God now gives Noah instructions on how to build an ark (Hebrew ‘tē·ḇǎṯ’,[17] meaning a chest or basket, an entirely different word that is translated ‘ark’ for the Ark of the Covenant, that is the Hebrew word ‘ǎrôn’,[18] also meaning chest). In this case it is referring to a rather sizable, okay, huge, barge-like floating vessel to temporarily house humans and terrestrial animals. God also told him to construct it out of “gopher wood,” something that Noah obviously knew all about, but we have no idea what that wood was. The word ‘gopher’ is not a reference to the animal, it is a transliteration of the Hebrew word. Since one of the Hebrew words for ‘pitch’ is found in just a few words later, some scholars believe it was a scribal error and should be a reference to ‘pitch’. Some guess that the wood is actually a variety of cypress wood, however it is possible that the wood may have been a variety or species of wood that did not survive after the flood, since this is the only time this word appears in the Bible.
The instructions include making rooms in the ark; the word in the singular form is often translated as ‘nest’, however in the plural, as we see it here, it generally implies cubicles, places for the animals to stay during their time on board the ark. The next instruction is perhaps the most intriguing, there are two words that should be noticed, the word ‘cover’ and the word ‘pitch’. Knowing that pitch is some form of bitumen (an oily substance that bubbles up from subterranean fountains that hardens creating an excellent water barrier) it was used to cover the ark to make it water-resistant. To cover something doesn’t sound too unusual until we read later that the word is most often translated as ‘atonement’.[19] Since this is the first appearance of the Hebrew word (‘ḵā·pǎr·tā’),[20] we can see the significance of the covering as a model for salvation. The English word ‘atonement’ essentially means “at-one-ment” where God and man are brought together in a personal relationship, being made one. Now let’s look at the word ‘pitch’; the word is not the usual word for pitch (Hebrew ‘zā·pěṯ’)[21] nor is it the word that is found in the Bible translated ‘pitch’, ‘bitumen’, ‘slime’ or ‘asphalt’ (Hebrew ‘ḥē·mār’).[22] The word for ‘pitch’ is the Hebrew word ‘kō’·pěr’,[23] which is most often also translated as ‘atonement’. The word refers to the price demanded to redeem a person, which is why it can also be translated as ‘ransom’ or ‘bribe’. Are you starting to see the beauty in this verse? This model points to a Savior who will pay the price for our freedom from sin so that we can be together with Him as one!
Before we can understand the dimensions of this large barge, we need to first know what a cubit is. The cubit is classically defined as the distance between the tip of the longest finger, down to the base of the elbow. But that varies between people, so we come back to the same question, how long is a cubit? History tells us that nearly each kingdom or empire had its own standard for measuring, sometime based on the measurement of a royal member’s fingertip to elbow base or perhaps the emperor’s. We know that the Babylonians had a 19.8-inch royal cubit, the Egyptians had a long cubit of 20.65 inches and a short cubit of 17.5 inches, while the Hebrews had a long cubit of 20.4 inches (see Ezekiel 40:5) and a common cubit of 17.5 inches. The longest cubit in antiquity appears to be 24 inches. So, what did Noah use? No one knows for sure; most scholars and Bible translators use 18 inches for their standard cubit to estimate the ark’s dimensions. Using the 18-inch reference, the ark that Noah built was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Depending on the shape of the vessel’s hull, this would give the ark, conservatively speaking, approximately 1,400,000 cubic feet of cargo space!
The ark was to have one door and three decks, and it was to have a roof that provided daylight, undoubtedly a series of windows, like what we might call a skylight. The word ‘ṣō’·hǎr’[24] (translated here as ‘roof’), generally refers to noon time or the afternoon when daylight is the brightest. These windows would undoubtedly be useful for ventilation.
As we discussed several times already, the Bible only gives us the details that we need to know, and we certainly are not given all the design details of the ark’s construction. However, when nautical engineers review what we do know, as described here in the book of Genesis, they are often impressed by how these dimensions may not be able to be further optimized for stability through computer modeling. One would expect that our creator knows something about engineering!
6:17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
The word ‘behold’ is often a favorite word among those that study the Bible, both the Hebrew word ‘hin·nē(h)’[25] (also the demonstrative ‘hin’ as found here) and the Greek equivalent ‘idou’,[26] refer to calling attention (to the audience and the reader) to look at something very special. Think of the word as the equivalent of a teacher writing something on the chalkboard, something that probably will be on the test. Here, God is telling Noah how He was going to destroy the world. The text uses the word, ‘mǎb·bûl’[27] for flood, instead of the usual words for water moving, floods or flooding (such as Hebrew words, ‘nā·hǎr’,[28] ‘šě’·ṭěp’,[29] ‘šā·ṭǎp’[30] or ‘šib·bō’·lěṭ’),[31] giving the reader a heads-up that this was not an ordinary flood, it was a worldwide, fully earth-encompassing flood. This flood is something that will destroy all flesh that were given the breath of life[32] on earth through drowning and crushing under enormous water pressure.
6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.”
This is the first time we see the word ‘berît’[33] (‘covenant’), in the Bible (often referred to as the Noahic Covenant, see also Genesis 9:9-17), an agreement between God and Noah. God first informs him that he and his family will be safe, followed by instructions on how they will also help preserve the animals. Many nay-sayers claim that the ark would be too small to house all the animals in the world. But we need remember that most land animals are relatively small and that they only needed to bring two of each kind (a male and a female). What does God mean by kind? First, we should not confuse this term with the word ‘species’ as this is a term man invented to categorize living things. While there are slightly less than 1.8 million species known to be alive today, almost 98% are either fish, invertebrates, or non-animals (plants, etc.), totaling less than 34,000 land-dependent species. A ‘kind’ would be considered a group of related animals not related to other animals. It is believed that there are fewer than 1,400 total kinds (living and extinct), making the worst-case scenario of 6,744 animals or less on the ark.[34]
Since the word ‘dinosaur’ is a relatively new word,[35] we would not expect to see that term in the Bible. However, that doesn’t mean they weren’t on the ark. Their kinds were tallied along with all the other known extinct animals that were undoubtedly on board. There was also plenty of room for large animals, such as some of the dinosaurs, elephants, and giraffes; remember, they didn’t need to be fully grown. Young animals would have fulfilled the need, just as well as their full-sized adult counterparts would have.
Building the ark was truly a monumental task, especially back then. Some wonder how Noah was able to construct such a beast of a ship. Please, if nothing else, remember that God always provides when He guides! In the book of Exodus special knowledge was needed to build the Tabernacle (see Exodus chapters 25-31 and 35-40), God supernaturally gave some of the Israelites the skill and knowledge they needed to fashion the accoutrements and build the Tabernacle (see Exodus 31:1-11), being some of the earliest recorded Spiritual gifts in the Bible (see Exodus 28:3). While it is not revealed here in the text, the ability, and the understanding to develop and use special tools were, without a doubt, given to Noah and his family to build the ark.
When the ark was to be completed, Noah did not need to go out and bring back the animals. God had each of the animals come to the ark. That must have been a sight to behold, watching every animal make its way to Noah and the ark. How some animals accurately migrate is still a mystery to man.
Noah was also given the job to keep the animals alive requiring them to store appropriate amounts of food and serve the food. This would keep a family of eight very busy!
6:22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Noah may have been relieved to hear that his family would be safe, but he was undoubtedly shaken over hearing that God was going to destroy everything and everyone he knew outside of his family. Even though this ‘project’ was going to take several years to complete, he faithfully did everything exactly as God commanded him to do.
Considerations
Many modern theologians believe that Noah is merely a legendary character and his ark being nothing more than a myth. However, that is contrary to how God and the writers of Bible handle this story. Referring to the worldwide flood, Isaiah wrote, “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.” (Isaiah 54:9) Ezekiel wrote about Noah’s faith, “And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 14:12-14, see also verses 17-20). In the New Testament the apostle Peter refers to the time of Noah as a real event, “because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” (1 Peter 3:20) and “if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;” (2 Peter 2:5).
Noah was also mentioned in two genealogies outside of the book of Genesis, “Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.“ (1 Chronicles 1:1-4) and “the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,” (Luke 3:36).
If that is not enough evidence, Jesus Himself referred to the time of Noah, “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39; see also Luke 17:26-27).
If one were to make a ship out of wood a major concern undoubtedly would be to make it as waterproof as possible. God gave Noah instructions to apply the pitch on both the outside surface and inside surface of the ark’s hull. This process would indeed achieve that goal. But why both inside and outside? Wouldn’t applying the pitch on the outside be sufficient? Only God knows the answer, although, if someone wanted to preserve wood for thousands of years, applying pitch would slow down the wood’s deterioration. Perhaps one day the ark will be discovered to proclaim the validity of the story. It is our understanding that there are several teams of explorers that go out every year looking for the ark. The two primary potential locations are plagued with political issues and the weather is often uncooperative. So far no one has found the ark (although like the bones of the Nephilim, there have been many false claims). If and when God is ready to reveal to a skeptic world, He will allow the ark to be found, not until then.
Bigger in Person (a personal note from the author)
I feel the need to offer a personal note regarding the ark, it’s big! I had the opportunity to visit the Ark Encounter in Kentucky and all I have to say is wow! This is something every believer should see.
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[1] Strong’s Greek 1537.
[2] Strong’s Greek 1519.
[3] Augustine of Hippo. (1887). The City of God. In P. Schaff (Ed.), M. Dods (Trans.), St. Augustin’s City of God and Christian Doctrine (Vol. 2, pp. 303–304). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.
[4] See Considerations under Genesis 10:19-20 regarding “Ancient Jewish Writings.”
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 5303.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 5309.
[7] Strong’s Hebrew 5307.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 1368.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 5769.
[10] Strong’s Hebrew 5162.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 2580.
[12] Strong’s Greek 5485.
[13] Strong’s Hebrew 6662.
[14] See commentary for Genesis 2:4.
[15] Strong’s Hebrew 7843.
[16] Strong’s Hebrew 854.
[17] Strong’s Hebrew 8392.
[18] Strong’s Hebrew 727.
[19] See commentary under Genesis 3:21.
[20] Strong’s Hebrew 3722.
[21] Strong’s Hebrew 2203.
[22] Strong’s Hebrew 2564.
[23] Strong’s Hebrew 3724.
[24] Strong’s Hebrew 6672.
[25] Strong’s Hebrew 2009.
[26] Strong’s Greek 2400.
[27] Strong’s Hebrew 3999.
[28] Strong’s Hebrew 5102.
[29] Strong’s Hebrew 7858.
[30] Strong’s Hebrew 7857.
[31] Strong’s Hebrew 7641.
[32] See commentary under Genesis 1:26-27.
[33] Strong’s Hebrew 1285.
[34] ARK SIGNS: that teach a flood of answers. (2017). S.l.: MASTER BOOKS.
[35] See commentary under Genesis 1:20-23.