Genesis7

The LORD commands Noah, whom He deems righteous, to enter the ark with his family and specific numbers of animals, announcing a forty-day flood to destroy all living substance. Noah obeys, and after seven days, the flood begins, with rain for forty days and nights and the breaking of the great deep. The waters rise, covering the highest mountains, and all living creatures outside the ark perish, leaving only Noah and those with him alive.

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God Commands Noah to Enter the Ark

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate;

and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.

For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”

And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.

Now Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth.

And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

The clean and unclean animals, the birds, and everything that crawls along the ground

came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

And after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth.

The Flood Waters Erupt

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—

they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature.

They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life.

And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

The Waters Prevail and Destroy All Life

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth.

So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.

Finally, the waters completely inundated the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.

The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits.

And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.

Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.

And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.

Study Notes for Genesis 7

Verse 1

Noah’s righteousness is the basis for his salvation amidst universal judgment. This highlights the doctrine of election; Noah was saved not by his works, but by his faith and moral standing in a wicked generation (Gen 6:9).

Verse 2

The distinction between clean and unclean animals precedes the Mosaic Law, indicating an early understanding of purity. The seven pairs of clean animals were necessary for post-flood sacrifices (Gen 8:20) and for sustaining the renewed world.

Verse 4

The period of forty days and forty nights is a symbolic duration in scripture, representing a time of testing, judgment, or preparation (e.g., Israel in the wilderness, Jesus’ temptation).

Verse 5

This verse emphasizes Noah’s obedience, a recurring theme that contrasts sharply with the disobedience of the rest of humanity described in the preceding chapter.

Verse 10

The completion of the seven-day waiting period initiated by God (v. 4) signals the precise moment the patience of God toward the wicked generation ceased and divine judgment began.

Verse 11

This verse describes the two sources of the catastrophe, demonstrating the flood was not merely local rain: the 'fountains of the great deep' (subterranean waters) and the 'windows of heaven' (atmospheric waters). This describes a global, cataclysmic event.

Verse 12

The forty days of rain served as both the final mechanism of judgment and a clear marker of the initial phase of the rising waters.

Verse 16

The detail that 'the LORD shut him in' is crucial. It signifies that salvation and protection were secured entirely by divine action, and once the door was sealed by God, the time for repentance had passed.

Verse 17

The forty days mark the duration of the rising waters, which lifted the massive ark off the ground, confirming its successful construction and the power of the flood.

Verse 19

The statement that 'all the high hills... were covered' confirms the universal scope of the flood, emphasizing that God's judgment was comprehensive across the entire terrestrial sphere.

Verse 20

Fifteen cubits (approx. 22.5 feet) above the highest mountains indicates a depth sufficient to ensure the ark floated safely above any submerged obstructions or peaks.

Verse 21

This verse stresses the totality of the destruction, encompassing all land-dwelling creatures, and reversing the creation order established in Genesis 1 and 2.

Verse 23

The contrast between the destruction of 'every living substance' and the survival of 'Noah only' highlights the effectiveness of God’s judgment and the singular nature of His grace and covenant with Noah.

Verse 24

The hundred and fifty days marks the full duration that the waters continued to prevail at their maximum height before God remembered Noah and began the process of recession (Gen 8:1).

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Genesis7

God Commands Noah to Enter the Ark

The Flood Waters Erupt

The Waters Prevail and Destroy All Life

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