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.

God Commands Noah to Enter the Ark

1
The LORD said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation. ​
2
You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female. ​
3
Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.
4
In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. Every living thing that I have made, I will destroy from the surface of the ground.” ​
5
Noah did everything that the LORD commanded him. ​
6
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.
7
Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.
8
Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground
9
went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.
10
After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth. ​

The Flood Waters Erupt

11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep were burst open, and the sky’s windows were opened. ​
12
It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights. ​
13
In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth—the sons of Noah—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship—
14
they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.
15
Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went to Noah into the ship.
16
Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then the LORD shut him in. ​

The Waters Prevail and Destroy All Life

17
The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth. ​
18
The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.
19
The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered. ​
20
The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. ​
21
All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ​
22
All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
23
Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship. ​
24
The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty 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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