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Genesis 6
New Catholic Bible
Genesis 6
New Catholic Bible
Death and Resurrection of God’s Work[a]
Chapter 6
Widespread Perversion.[b]1 When men began to multiply upon the earth, and they began to have daughters, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married as many of them as they wanted. 3 The Lord therefore said, “My spirit will not remain in them forever, for they are flesh and the length of their lives will be one hundred and twenty years.”
4 There were giants upon the earth at this time, as well as afterward. They were the children of the sons of God who married the daughters of men. These were the heroes of times past, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of men upon the earth was great, and that every plan that their hearts conceived was nothing but evil. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made man upon the earth and his heart was grieved. 7 The Lord said, “I will obliterate man, whom I created, from the earth. Together with man I will eliminate all the cattle and reptiles and the birds of the air, for I regret having made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.
Salvation through the Righteous.[c] 9 This is the story of Noah. Noah was a just and blameless man at that time and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 But the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and filled with violence. 12 God saw that the earth was corrupt, for every person on the earth was perverse in what he did.
13 God therefore said to Noah, “I have decided to end everything, for they have filled the earth with their violence. Behold, I will destroy the entire creation. 14 Build an ark[d] of gopher wood and divide the ark into compartments and caulk it with bitumen inside and out. 15 This is how you shall make it: the ark will be three hundred cubits long, fifty wide, and thirty high. 16 Make a roof on the ark one cubit high.[e] Place a door in the side of the ark. Make it with three decks: lower, middle, and higher.
17 “Behold, I will send a flood. The waters shall cover the earth to destroy the life of everything under the skies that has the breath of life in it. Everything on the earth shall perish. 18 But I will establish a covenant with you.
“Go into the ark, you and your sons, your wife, and the wives of your sons. 19 Bring into the ark two of everything that lives, of all flesh. Bring a male and female of each species into the ark to save them. 20 Bring two birds of each species, two animals of each species, and two reptiles of each species with you to save them. 21 As for you, gather every type of food and take it with you. It shall nourish both you and them.”
22 Noah did all of this, exactly as God had commanded him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:1 The entire biblical tradition presents the flood as an historical event (Wis 10:4; Sir 44:17-18; Mt 24:37-39; 1 Pet 3:20; etc.), but apart from popular texts no information was available for describing the material event.
It is from these popular texts that the external elements of the story come: the structure of the ark, the duration and extent of the flood, and so on, which are not part of the historico-religious message of the writer but serve in the composition of a vivid story. As a result, the Yahwist and Elohist traditions could differ in marginal aspects that are more picturesque in the one and more detailed in the other.
Humankind is renewed in the person of Noah. In the Christian tradition he is a figure of Christ, the one true righteous man, who remained untouched by the spread of sin and then, rising unharmed from death, became the source of resurrection for humankind. - Genesis 6:1 The passage is from the Yahwist tradition. The writer seems to be using two fragments of ancient popular traditions (vv. 1-2, 4). The striking element in this chapter is the fact that human beings have gone so far in personal disintegration that they are no longer capable of thinking anything but evil (v. 5), so that any hope of recovery is morally impossible.
The tragic anthropomorphism seen in the divine regret highlights the power of evil, which is capable of destroying the work of the Creator; but the annihilation planned is the decision of the supreme Good, which is always the sole judge of its own plans (see Jer 18:1-12) and cannot allow the definitive victory of evil. - Genesis 6:9 The first part of the following passage (6:9-22) is from the Priestly tradition and links up with the end of chapter 5. First, in three verses (6:11-13), it uses the language of corruption and violence to summarize the entire history of sin and the decree of condemnation, both of which have been described in a more diffuse way in the Yahwist tradition. This is followed by the order to build the ark, which is found only in the Priestly version, and finally the announcement of the flood with the command to enter the ark. This passage from the Priestly tradition is followed by a repetition of the command to enter the ark and of the announcement of the flood from the Yahwist tradition (7:1-5). Note the difference of the two traditions when it comes to the number of animals brought into the ark: the Yahwist account, more popular in character, presupposes that in those very ancient times a distinction was already made between clean and unclean animals, whereas in fact the distinction was of later origin and codified in the Mosaic Law.
The New Testament praises the faith of Noah (Heb 11:7) and speaks of the harm done his contemporaries by their unbelief, because they were unable to accept the impulse to conversion that came from him as he was building the ark (1 Pet 3:20). - Genesis 6:14 Ark, in Hebrew teba, is probably connected with the Egyptian, teb(t), basket, sarcophagus, and perhaps with the Akkadian, tabu, the processional boat of the gods, or with Akkadian, elippu tibitu, a kind of boat. The same word is used in Ex 2:3, 5 for the basket in which Moses was saved.
- Genesis 6:16 A cubit was about 50 cm or one and a half feet. The ark was about 156 meters long, 26 meters wide, and 15 meters high (440 x 72 x 44 feet). It was a floating parallelepiped of about 55,000 or 60,000 cubic meters (82,000 or 90,000 cubic feet).
Bereshis 6
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Bereshis 6
Orthodox Jewish Bible
6 And it came to pass, when HaAdam began to multiply on the face of ha’adamah, and banot were born unto them,
2 That the bnei HaElohim saw the banot HaAdam that they were tovot; and they took them nashim of all which they chose.
3 And Hashem said, My Ruach [Hakodesh] shall not always strive with Adam, for that he also is basar: yet his yamim shall be a hundred and twenty shanah.
4 HaNefilim were on ha’aretz in those yamim; and also after that, when the bnei HaElohim came in unto the banot HaAdam, and they bore children to them, the same became gibborim which were of old, men of renown.
5 And Hashem saw that the wickedness of HaAdam was great in ha’aretz and that every yetzer (inclination) of the machshevot (thoughts) of his lev was only rah (evil) continually.
6 And Hashem relented that He had made HaAdam on ha’aretz, and He was hurt in His lev.
7 And Hashem said, I will wipe out HaAdam whom I have created from the face of ha’adamah; both Adam, and Behemah, and the Remes and the Oph HaShomayim; for I relent that I have made them.
8 But Noach found chen (grace, unmerited favor) in the eyes of Hashem.
[NOACH]
9 These are the toldot of Noach; Noach was an ish tzaddik and tamim among those of his time, and Noach’s halachah was with HaElohim.
10 And Noach fathered three banim: Shem, Cham, and Yephet.
11 Ha’aretz also was corrupt before HaElohim, and ha’aretz was filled with chamas.
12 And Elohim looked upon ha’aretz, and, hinei, it was corrupt; for kol basar had corrupted his derech upon ha’aretz.
13 And Elohim said unto Noach, The ketz (end) of kol basar is come before Me; for ha’aretz is filled with chamas because of them; and, hineni, I will destroy them with ha’aretz.
14 Make thee a tevah (ark) of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the tevah (ark), and shalt coat it within and without with tar.
15 And this is how thou shalt build it: the length of the tevah (ark) shall be three hundred cubits, the width of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16 A roof shalt thou make to the tevah (ark), and thou shalt finish it to a cubit from the top; and the door of the tevah (ark) shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third decks shalt thou make it.
17 And, hineni, I, even I, do bring a mabbul of waters upon ha’aretz, to destroy kol basar, wherein is the ruach chayyim, from under Shomayim; and everything that is in ha’aretz shall perish.
18 But with thee will I establish My brit (covenant); and thou shalt come into the tevah (ark), thou, and thy banim, and thy isha, and the nashim of thy banim with thee.
19 And of every living thing of kol basar, two of every kind shalt thou bring into the tevah (ark), to keep them alive with thee; they shall be zachar and nekevah.
20 Of birds after their kind, and of behemah after their kind, of every remes of ha’adamah after its kind, two of every kind shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for ochel for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noach; according to all that Elohim commanded him, so did he.
Genesis 6
New International Version
Genesis 6
New International Version
Wickedness in the World
6 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth(A) and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God(B) saw that the daughters(C) of humans were beautiful,(D) and they married(E) any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit(F) will not contend with[a] humans forever,(G) for they are mortal[b];(H) their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim(I) were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans(J) and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.(K)
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,(L) and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.(M) 6 The Lord regretted(N) that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth(O) the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.(P)” 8 But Noah(Q) found favor in the eyes of the Lord.(R)
Noah and the Flood
9 This is the account(S) of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless(T) among the people of his time,(U) and he walked faithfully with God.(V) 10 Noah had three sons: Shem,(W) Ham and Japheth.(X)
11 Now the earth was corrupt(Y) in God’s sight and was full of violence.(Z) 12 God saw how corrupt(AA) the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.(AB) 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy(AC) both them and the earth.(AD) 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[c] wood;(AE) make rooms in it and coat it with pitch(AF) inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[d] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[e] high all around.[f] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters(AG) on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.(AH) 18 But I will establish my covenant with you,(AI) and you will enter the ark(AJ)—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.(AK) 20 Two(AL) of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind(AM) of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.(AN) 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.(AO)
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:3 Or My spirit will not remain in
- Genesis 6:3 Or corrupt
- Genesis 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
- Genesis 6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
- Genesis 6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
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