Genesis 7

The Flood Narrative

¹The LORD said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.

²You 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.

³Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.

⁴In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”

⁵Noah did everything that the LORD commanded him.

⁶Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.

⁷Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.

⁸Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground

⁹went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

¹⁰After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.

¹¹In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened.

¹²It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³In 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—

¹⁴they, 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.

¹⁵Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah.

¹⁶Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then the LORD shut him in.

¹⁷The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth.

¹⁸The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.

¹⁹The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered.

²⁰The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

²¹All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

²²All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

²³Every 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.

²⁴The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.

Previous Genesis 6

Next Genesis 8

God commands Noah to enter the ark with his family and the animals, specifying seven pairs of clean animals and two pairs of unclean animals. After seven days, the flood begins with rain from above and waters bursting from below, lasting forty days and nights. The waters cover even the highest mountains, destroying all life on earth except Noah and those with him in the ark, with the flood persisting for 150 days total.

Context

This chapter follows God's detailed instructions for ark construction in chapter 6 and leads to the flood's conclusion and God's covenant in chapters 8-9.

Key Themes

Outline

1-5
God's Final Instructions to Noah The LORD commands Noah to enter the ark with specific numbers of clean and unclean animals, announcing the coming forty-day deluge.
6-10
Noah's Obedience and Entry into the Ark Noah, at age 600, obeys God's command and enters the ark with his family and all the animals as instructed.
11-16
The Flood Begins On the appointed day, the fountains of the deep burst open and the heavens pour forth rain, with God himself shutting Noah inside the ark.
17-24
The Waters Prevail The flood covers the entire earth including the highest mountains, destroying all breathing life except those preserved in the ark.

The Flood Narrative

7:1–8:22

narrative narration solemn

This passage narrates the actual flood event, describing Noah's obedience in entering the ark with his family and the animals as God brings judgment upon the earth. The narrative emphasizes both divine justice in destruction and divine mercy in preservation.

person_contrast

Noah's perfect obedience appears seven times using the phrase "as God commanded him," creating a literary counterpoint to humanity's sevenfold corruption that necessitated the flood.

Insight Character Study

Noah's perfect obedience appears seven times using the phrase "as God commanded him," creating a literary counterpoint to humanity's sevenfold corruption that necessitated the flood.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Genesis 7:1 1 reference

Lexicals 1

Genesis 6:9 Lexical

This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah w…

Genesis 7

The Flood Narrative

The Flood Narrative

Insights

Cross-References

Genesis 7:1 1 reference

Genesis 7:3 1 reference

Genesis 7:4 1 reference

Genesis 7:8 5 references

Genesis 7:9 1 reference

Genesis 7:11 5 references

Genesis 7:13 5 references

Genesis 7:14 5 references

Genesis 7:15 1 reference

Genesis 7:16 1 reference

Genesis 7:21 5 references

Genesis 7:22 3 references

Genesis 7:23 5 references

Interlinear