BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Genesis 6: Corruption, Judgement, and the Ark
In Genesis 6, humanity's unchecked corruption and violence lead God to announce a flood, yet He singles out Noah, who builds the ark and becomes the one with whom God makes a covenant.
Scripture
1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them,
2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose.
3And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.
4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.
5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.
9These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God.
10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die.
18But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
What this passage means
The chapter opens with population growth and intermarriage between 'sons of God' and 'daughters of men.' The narrative does not define these groups; it simply reports that human beings multiplied and that powerful, famous figures, the Nephilim, were present in the land both before and after these unions. The focus quickly shifts from identity to consequence: this world reaches a point where God sees that every intent of the human heart is evil all the time.
God's response is expressed in strong emotional terms: He grieves at heart and repents that He made humanity, then announces that He will wipe out humans, animals, creeping things, and birds. Yet the chapter immediately balances judgement with grace. Noah finds favor in God's eyes; he is described as righteous, blameless in his generations, and one who walked with God.
The rest of the chapter gives precise instructions for the ark: gopher wood, rooms, pitch, dimensions in cubits, a roof opening, a side door, and three decks. Noah is also told to bring pairs of every living creature and to gather food. The closing verse underlines his obedience: 'Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.'
Context
The chapter unfolds in two movements. The first (vv. 1-8) describes human multiplication, the appearance of the Nephilim, and the intermarriage of 'sons of God' with 'daughters of men'; God then sees that the human heart is set on evil, grieves, and announces the end of all flesh. The second movement (vv. 9-22) turns to Noah, who is righteous and walks with God; it records God's decision to save him through covenant and the detailed command to build the ark.
In this translation, the divine name 'Jehovah' (Lord) appears in vv. 3-8 and 'God' in vv. 9-22; the text does not explain this shift.
Key words in the original
- H1121 The word translated 'sons' in 'the sons of God' (v. 2) is the common Hebrew noun ben (gloss: 'sons'). In this chapter it is paired with 'elohim ('God'); the text never defines who these sons are, leaving room for the different readings the chapter has produced.
- H0430 The word rendered 'God' in 'sons of God' (v. 2) is the Hebrew noun 'elohim. This same word is used for God in the second half of the chapter (vv. 9, 11-13), as God speaks to Noah about corruption and the covenant.
- H2490 The verb rendered 'began' in v. 1 (halal) has a broad lexical range in the supplied definition — to bore, wound, dissolve, profane, break, or begin. The English translation selects 'began'; the wider range alerts a reader that the language of vv. 1-2 is doing more than stating chronology.
Related verses
- Matthew 15:19 Jesus' list of what comes 'out of the heart' (evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc.) reinforces Genesis 6:5's statement that the human heart's every intention was evil; both texts locate moral corruption inside the person.
- Numbers 13:33 This is the only other passage in the provided reference list that names the Nephilim. The spies say the sons of Anak 'come of the Nephilim' and compare themselves to grasshoppers; Genesis 6 itself only says the Nephilim were the mighty men of old, men of renown.
- Jeremiah 17:9 Jeremiah's declaration that the heart is deceitful above all things and exceedingly corrupt echoes Genesis 6:5, where the human heart's thoughts are 'only evil continually.' The cross reference links the flood narrative's diagnosis of the heart to Israel's later prophetic critique.
Common questions
Who are the 'sons of God' in verse 2?
The chapter does not identify them. It says they saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took wives, and it adds that their children became mighty men of old, men of renown. Because the text is silent, interpreters have proposed different identifications — the text itself does not settle the matter.
Why does verse 6 say God 'repented' and 'grieved'?
The wording is the narrator's description of God's inner response to human wickedness: He is sorry that He made humanity and feels grief at heart. This is one biblical way of portraying divine judgement in human terms; the same passage goes on to show God acting deliberately by announcing the flood and then establishing a covenant with Noah.
Did the flood in this chapter cover the entire earth?
The text says God will bring a flood of waters upon the earth 'to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die.' It also repeatedly says the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. The language reads as a total judgement on the corrupted world, though readers debate how to correlate this with actual geography.