창세기 Chapter 6

Translation: ESV

1

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,

Key Message

Multiplication and abundance do not necessarily accompany moral goodness; even within outward prosperity, corruption can be progressing.

▸Chapter 6 opens with a scene of humanity multiplying, but carries the irony that this very multiplication becomes the backdrop for corruption.

Chapter 6 opens with a scene of humanity multiplying, but carries the irony that this very multiplication becomes the backdrop for corruption. The blessing of Genesis 1:28 to 'be fruitful and multiply' is being fulfilled, yet the result leads not in the direction God intended but toward corruption. The mention of 'daughters' sets the stage for the story of the 'sons of God' in verse 2.

Related Verses

And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.'
3

Then the LORD said, 'My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.'

Key Message

When God's Spirit does not abide with humanity, humans are governed by fleshly desires; this is the root cause of corruption and judgment.

▸God's declaration that his Spirit will not abide with humanity is a forewarning of judgment.

5

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Key Message

Human corruption extends not merely to external actions but to the very disposition and direction of the heart's intentions; this is the nature of the human condition requiring salvation.

▸This verse is one of the darkest statements in the Bible describing the depth and extent of human corruption.

6

And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Key Message

God is a personal being who is pained by human sin; judgment is not mechanical punishment without emotion but arises from deep sorrow.

▸The expression that God 'regretted' and 'was grieved' is one of the most striking anthropomorphic descriptions in the Bible.

8

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Key Message

Even in the midst of the declaration of judgment, there is grace that begins with 'but'; salvation always begins not from human merit but from the grace of God.

▸Amid the corruption of all humanity and God's grief, a single sentence appears.

9

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

Key Message

Maintaining righteousness in the most corrupt age is true faith; walking with God means choosing a path different from the direction the world is going.

▸Noah receives three descriptors: 'righteous man' (tsaddiq), 'blameless' (tamim), and one who 'walked with God.

13

And God said to Noah, 'I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.'

Key Message

God does not overlook violence and injustice; judgment upon pervasive social injustice is an expression of God's righteousness.

▸God states the reason for judgment clearly.

14

Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

Key Message

Within God's declaration of judgment, the means of salvation is already included; judgment and salvation exist within the same providence of God.

▸Even as God pronounces judgment, he simultaneously provides a means of salvation.

18

But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

Key Message

By making a covenant with Noah, God announces for the first time that he is the covenant-making God who guarantees a new relationship and future beyond judgment.

▸This is the first appearance of the word 'covenant' (berit) in the Bible.

22

Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Key Message

Faith appears not as mere mental assent but as complete obedience that carries out all of God's commands, and this is what brings salvation.

▸The final verse of chapter 6 records Noah's complete obedience.