What did Noah do?
BREAKDOWN
Noah is a pivotal figure in the biblical narrative, primarily known for his role in the great flood and the subsequent repopulation of the Earth. As described in Genesis, Noah "walked with God" (Genesis 6:9) in a generation that had become utterly corrupt and violent. God observed the pervasive wickedness of humanity and decided to destroy all living creatures from the face of the Earth. However, Noah "found favor in the eyes of Yahweh" (Genesis 6:8) because of his righteousness and blamelessness. Consequently, God instructed Noah to build a massive ark, providing him with precise dimensions and materials, and commanded him to gather two of every kind of unclean animal and seven of every clean animal, along with his family, into the ark to preserve life during the impending global deluge. Noah meticulously obeyed all of God's commands. He spent many years constructing the ark, an act of faith and obedience in the face of widespread unbelief. Once the ark was completed and filled, the floodwaters covered the earth, destroying all life outside the ark. After the waters receded, Noah, his family, and all the animals disembarked. His first act upon leaving the ark was to build an altar to Yahweh and offer burnt offerings from every clean animal and bird (Genesis 8:20), a profound act of worship and gratitude. In response, God made a covenant with Noah and all future generations, promising never again to destroy the Earth by flood, signifying this promise with the rainbow (Genesis 9:11-16). Following this, Noah became a farmer, planted a vineyard, and experienced an incident involving drunkenness and his sons, which further details the early post-flood human experience and the origins of various peoples.
KEY TERMS
walked with God
A biblical phrase indicating intimate communion, consistent obedience, and a life lived in accordance with divine will, notably also used of Enoch.
ark
A large, box-like vessel constructed by Noah under divine instruction to preserve life during the global flood.
righteousness
The state of being morally right or justifiable, particularly in the eyes of God, characterized by adherence to divine laws and ethical principles.
covenant
A formal, binding agreement or promise, in this case, established by God with Noah and all creation, symbolized by the rainbow.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Genesis 6:8
But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.
Genesis 6:9
This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries. Noah walked with God.
Genesis 6:13-22
God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make an ark of cypress wood. You shall make rooms in the ark, and shall pitch it inside and outside with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a roof in the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third stories. I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on the earth, to destroy all flesh with the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth will die. But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come to you, to keep them alive. Take to yourself of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.” Noah did everything according to all that God commanded him.
Genesis 7:1-24
Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all your household into the ark, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, two, the male and his female. Also of the birds of the sky, seven pairs, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth. In 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.” Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, of animals that are not clean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, there went by two and two to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. After the seven days, the waters of the flood came on the earth. 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. The rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives with them, entered into the ark; 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. They went into the ark to Noah, by two and two of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; and Yahweh shut him in. The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered. The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, wild animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Every living thing was destroyed which 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 ark. The waters prevailed on the earth one hundred fifty days.
Genesis 8:1-22
God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the livestock that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the sky’s windows were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained. The waters receded from the earth continually. After the end of one hundred fifty days, the waters decreased. The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on Ararat’s mountains. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible. At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. He sent forth a raven, and it went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth. He sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground, but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him into the ark; for the waters were on the surface of the whole earth. He put out his hand, and took her, and brought her into the ark with himself. He waited yet another seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. The dove came in to him at evening, and behold, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth. He waited yet another seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she didn’t return to him any more. In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth.” Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ark. Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike every living thing any more, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
Genesis 9:1-17
God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. With all that moves on the ground, and with all the fish of the sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. I will surely require account of your blood, the blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood will be shed; for God made man in his own image. As for you, be fruitful and multiply. Populate the earth abundantly, and multiply in it.” God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, even every animal of the earth. I will establish my covenant with you. All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow will be in the cloud; and I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
נֹחַ
Noah
DefinitionRest, comfort
תֵּבָה
ark
DefinitionBox, chest, vessel
צַדִּיק
righteous
DefinitionRighteous, just, innocent
בְּרִית
covenant
DefinitionCovenant, agreement, treaty
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The narrative of Noah is set against a backdrop of the ancient Near East, though the pre-flood world is largely shrouded in biblical mystery. Archaeological evidence from Mesopotamia, particularly the Sumerian King List and various flood tablets (like the Epic of Gilgamesh), indicates that large-scale, devastating floods were a significant part of their cultural memory, often leading to a reset of civilization. While these accounts differ in detail and theological intent from the biblical narrative, they reflect a shared regional understanding of catastrophic floods. The period would have been one of early agricultural societies, with communities living in settled areas, often near fertile river valleys. The act of building an ark, a vessel of unprecedented scale for its time, would have been an immense undertaking requiring considerable resources and labor. Post-flood, the transition back to an agrarian lifestyle, as evidenced by Noah planting a vineyard, reflects the fundamental economic activities of the Bronze Age, where agriculture and animal husbandry formed the bedrock of human sustenance and development.
THEOLOGICAL INSIGHT
Noah's story is rich with profound theological insights, primarily demonstrating God's justice in judging sin and His abundant grace in providing salvation. The flood represents a divine intervention to cleanse the earth of deep-seated corruption, illustrating that God cannot tolerate unchecked wickedness indefinitely. Yet, even in judgment, God's grace is paramount, as He chose Noah and his family, preserving a remnant of humanity and the animal kingdom. Noah's unwavering obedience in building the ark, despite the apparent absurdity of such a task, serves as a powerful testament to faith (Hebrews 11:7). The covenant established after the flood, marked by the rainbow, highlights God's faithfulness and His commitment to His creation, promising stability and the continuation of natural order. This covenant is a foundational promise, laying the groundwork for subsequent covenants with Abraham and ultimately pointing towards God's ultimate plan of redemption through Christ.
COMMENTARY SYNTHESIS
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) (Jewish)
Rashi notes on Genesis 6:9 that while Noah was righteous 'in his generations,' some Sages interpret this cautiously, suggesting he was righteous only relative to his corrupt generation, implying he might not have been considered righteous in the generation of Abraham. Others see it as an even greater praise, that he maintained righteousness despite the pervasive wickedness around him. His commentary emphasizes Noah's obedience to God's precise instructions for the ark, highlighting his unwavering trust.
John Calvin (Christian)
Calvin, in his Commentaries on Genesis, emphasizes Noah's faith as the central theme of his obedience. He argues that Noah's arduous task of building the ark, an unprecedented endeavor based solely on God's word, was a monumental act of faith that condemned the unbelief of his contemporaries. Calvin stresses that God's grace preserved Noah not due to inherent merit but by divine election, making Noah a type of Christ who provides salvation from judgment.
Matthew Henry (Christian)
Matthew Henry's commentary highlights Noah's character as a 'just man, perfect in his generations,' emphasizing his integrity and blamelessness. He views Noah's walking with God as a constant, intimate communion and a life directed by divine will. Henry particularly focuses on Noah's readiness to obey God's seemingly absurd command to build the ark, seeing it as an act of saving faith that prepared for a new world and demonstrated submission to God's sovereign plan.
Nachmanides (Ramban) (Jewish)
Nachmanides provides a nuanced interpretation of Noah's actions, particularly regarding the flood itself. He notes that the flood was not merely a physical event but a spiritual cleansing, removing the 'mixed seed' and corrupt elements that had defiled creation. He also delves into the precise dimensions and purpose of the ark, seeing it as a microcosm of the world, designed by divine wisdom for the preservation of life and the continuity of species.