Genesis 7
Introduction
Genesis 7 narrates the flood itself — the climactic moment when God's patience with a corrupt world gives way to comprehensive judgment. The chapter opens with God's final command to Noah: enter the ark with your family and the animals, for in seven days the rain will begin. Noah obeys, and on the precise date recorded — the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah's six hundredth year — the "fountains of the great deep" burst open and the "floodgates of the heavens" are thrown wide. The cosmic waters that God separated on the second day of creation (Genesis 1:6-7) are reunited, and the ordered world dissolves back into watery chaos.
The chapter unfolds with mounting intensity: the waters rise for forty days, lifting the ark above the earth; they "prevail" on the earth, covering even the highest mountains; every living thing on dry land perishes. The language is deliberate and total — "all flesh," "every living thing," "everything that had the breath of life." Yet in the midst of this un-creation, one detail stands out: "the LORD shut him in" (v. 16). God personally seals Noah inside the ark. The chapter ends with the waters prevailing for 150 days — a long, silent wait in which judgment runs its full course before the turning point of Genesis 8:1.
God's Final Command to Board (vv. 1–5)
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; 3 and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth. 4 For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made." 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 Of every clean animal you shall take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the animals that are not clean, two, a male and its mate; 3 also of the birds of the sky, seven pairs, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven more days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe out from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made." 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
Notes
בֹּא ("come/go") — God says "come into the ark," not merely "go." The verb bo can mean either, but the nuance of "come" suggests that God is already there — inviting Noah to join Him in the place of safety. This is an invitation, not merely a command.
The distinction between clean and unclean animals presupposes a knowledge of ritual categories that will not be formally codified until the Mosaic law (Leviticus 11). The extra clean animals (seven pairs rather than one pair) serve a practical purpose: they provide for the sacrifice Noah will offer after the flood (Genesis 8:20) without endangering any species. This detail reveals divine forethought — God plans beyond the judgment to the worship that will follow.
שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה ("seven seven") — The Hebrew literally repeats "seven, seven," which can mean "seven pairs" or "seven of each" (i.e., seven individuals). Most translations take it as seven pairs (fourteen total), though "seven of each" is grammatically possible. The BSB and ESV read "seven pairs."
אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה ("forty days and forty nights") — The number forty recurs throughout Scripture as a period of testing, judgment, or preparation: Moses on Sinai (Exodus 24:18), Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33-34), Elijah's journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), and Jesus' temptation (Matthew 4:2). Here it marks the duration of the rain itself, though the total flood period extends much longer.
כָּל הַיְקוּם אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי ("every living thing that I have made") — The word יְקוּם means "living substance, that which stands/exists." God will erase what He created — the verb מָחָה ("wipe out, blot out") repeats from Genesis 6:7. Creation is being reversed by the Creator Himself.
"And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him" (v. 5) — The third repetition of this obedience formula (cf. Genesis 6:22, Genesis 7:9). Noah's faithfulness is demonstrated not by dramatic acts of heroism but by quiet, complete compliance with God's instructions.
Noah Enters the Ark (vv. 6–10)
6 Now Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 The clean and unclean animals, the birds, and everything that crawls along the ground 9 came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth.
6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of the clean animals and of the animals that are not clean, and of the birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two by two they came to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after the seven days, the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
Notes
מִפְּנֵי מֵי הַמַּבּוּל ("because of the waters of the flood") — Literally "from the face of the waters of the flood." The family enters the ark fleeing from what is coming. The ark is not a pleasure cruise but a refuge from judgment.
The animals "came to Noah" — the passive construction emphasizes divine agency. Noah did not round up every species; God brought them. This echoes Genesis 6:20: "they will come to you." The scene mirrors Genesis 2:19, where God brought the animals to Adam in the garden. As the first Adam received the animals in Eden, the "second Adam" of this epoch receives them in the ark.
The seven-day waiting period between boarding and the flood's onset (v. 10) is a final period of grace — the door is open, the ark is ready, and still God waits. 1 Peter 3:20 interprets this as God's patience: "God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." The seven days also echo the seven days of creation — a new "week" that will result not in creation but in un-creation.
The Flood Begins (vv. 11–16)
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. 13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons — 14 they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature. 15 They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life. 16 And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
11 In 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 windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And the rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights. 13 On that very same day, Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark — 14 they and every wild animal according to its kind, and every domestic animal according to its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They came to Noah into the ark, two by two of all flesh in which was the breath of life. 16 Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, came in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.
Notes
נִבְקְעוּ כָּל מַעְיְנֹת תְּהוֹם רַבָּה וַאֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמַיִם נִפְתָּחוּ ("all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the windows of the heavens were opened") — This is the key cosmological statement of the flood. Two sources of water converge: waters from below (the תְּהוֹם, "deep/abyss") and waters from above (through the אֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמַיִם, "windows/floodgates of the heavens"). The tehom is the same primordial deep from Genesis 1:2 ("darkness was over the face of the deep"). The "windows of heaven" correspond to the raqia ("firmament/expanse") of Genesis 1:6-7, which separated the waters above from the waters below. The flood is the reversal of Day 2 of creation — the barriers God set up to hold back chaos are removed, and the world returns to its pre-creation state of water covering everything.
The precise date — "the six hundredth year of Noah's life, the second month, the seventeenth day" — gives the flood narrative a historical and chronological gravity. The specificity stands in contrast to the vague "once upon a time" character of mythological flood stories. The narrator anchors this event in a precise timeline.
וַיִּסְגֹּר יְהוָה בַּעֲדוֹ ("and the LORD shut him in") — This is one of the most remarkable sentences in Genesis. Throughout the flood narrative, God is referred to as Elohim ("God") — the name emphasizing His cosmic sovereignty and power. But here, at the moment of sealing the ark, the text switches to Yahweh ("the LORD") — the personal, covenant name. The God who shut the door is not a distant judge but the intimate, relational God who personally ensures Noah's safety. The verb סָגַר ("to shut, close, seal") means the door was sealed from the outside — Noah could not have done this himself. God shuts him in, which means God also shuts everyone else out. The same act is both salvation and judgment.
The Waters Prevail (vv. 17–20)
17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. 19 Finally, the waters completely prevailed upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits.
17 The flood continued on the earth for forty days. The waters increased and lifted the ark, and it rose above the earth. 18 The waters surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark drifted on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.
Notes
The verbs in this passage escalate steadily: the waters "increased" (רָבָה), "surged and increased greatly" (גָּבַר — "to be strong, prevail, overpower"), and finally "prevailed exceedingly" (גָּבְרוּ מְאֹד מְאֹד — the doubling of "very" intensifies the description). The narrative builds like a rising tide, each sentence pushing the waters higher.
The ark "floated" or "drifted" on the waters — it has no rudder, no sail, no oars. It is entirely at God's mercy. The Hebrew simply says the ark תֵּלֶךְ ("went, moved") on the surface. The human passengers have no control over their direction or destination. This is a picture of faith: Noah entrusted himself entirely to God's provision.
"All the high mountains under all the heavens were covered" — The language is emphatic and universal: all the mountains, under all the heavens. The fifteen cubits (approximately 22 feet) above the mountaintops may relate to the ark's draft — the depth to which it sat in the water — ensuring the ark would not scrape against submerged peaks.
All Life Destroyed (vv. 21–24)
21 And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished — birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind. 22 Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed — man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.
21 All flesh that moved on the earth perished — birds, livestock, wild animals, every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, and all humanity. 22 Everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life — they died. 23 He wiped out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, from man to livestock to creeping things to birds of the sky. They were wiped out from the earth, and only Noah remained, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 The waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
Notes
וַיִּגְוַע כָּל בָּשָׂר ("all flesh perished/expired") — The verb גָּוַע means "to expire, breathe one's last, die." It is used of Abraham's death (Genesis 25:8), Isaac's death (Genesis 35:29), and Jacob's death (Genesis 49:33). It describes the cessation of breath — the life force leaving the body. The flood reverses the act of Genesis 2:7, where God breathed life into man.
נִשְׁמַת רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו ("the breath of the spirit of life in his nostrils") — This phrase combines vocabulary from Genesis 2:7 (neshamah, "breath") and Genesis 6:17 (ruach chayyim, "spirit of life"). The very breath that God breathed into Adam is now extinguished in the flood. The creation of life in chapter 2 is undone in chapter 7.
וַיִּמַּח ("He wiped out") and וַיִּמָּחוּ ("they were wiped out") — The active and passive forms of machah appear together. God wiped them out (active, subject: God), and they were wiped out (passive, perspective of the earth). The double statement ensures completeness — nothing survived outside the ark.
וַיִשָּׁאֶר אַךְ נֹחַ ("only Noah remained") — The word אַךְ ("only, surely") is a restrictive particle. Out of all humanity, all creatures, all life on dry land — only Noah and those with him in the ark survived. The word שָׁאַר ("to remain, survive, be left") will become theologically significant: it is the root of שְׁאֵרִית ("remnant"), the concept that runs through the prophets — God always preserves a remnant through judgment (Isaiah 10:20-22, Micah 2:12, Romans 9:27).
The 150 days of prevailing waters (v. 24) is the still point between destruction and restoration. For five months, the earth is submerged and silent. Nothing happens — from the human perspective — until the turning point of Genesis 8:1: "But God remembered Noah."