Genesis 6:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.

NIV: Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.

NASB: You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

CSB: You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within eighteen inches of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.

NLT: Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat — lower, middle, and upper.

KJV: A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

NKJV: You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

Here, God concludes His very general instructions to Noah about how to build the ark. In the previous verses, Noah was instructed to make the ark about 450 feet (137 meters) long, 75 feet (23 meters) wide, and 45 feet (14 meters) high. This is based on the traditional length of a cubit, as the distance from the top of the finger to the elbow: approximately 18 inches (46 centimeters). For materials, Noah is told to use "gopher wood," which is an unknown material. Some scholars think this was either cedar or cypress.

Now God tells Noah to construct a roof with an opening of about 1 cubit all the way around the top. In addition, the ark would have three decks and a single door on one side of it. This door would presumably need to be large enough to accommodate the entrance and exit of all the animals who would be making the voyage with Noah and his family. Once again, the details given here are not meant to tell us, the reader, how to construct our own ark. Rather, they are general summaries of the specific instructions given by God to Noah.

Genesis 6:9-22 begins another new section in Genesis called the ''generations of Noah.'' Because of humanity's power and wickedness, the earth had become filled with violence and sinfulness. By contrast, Noah was a righteous, blameless man who walked with God. God chooses to declare to Noah His plan to end all land-dwelling life on earth, but also to save Noah and his family and two of every animal. Noah obeys God's command to build the ark that would preserve the human race from total destruction in the flood.

God sees. In the first chapter of Genesis, God saw that all He had made was good. Now, many generations after sin entered the world, God sees that all man has made is wickedness and evil. Human beings have used their power for violence and destruction. God declares His plan to wipe out all land-dwelling life on the face of the earth. He will however, preserve humanity and animal life for a new beginning through the one righteous man, Noah, and a huge life-giving structure called an ark.

The previous chapter traced the generations from Adam through his son Seth and all of the way to Noah. This chapter reveals that Noah will be the man through whom God will preserve humanity for a new beginning after wiping out all life on the face of the earth. God tells Noah to build an enormous structure, an ark, and prepare to welcome representatives of all of the animals on earth. Noah does exactly that, setting the stage for the cataclysmic judgment of God to come in chapter 7.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.