Genesis 6:9 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

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

CSB: These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.

NLT: This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

KJV: These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

NKJV: This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

This verse begins a brand new section of Genesis. Just as chapter 5 began with the "generations of Adam," this new section begins with "the generations of Noah." However, the chapter doesn't immediately launch into a list of Noah's descendants. Instead, it will first tell his amazing story, beginning with his character.

We are told he is both righteous and blameless among the people of his time. These are both words of comparison. Noah's choices stood in contrast, at least in God's sight, to the sinful, selfish choices of the rest of humanity. Noah was righteous in the sense that he did was right, and he was blameless in the sense that he didn't do what was wrong. In strong distinction to those around him, Noah was a moral, god-honoring man.

The term blameless is used in Scripture to refer to those who are exceptionally obedient to God (Job 1:1; Luke 1:6). The idea is not someone who is "absolutely perfect." Noah wasn't a sinless, morally perfect man. Only Jesus ever accomplished that (Hebrews 4:14). But by character, reputation, and practice, Noah was exceptional. In simple terms, he did good things and didn't do bad ones. That set him apart from the rest of humanity.

Even more, we're told that Noah walked with God. Those words are only said of one other man in Genesis: Enoch, the man God took away without any report of his death (Genesis 5:22–24). Noah enjoyed a very close relationship with God.

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.