Genesis 7:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.

NIV: Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.

NASB: Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth.

CSB: Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came and water covered the earth.

NLT: Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth.

KJV: And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

NKJV: Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

In Genesis 5:32, we were told that Noah was 500 years old when he fathered his three sons. Then in chapter 6, God told Noah to build the ark. Now we learn that Noah was 600 when the flood came. That suggests that Noah might have had as long as a hundred years to build the ark and prepare for the flood, though some scholars suggest that God's revelation to Noah came much closer to the flood itself. In any case, God certainly knew how much time it would take Noah to complete his work, and that this work would be completed just in time (Genesis 7:13).

While the idea of a 500-year-old man building a box the size of an apartment building seems outlandish, the context of the story is crucial. In this era, during the time from the Garden of Eden to the Flood, people had been living to be nearly 1,000 years old. A man of 600 would be in his active years, the equivalent of middle-age. Human lifespans will begin to decrease dramatically after the flood (Genesis 6:3), but for now, Noah is not an "old man" in this context. And, with so much time to work, and at least his sons to help, there's no reason to think he could not have completed the task he was assigned.

Genesis 7:1–10 confirms that Noah fulfilled all that he was commanded in chapter 6. In addition to the two pairs of all animals, Noah is also told to bring seven (total) pairs of ''clean'' animals, most likely for sacrificial purposes. God gives Noah a last-minute warning of the coming flood. As the preparations are completed, the great catastrophe occurs, just as God said it would. The next passage describes the colossal event.

Genesis 7 tells the story of the actual flood itself. God again commends Noah for his righteousness. The animals of every kind come to the ark. God shuts Noah and his family and the animals in, and it begins to rain. Water pours from above and bursts forth from below with incredible intensity. This outpouring of water lasts for 40 days, and covers the surface of the earth for another 110 days. The ark floats, rises, moves across the surface of the water. Outside of it, every land-dwelling, air-breathing thing dies. God wipes it all out, including every human being other than Noah and his family.

In chapter 6, God saw the wickedness and violence of humanity and resolved to wipe it all out. He revealed that plan to Noah, and He commanded Noah to build the ark. In chapter 7, the ark is finished, the animals arrive, the door is shut, and the rain begins on a specific date in the history of the world. All life aboard the ark is saved; all land-dwelling, air-breathing life outside of it is ended. The waters burst from below the earth and pour from above with great intensity for 40 days and then covered the earth for another 110. In the following chapter, the ark will come to rest, and the remade earth will begin to dry out.

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.