Genesis 6

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Genesis 6 is the chapter before the flood. As people multiply, the "sons of God" take the daughters of men as wives, the Nephilim appear, and God limits human life to 120 years. Then comes the verdict: every inclination of the human heart is only evil all the time, and the LORD regrets making humanity and is grieved to his heart. He resolves to wipe out people and animals alike. But Noah finds favor. A righteous man who walks with God in a violent world, he is told to build an ark of gopher wood with three decks and a door, to bring in two of every creature and food for all, because a flood is coming and God will establish his covenant with him. Noah does everything exactly as commanded.

章の解説を開く

Genesis 6 is where the story of the world takes its darkest turn, and it is told with astonishing restraint. It opens with a strange episode, the sons of God taking human wives and the Nephilim, the giants of old, and God setting a limit of 120 years on a race that has gotten out of hand. Then the narrator gives God's view of things, and it is a sentence people have argued about ever since: the wickedness of humanity was great, and every inclination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil, all the time. What follows is not rage. The LORD regretted that he had made man, and it grieved him to his heart. The decision to wipe it all out is spoken by a God who is sorry. And then the hinge on which the whole Bible turns: but Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Noah is righteous and blameless in his generation, and he walks with God, in a world the narrator describes three times as corrupt and full of violence. God tells him what is coming and what to build: a great chest of gopher wood, sealed with pitch, three hundred cubits long, three decks, one door, room for two of every creature and food for all of them. He also says a word that has not appeared in the Bible until now: covenant. I will establish my covenant with you. The chapter ends with one line about Noah that is the whole of his greatness. He did everything exactly as God commanded.

主要な箇所

Genesis 6:1-4 Genesis 6:5-8 Genesis 6:9-13 Genesis 6:14-22 Hebrews 11:7 Matthew 24:37-39

Historical and literary context

The flood story has parallels in Mesopotamian literature, above all the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Atrahasis epic, where the gods send a flood and one man is warned to build a boat; Genesis shares the shape and differs in the reason, human corruption rather than divine annoyance, and in the one God who grieves. A cubit is about 45 centimeters, so the ark was some 135 meters long, larger than any ship built before the nineteenth century. Gopher wood is unidentified. The "sons of God" have been read since antiquity as angels, as the line of Seth, or as rulers, and the Nephilim recur as giants in Numbers 13. Jesus and Peter both refer to the days of Noah.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 4 tell of the sons of God and the daughters of men, the 120 years, and the Nephilim. Verses 5 to 8 give God's assessment of the human heart, his grief, his decision to blot out life, and Noah's favor. Verses 9 to 12 introduce Noah's account: his righteousness, his sons, and the corrupt, violent earth. Verses 13 to 21 are God's instructions: the end of all flesh, the ark and its measurements, the flood, the covenant, the animals, and the food. Verse 22 records Noah's complete obedience.

Why this chapter matters

Verse 5 is the Bible's starkest statement of human sinfulness and a foundation text for the doctrine of the fall, and verse 6, "the LORD regretted that He had made man," is its boldest statement that God feels. Noah walking with God, finding favor, and obeying to the letter became the model of faith in Hebrews 11 and of righteousness in a wicked age; the ark became, in Christian reading, a picture of baptism and of the church. "The days of Noah" are Jesus' image of a world caught unprepared. The first mention of "covenant" in the Bible is in verse 18.

Interpretive tension to watch

The identity of the sons of God and the Nephilim is the oldest puzzle in the chapter, and the church has never settled it. God's "regret" raises the question of whether an all-knowing God can change his mind, and readers answer with the language of accommodation, of genuine relationship, or of both. The destruction of every animal along with humanity troubles modern readers, and the flood's extent, global or regional, is debated among believers. Noah's "favor" in verse 8 comes before his righteousness in verse 9, which readers take as grace preceding goodness.

この章のための質問

God is "grieved in His heart" over human evil. What does it mean that the judge of the world is also its mourner?
Noah found favor before the text calls him righteous. Which comes first in your own story, being accepted or being good?
"Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him," for a flood no one could see. What does obedience look like when the reason is still invisible?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

ノートに追加

1 People started to increase in number and spread out across the earth. Daughters were born to them, 2 and the sons of God saw that these women were beautiful, and they took whichever ones they wanted. 3 Then the Lord said, “My life-giving Spirit will not remain in these people forever, because they are only mortal. The time they have left will be 120 years.” 4 There were giants on earth in those days, and also later on. They were born after the sons of God slept with the daughters of these people. Their sons became the great warriors and famous men of ancient times. 5 The Lord saw how terribly evil people on earth had become—every single thought in their minds was evil all the time! 6 The Lord was sorry he'd made human beings to live on the earth; it made him very sad to think about it. 7 So the Lord said, “I'm going to wipe out these people I created from the earth, and not only them but also the animals, the creatures that run along the ground, and the birds, because I'm sorry I made them.” 8 But the Lord was pleased with Noah. 9 This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was a man of integrity, living a moral life among the people of his time. He had a close relationship with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 God saw how corrupt the whole world had become, full of violent and lawless people. 12 God recognized that the corruption in the world was due to everyone on earth living corrupt lives. 13 So God told Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people on earth because they are all violent and lawless. I myself am going to destroy all of them, along with the earth. 14 Build an ark out of cypress wood. Make rooms inside the ark, and coat it with tar, both inside and out. 15 This is how to build it: the ark is to measure 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. 16 Make a roof for the ark, leaving a cubit-wide opening between the roof and the top of the sides. Put a door in the side of the ark, and construct three decks inside. 17 I myself am going to flood the earth with water that will destroy everything that breathes. Every living thing everywhere on earth will die. 18 But I will keep my agreement with you. You are to go into the ark, taking with you your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Take a pair, male and female, of every kind of animal into the ark and make sure you keep them alive. 20 The same applies to every kind of bird, livestock, and the creatures that run along the ground—a pair of every kind will come to you so they can be kept alive. 21 Take all kinds of food with you too. Store it so you and the animals will have enough to eat.” 22 Noah did exactly what God ordered him to do.

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