Genesis Chapter 7

“Final Preparations"

​Context:

Noah and the great flood.

Chief People:

  • God
  • Noah​

​Choice Verses:

​GENESIS 7:1 ​

The LORD then said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

  • ​God again specifically explains why Noah and his family will be saved from the coming disaster. Now that Noah has obeyed God by building the ark according to the Lord's specifications, God commands Noah to take his family into the boat to be saved from the coming flood while the rest of his generation remains unprotected.

GENESIS 7:2 ​

Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate.

  • Clean animal refers to animals fit for sacrifice. Some refer to “clean and unclean as “pure and not pure”. God also instructs Noah to take 7 pairs of the clean animals; male and its mate. Insight here in this verse is that God plans to repopulate earth by His use of the word  “mates”, implying repopulation. What we don't know is why He uses mates for both clean, and unclean.​

GENESIS 7:3 ​

and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.

  • As this sounds like an enormous amount of birds, it's not as large as one might think. There are 5 main types of birds today, and if considering sub-types, that number is 40. Species are a completely different story; there are over 10,000 different species today, but what there was then does not matter. Some deniers of the ark say the ark was not big enough to hold all animals, birds, and creatures. They use the species example over the kinds example. If we use the 40 number, multiply by 7, and then 2 (male and female), our number is 560. The ark, with its size, could easily accommodate these birds, and within a relatively small portion of the ark. Whatever the number is, God is clear about His intention, though. The point is to preserve life, to keep the offspring alive on the face of the earth. Some have asked why 7 pairs of birds, while unclean animals were only 1 pair of each? Some theorize the birds would be sent out after the flood to see if the land was inhabitable and had dry land. If they flew back it was, and if they didn't, it wasn't. Inhabitation would mean the birds could land, and find food for survival.​

GENESIS 7:4 ​

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 creature I have made.

  • Noah had one week to get everything inside the ark which would be needed during the coming wrath of God. Everything left outside, including the rest of the human race, would be utterly destroyed. The number 40 is significant, and in the Biblical sense a divinely ordained period of time. God flooded the earth for 40 days and nights. The Israelites wandered the desert  for 40 years. Moses, Elijah both fasted for 40 days. Jesus wandered the desert for 40 days. The first three kings of Israel reigned for 40 years each (Saul, David and Solomon). Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days before David defeated him. In all, the number 40 appears 159 times in the Bible, across both the Old and New Testaments. Whatever the reason, it’s a number associated with testing and the hardships one must endure to become more spiritually aware.​

​GENESIS 7:5 ​

And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

  • The obedient servant never wavers, he simply does as commanded. Faithful Noah obeyed God. Period. It's not surprising to us that the New Testament writer of Hebrews describes Noah in such a positive light. (Hebrews 11:7)​

GENESIS 7:6 ​

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

  • We are now told how long it took Noah to build the ark; he started when he was 500 years old.

GENESIS 7:7 ​

And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

  • As no mention of Noah’s sons having children on the ark, we can assume those on the ark to be eight, and the only people left on the entire planet.​

GENESIS 7:8 ​

Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground.

  • Thus verse just restates what's already been established.​

GENESIS 7:9 ​

male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.

  • Earlier verses indicated these animals were sent to the ark by God (Genesis 6:20). Noah was not scrambling around trying to catch unwilling creatures.​

GENESIS 7:10 ​

And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

  • It's interesting to notice that God continues to operate within the seven-day cycle He established when He created the earth. Seven-day cycle to create in, and he spent a seven-day cycle in preparation to destroy it.​

GENESIS 7:11 ​

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month--on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

  • This verse points to a very specific day in the life of Noah for the beginning of the flood. Clearly, the text means for us to understand exactly how long each phase of the flood lasted, from beginning to end. The burst forth I interpret as the waters will come from two sources; up from the earth itself, and from the sky above. Closing, God says that they will receive such a great amount that there won't be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10).​

GENESIS 7:12 ​

And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

  • In the previous verse it tells us the water would “burst forth” and come from above, but this verse it just fell. This is not to say they were to separate events. What goes up, must come down, it's just simple gravity.​

GENESIS 7:13 ​

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.

  • The human men are named here again: Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Each man had a wife, who is not named. Together, these eight people would restart the human race in the new beginning God would establish after the flood. Other than a few times, Noah’s sons are mentioned very little in the Bible, and particularly, with little details.​

GENESIS 7:14 ​

They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings.

  • A theme of Genesis is God's ability to make good on His promises. Earlier parts of this story describe what God is predicting, later ones describe those events happening exactly as God said they would.​

GENESIS 7:15 ​

Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.

  • The “breath of life” simply means that of which God has brought life into. (Genesis 2:7). However, there is some controversy here as that in Genesis 1 God created man with the “breath of life”, and He “Let the land produce living creatures”.​

GENESIS 7:16 ​

The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

  • Building such an impressive ark, undoubtedly Noah could have built a way to shut himself in. One would wonder why the LORD shut him, but I believe this was symbolic in that the LORD closing it was just another proclamation of his covenant of protection with Noah. This symbolism will become crucial in our understanding of God and salvation.​

GENESIS 7:17 ​

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

  • The flood kept coming, apparently with no break in the rain. There would be not beach days here.​

GENESIS 7:18 ​

The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.

  • The rise of these waters, in some ways, is a reversal of God's initial creation. In the beginning, God drew dry land out of the water (Genesis 1:9–10). Here, in judgment, He is sending that land back under the waters. This is, in literal action, God "resetting" this aspect of His creation.​

GENESIS 7:19 ​

They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.

  • It's hard to imagine how much water that is but this verse tells us “all the highest mountains' ' were covered. Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level at 29,029 feet; that's over 5 1/2 miles just to reach its peak! In any case, the Bible is explicitly claiming that the waters from this flood covered every meaningful point of land, leaving no possibility of escape or rescue for those who were not on the ark.​

GENESIS 7:20 ​

The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.

  • A cubit is 18”, so at 15 cubits this tells us the water was at least 22 1/2 ft above the highest mountain. Such a depth would assure that no human being or animal would have been able to survive the flood, even if they succeeded in climbing to the top of the highest available peak.​

GENESIS 7:21 ​

Every living thing that moved on land perished--birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.

  • Important to note here is this verse is specific on one key point; it states “every living thing that moved on land perished”. It dispenses the question of if there were creatures of the water on the ark. This makes it clear that even though those creatures were not on the ark, they did not perish. What did was mankind, everything on land, and that of which depended on land.​

GENESIS 7:22 ​

Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

  • This reinforces the fact as to why there was no mention made of fish or other sea-dwelling creatures. It’s made more clear as to what exactly will perish, and it's those that had to breath of life in its nostrils. God's judgment was limited to the land.​

GENESIS 7:23 ​

Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

  • This verse uses repetition to remind us that this wasn't "just" a natural catastrophe. In a sense, God is un-making some of what He has made, by taking dry land back beneath the water.

GENESIS 7:24 ​

​The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

  • Some could say this verse is a contradiction to previous verses by pointing out that the flood lasted for 40 days and nights. This is only partially true! Only the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. The flood itself lasted for 150 days, which explains why God commanded the 7 pairs of every kind of bird. There would be over three months for waters to recede, and land to appear again. The birds were used as scouts of sorts.

​Crucial Words

  • Generation: A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. Although, in some biblical contexts, a “generation” can refer to a more extended age or a group of people spanning a longer period of time.
  • Burst: Break suddenly and violently apart, spilling the contents, typically as a result of an impact or internal pressure.
  • Cubit: An average length for the common cubit is 17-19 in​

Cross Reference

  • (Hebrews 11:7) “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”
  • (Malachi 3:10) “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
  • (Genesis 2:7) “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Questions:

  • Genesis 7:1 Why does God say “generation”, as the definition of generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time?
  • Genesis 7:1 What animals were considered “clean animals”?
  • Genesis 7:2 Why does God say “its mate” when referring to the “clean” animals? Only clean animals are acceptable as a sacrifice, and “mate implies reproduction?
  • Genesis 7:3 Why did God instruct Noah to bring 7 pairs of birds when he had him only bring one pair of animals (unclean)?
  • Genesis 7:4 Why did God let Noah know it would be 7 days before the rains would start? Is there any significance to the 7 days?
  • Genesis 7:4 Why 40 days and 40 nights, why was that time frame given?
  • Genesis 7:8 Why does God command the pairs of clean and unclean animals?
  • Genesis 7:11 What does the seventeenth day of the second month mean, if anything?
  • Genesis 7:15 Why does God say pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life, when in Genesis 1 He let the land produce living creatures? Wasn’t “breath of life" unique to man?
  • Genesis 7:16 Were there creatures of the waters on the ark?
  • Will there be another time we will need an ark?

​Christ seen (or mentioned)?

  • No

​Central Lessons(s), and Timeless Truth(s):

  • God is the creator of all, and He is clear on what he wants for us. Although he allows us choice, he will not allow evil to exist forever. Repentance and Faith in him are required to have a relationship with Him.

Conclusion:

  • Noah had his ark, and with it he rebuilt mankind. Our ark is Jesus Christ.

​Sidenotes: