Short answer: Genesis 6 describes the rapid moral collapse of humanity before the flood, the mysterious episode of the Nephilim, God's grief over human wickedness, and His covenant with Noah to preserve a remnant through the coming judgment. The chapter introduces Noah as a righteous man who walks with God, and it records God's specific instructions for building an ark of gopher wood. The central theme is the seriousness of sin, the justice of God's judgment, and the faithfulness of His grace in preserving a people through whom the promised offspring would come.
Introduction: The Corruption Before the Flood
Genesis 6 bridges the genealogy of chapter 5 and the flood narrative of chapters 7-8. It answers a pressing question: if sin entered the world through Adam and spread through Cain's line, what happened next? The answer is devastating. The chapter describes a world so thoroughly corrupt that God regretted making humanity—yet in the same breath, it shows God extending grace through a covenant with one man, Noah.
The chapter has three main movements: the sons of God and the daughters of men (verses 1-4), God's judgment on universal wickedness (verses 5-8), and God's covenant with Noah and the instructions for the ark (verses 9-22). Each section reveals something essential about God's character and His dealings with fallen humanity.
When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them, God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.” The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Genesis 6:1-4 (World English Bible)
The Sons of God and the Daughters of Men (6:1-4)
Few passages in Genesis have generated as much debate as verses 1-4. The phrase "sons of God" (bene ha'elohim) appears elsewhere in the Old Testament to refer to angelic beings (Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7). The traditional interpretation—that fallen angels took human wives—was held by Jewish interpreters before Christ and by many early church fathers. The alternative view, that "sons of God" refers to the godly line of Seth intermarrying with the ungodly line of Cain, gained prominence later but faces textual difficulties, since the phrase "sons of God" never refers to humans elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Whichever view one takes, the point of the passage is clear: a boundary was crossed, and the result was chaos. The Nephilim (literally "fallen ones") were mighty men of renown—but their renown was not godly fame. The Hebrew word suggests violence and tyranny. Their presence, along with the general corruption described in the following verses, set the stage for the flood.
God's Grief and Judgment (6:5-8)
Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.
Genesis 6:5-8 (World English Bible)
These verses contain one of the most startling statements in Scripture: God "was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart." This is anthropomorphic language—God does not change or experience regret as humans do (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29)—but it reveals the depth of God's emotional response to sin. The Hebrew word translated "grieved" (עצב, atsab) is the same word used for the pain of childbirth in Genesis 3:16. Sin causes God genuine, personal pain.
Yet in the same breath, the text says "Noah found favor in Yahweh's eyes." Judgment and grace stand side by side. The flood was not random destruction; it was the necessary response of a holy God to a world filled with violence, and it was accompanied by a specific provision of salvation.
The Covenant with Noah (6:9-22)
This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth. Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.
Genesis 6:9-14 (World English Bible)
Noah is described as "righteous" and "blameless" (tamim, meaning whole or complete) and as one who "walked with God"—the same phrase used of Enoch (Genesis 5:22). His righteousness was not sinless perfection but covenant faithfulness. God gave Noah precise instructions for the ark: gopher wood, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high, with three decks, a window, and a door in the side. The ark was a vessel of salvation, a picture of God's provision in the midst of judgment.
God also announced His covenant with Noah (verse 18). This is the first use of the word "covenant" (berit) in the Bible. God promises to preserve Noah and his family, and Noah responds with faithful obedience: "Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him" (6:22).
Key Themes in Genesis 6
- The depth of human sin: Every inclination of the human heart is only evil all the time.
- God's grief over sin: Sin is not merely a broken rule; it wounds the heart of God.
- Grace in judgment: Even as God judges, He provides a way of salvation.
- Covenantal faithfulness: Noah's obedience is the pattern of the righteous remnant.
- Typology of salvation: The ark prefigures the salvation found in Christ.
- For a deeper study of these themes, see How to Study the Bible.
Connection to the Rest of Scripture
The flood narrative is foundational for the rest of the Bible. Jesus refers to the days of Noah as a type of His return (Matthew 24:37-39). Peter uses Noah's salvation through water as a type of baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). The ark itself points to Christ, who is the only refuge from the judgment of God. The Noahic covenant established in chapter 6 is later confirmed and expanded in Genesis 9, and it grounds the biblical theme of God's faithful preservation of a people for Himself.
For further study, see our articles on Genesis 3: The Fall and the First Promise, Genesis 5: The Genealogy from Adam to Noah, and Berit: Covenant in the Bible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Biblical Fidelity Check
As part of our biblical fidelity check, this study takes Genesis 6 as straightforward historical narrative, reading it in its ancient Near Eastern context while affirming its theological authority. The interpretation of the "sons of God" as angelic beings follows the earliest Jewish and Christian tradition and is consistent with the usage of the phrase in the rest of the Old Testament. The emotional language of God's grief is understood as anthropopathic—a genuine revelation of God's heart through human categories, not a denial of His immutability. The measurements of the ark are taken at face value, and the flood is treated as a global judgment, not a local event. The typological connection between the ark and Christ is grounded in explicit New Testament teaching (1 Peter 3:20-21).
