The account of Noah, the ark, the flood, and the first covenant (Genesis 6:9–22)
Says After the open mark at 6:8, 6:9 opens, “This is the account of Noah” (6:9, BSB), אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ, the formula of 2:4 and 5:1. Noah is a righteous man, blameless in his generation, and walked with God (6:9), the walk said of Enoch at 5:22 and 24. God will bring the flood to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life (6:17). The ark is a תֵּבָה of גֹפֶר wood, three hundred by fifty by thirty cubits; the BSB's foot-equivalents are a conversion, not the Hebrew. צֹהַר is a roof in the BSB; its footnote allows a skylight or window. 6:18 is the first בְּרִית in Genesis; the terms are stated in 9:8–17. “So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him” (6:22, BSB). See the Hebrew, Greek and textual notes.
Implies The ark noun names a box or chest; its only other use is Moses' basket. The covenant noun is first used here, with no terms in 6:18.
Uncertain What צֹהַר is, and how far the flood reached, are open. (1) A flood of the whole earth: ground, all flesh, under the heavens, everything on the earth will perish. Objection: all and the earth can name a land and its people. (2) A flood of a region: ground, that narrower use. Objection: the chapter repeats its widest terms. The New Testament use does not settle the extent. Babylonian flood stories are treated in the historical note; no dependence is claimed.
Claims
- Says6:9 opens the toledot of Noah; he is righteous, blameless, and walked with God. The ark's dimensions are 300 × 50 × 30 cubits. 6:18 is the first covenant in Genesis. Noah did all that God commanded. Swete 6:10 has Σήμ.
- ImpliesThe ark noun names a box or chest; its only other use is Moses' basket. The covenant noun is first used here, with no terms stated in 6:18.
- UncertainWhat צֹהַר is, and whether the flood is of the whole earth or of a region, are open. The NT use does not settle extent. No lean. No dependence on Babylonian flood stories is claimed.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 6:1–22
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 6:1–22 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 6:1–22, vol. 1, pp. 9–10 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaves n40–n41); read on the page images; Swete 6:1a is ENG 5:32
- Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels public domain Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels (1912): Gilgamesh XI, pp. 90–101 (n117–n128); Atra-khasis recension, p. 104 (n131); Ammizaduga fragment, p. 105 (n132); Berossos, pp. 109–110 (n136–n137); read on the page images; paraphrased, as in the historical note
- King, Legends of Babylon and Egypt public domain King, Legends of Babylon and Egypt in Relation to Hebrew Tradition (1918), pp. 67–69 (n82–n84); read on the page images; paraphrased, as in the historical note
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2026-11-10
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