Genesis 7
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Genesis 7 moves from God's command to Noah's entry into the ark, then to the rising flood. Noah's household and animals enter, the LORD shuts Noah in, and the chapter ends by contrasting the waters' power with the lives preserved in the ark.
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Genesis 7:1-9Entering the Ark
1And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. 6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
God tells Noah and his household to enter the ark. Animals are preserved for life after the flood, and Noah does what the LORD commands.
Genesis 7:10-16The Flood Begins
10And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 14They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. 15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
The flood begins, Noah's household and the animals enter, and the LORD shuts Noah in. Genesis places God's preserving action beside Noah's obedience.
Genesis 7:17-24The Waters Prevail
17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. 18And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. 19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. 20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. 21And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. 23And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. 24And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
The waters prevail and bear up the ark. Genesis records the death of life on dry land, while Noah and those with him in the ark remain alive.
Research trail
Sources & further study
These references support the historical, linguistic, manuscript, and contextual notes in this chapter. Scripture remains the primary text; external sources are provided so readers can inspect the research directly.
- Genesis 7 · Hebrew + classical Jewish commentaryHebrew text and classical commentary for the ark, the LORD shutting Noah in, and the waters that prevail.
- Genesis 7 in later ScriptureA study tool for tracing Genesis 7 through Matthew 24, 1 Peter 3, and 2 Peter 3.
- Genesis 7 · Translators' NotesTranslation notes on clean and unclean animals, flood imagery, and the chapter's chronology.