The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  6:8 But Noah found grace. Lest one believe that Noah was spared because of his good works alone (cf. Heb. 11:7), God makes it clear that Noah was a man who believed in God as Creator, Sovereign, and the only Savior from sin. He found grace for himself, because he humbled himself and sought it (cf. 4:26). See notes on Is. 55:6, 7; he was obedient, as well (6:22; 7:5; James 4:6–10).

  6:9—9:29 The generations of Noah.

  6:9 a just man…perfect…walked. Cf. Ezek. 14:14, 20; 2 Pet. 2:5. The order is one of increasing spiritual quality before God: “just” is to live by God’s righteous standards; “perfect” sets him apart by a comparison with those of his day; and that he “walked with God” puts him in a class with Enoch (5:24).

  6:11 corrupt…filled with violence. Cf. 6:3, 5. The seed of Satan, the fallen rejectors of God, deceitful and destructive, had dominated the world.

  6:13 I will destroy them with the earth. Destroy did not mean annihilation, but rather referred to the flood judgment, both of the earth and its inhabitants.

  6:14 ark. A hollow chest, a box designed to float on water (Ex. 2:3). gopherwood. Probably cedar or cypress trees, abundant in the mountains of Armenia.

  6:15, 16 While the ark was not designed for beauty or speed, these dimensions provided extraordinary stability in the tumultuous floodwaters. A cubit was about 18 inches long, making the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. A gigantic box of that size would be very stable in the water, impossible to capsize. The volume of space in the ark was 1.4 million cubic feet, equal to the capacity of 522 standard railroad box cars, which could carry 125,000 sheep. It had 3 stories, each 15 feet high; each deck was equipped with various rooms (lit. “nests”). “Pitch” was a resin substance to seal the seams and cracks in the wood. The “window” may have actually been a low wall around the flat roof to catch water for all on the ark.

  6:17 floodwaters. Other notable Scriptures on the worldwide flood brought by God include: Job 12:15; 22:16; Ps. 29:10; Is. 54:9; Matt. 24:37–39; Luke 17:26, 27; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5, 6.

  6:18 But I will establish My covenant with you. In contrast with the rest of the created order which God was to destroy, Noah and his family were not only to be preserved, but they were to enjoy the provision and protection of a covenant relationship with God. This is the first mention of “covenant” in Scripture. This pledged covenant is actually made and explained in 9:9–17 (see notes there).

  6:19, 20 There are less than 18,000 species living on earth today. This number may have been doubled to allow for now extinct creatures. With two of each, a total of 72,000 creatures is reasonable as indicated in the note on 6:15, 16; the cubic space could hold 125,000 sheep, and since the average size of land animals is less than a sheep, perhaps less than 60 percent of the space was used. The very large animals were surely represented by young. There was ample room also for the one million species of insects, as well as food for a year for everyone (v. 21).

  Genesis 7

  7:1 righteous. Cf. 6:9; Job 1:1.

  7:2, 3 seven…seven. The extra 6 pairs of clean animals and birds would be used for sacrifice (8:20) and food (9:3).

  7:3 to keep the species alive. So that God could use them to replenish the earth.

  7:4 God allowed one more week for sinners to repent. rain…forty days and forty nights. A worldwide rain for this length of time is impossible in post-Flood atmospheric conditions, but not then. The canopy that covered the whole earth (see note on 1:7), a thermal water blanket encircling the earth, was to be condensed and dumped all over the globe (v. 10).

  Gen. 7:4

  The Flood Chronology

  1. In the 600th year of Noah (second month, tenth day), Noah entered the ark (Gen. 7:4, 10, 11).

  2. In the 600th year of Noah (second month, seventeenth day), the flood began (Gen. 7:11).

  3. The waters flooded the earth for 150 days (5 months of 30 days each), including the 40 days and 40 nights of rain (Gen. 7:12, 17, 24; 8:1).

  4. In the 600th year of Noah (seventh month, seventh day), the waters began to recede (7:24; 8:1).

  5. The waters later receded to the point that (600th year, seventh month, seventeenth day) the ark rested on Ararat (Gen. 8:3, 4).

  6. The waters continued to abate so that (600th year, tenth month, first day) the tops of the mountains were visible (Gen. 8:5).

  7. Forty days later (600th year, eleventh month, tenth day) Noah sent out a raven and a dove (Gen. 8:6). Over the next 14 days, Noah sent out two more doves (Gen. 8:10, 12). In all, this took 61 days or two months and one day.

  8. By Noah’s 601st year on the first month, the first day, the water had dried up (Gen. 8:12, 13).

  9. Noah waited one month and twenty-six days before he disembarked in the second month, the 27th day of his 601st year. From beginning to end, the Flood lasted one year and ten days from Gen. 7:11 to Gen. 8:14.

  7:11 month…day. The calendar system of Noah’s day is unknown, although it appears that one month equaled 30 days. If calculated by the Jewish calendar of Moses’ day, it would be about May. This period of God’s grace was ended (cf. 6:3, 8; 7:4). all the fountains of the great deep were broken up. The subterranean waters sprang up from inside the earth to form the seas and rivers (1:10; 2:10–14), which were not produced by rainfall (since there was none), but by deep fountains in the earth. the windows of heaven. The celestial waters in the canopy encircling the globe were dumped on the earth and joined with the terrestrial and the subterranean waters (cf. 1:7). This ended the water canopy surrounding the earth and unleashed the water in the earth; together these phenomena began the new system of hydrology that has since characterized the earth (see Job 26:8; Eccl. 1:7; Is. 55:10; Amos 9:6). The sequence in this verse, indicating that the earth’s crust breaks up first, then the heavens drop their water, is interesting because the volcanic explosions that would have occurred when the earth fractured would have sent magma and dust into the atmosphere, along with gigantic sprays of water, gas, and air—all penetrating the canopy triggering its downpour.

  7:16 the LORD shut him in. No small event is spared in the telling of this episode, although the details are sparse.

  7:19 all the high hills. This describes the extent of the Flood as global. Lest there be any doubt, Moses adds “under the whole heaven” (cf. 2 Pet. 3:5–7). There are over 270 flood stories told in cultures all over the earth, which owe their origin to this one global event.

  7:20 The highest mountains were at least 22.5 feet under water, so that the ark floated freely above the peaks. This would include the highest peak in that area, Mt. Ararat (8:4), which is ca. 17,000 feet high. That depth further proves it was not a local flood, but a global one.

  7:24 one hundred and fifty days. These days included the 40 day and night period of rain (7:12, 17). The Flood rose to its peak at that point (cf. 8:3). It then took over 2½ months before the water receded to reveal other mountain peaks (8:4, 5), over 4½ months before the dove could find dry land (8:8–12), and almost 8 months before the occupants could leave the ark (8:14).

  Genesis 8

  8:1 Then God remembered Noah. God’s covenant with Noah brought provision and protection in the midst of severe judgment. The remnant was preserved and God initiated steps toward reestablishing the created order on earth. the waters subsided. God used the wind to dry the ground; evaporation returned water to the atmosphere.

  8:4 the mountains of Ararat. These were in the region of the Caucasus, also known as ancient Urartu, where the elevation exceeded 17,000 feet.

  Gen. 8:4

  Major Mountains of the Bible

  Mt. Ararat (in modern Turkey), where Noah’s ark came to rest (Gen. 8:4).

  Mt. Carmel, where Elijah was victorious over the prophets of Baal (1 Kin. 18:9-42).

  Mt. Ebal (opposite Mt. Gerizim), where Moses commanded that an altar be built after the Hebrews entered the Promised Land (Deut. 27:4).

  Mt. Gerizim, where Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:20).
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  Mt. Gilboa, where King Saul and his sons were killed in a battle with the Philistines (1 Chr. 10:1, 8).

  Mt. Hermon, a mountain range that marked the northern limit of the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 11:3, 17).

  Mt. Lebanon, the source of cedar wood for Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem (1 Kin. 5:14, 18).

  Mt. Moriah, where Abraham brought Isaac for sacrifice (Gen. 22:2) and the location of Solomon’s temple (2 Chr. 3:1).

  Mt. Olivet, or Mt. of Olives, where Jesus gave the discourse on His Second Coming (Matt. 24:3).

  Mt. Pisgah, or Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land (Deut. 34:1).

  Mt. Seir, south of the Dead Sea, the location to which Esau moved after Isaac’s death (Gen. 36:8).

  Mt. Sinai, or Horeb (near Egypt), where the law was given to Moses (Ex. 19:2-25).

  Mt. Tabor, 6 miles east of Nazareth, served as a boundary between Issachar and Zebulun; also Barak launched his attack on Sisera from Tabor (Judg. 4:6–15).

  Mt. Zion, originally limited to the SW sector (2 Sam. 5:7), was later used of all Jerusalem (Lam. 1:4).

  8:7–12 a raven…a dove. Ravens survive on a broad range of food types. If any food was available outside the ark, the raven could survive. In contrast, a dove is much more selective in its food choices. The dove’s choice of food would indicate that new life had begun to grow; thus Noah and his family could also survive outside the ark.

  8:14–16 Noah and his family had been in the ark for 378 days (cf. 7:4, 10, 11).

  8:17–19 be fruitful and multiply. In the process of replenishing the created order that He had judged with destruction, God repeated the words of the blessing which He had put upon non-human creatures (1:22). Noah faced a new world where longevity of life began to decline immediately; the earth was subject to storms and severe weather, blazing heat, freezing cold, seismic action, and natural disasters.

  8:20 built an altar. This was done as an act of worship in response to God’s covenant faithfulness in sparing him and his family.

  8:21 smelled a soothing aroma. God accepted Noah’s sacrifice. curse…destroy. Regardless of how sinful mankind would become in the future, God promised not to engage in global catastrophe by flood again (cf. 9:11). See notes on 2 Pet. 3:3–10 for how God will destroy the earth in the future.

  8:22 While the earth remains. With many alterations from the global flood, God reestablished the cycle of seasons after the catastrophic interruption.

  Genesis 9

  9:1 blessed Noah…. Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. God blessed Noah and recommissioned him to fill the earth (cf. 1:28).

  9:2, 3 the fear of you. Man’s relationship to the animals appears to have changed, in that man is free to eat animals for sustenance (v. 3).

  9:4 blood. Raw blood was not to be consumed as food. It symbolically represented life. To shed blood symbolically represented death (cf. Lev. 17:11). The blood of animals, representing their life, was not to be eaten. It was, in fact, that blood that God designed to be a covering for sin (Lev. 17:11).

  9:5 beast…man. Capital punishment was invoked upon every animal (Ex. 21:28) or man who took human life unlawfully. Cf. John 19:11; Acts 25:11; Rom. 13:4 for clear NT support for this punishment.

  9:6 For in the image of God. The reason man could kill animals, but neither animals nor man could kill man, is because man alone was created in God’s image.

  9:9–17 This is the first covenant God made with man, afterwards called the Noahic Covenant.

  9:9, 10 with you…with your descendants,…with every living creature. The covenant with Noah included living creatures as was first promised in 6:18.

  9:11 by the waters. The specific promise of this covenant, never to destroy the world again by water, was qualified by the means, for God has since promised to destroy the earth with fire one day (2 Pet. 3:10, 11; Rev. 20:9; 21:1).

  9:12 the sign of the covenant. The rainbow is the perpetual, symbolic reminder of this covenant promise, just as circumcision of all males would be for the Abrahamic Covenant (17:10, 11).

  9:15 I will remember. Not simple recognition, but God’s commitment to keep the promise.

  9:16 the everlasting covenant. This covenant with Noah is the first of 5 divinely originated covenants in Scripture explicitly described as “everlasting.” The other 4 include: 1) Abrahamic (Gen. 17:7); 2) Priestly (Num. 25:10–13); 3) Davidic (2 Sam. 23:5); and 4) New (Jer. 32:40). The term “everlasting” can mean either 1) to the end of time and/or 2) through eternity future. It never looks back to eternity past. Of the 6 explicitly mentioned covenants of this kind in Scripture, only the Mosaic or Old Covenant was nullified.

  9:18 Ham was the father of Canaan. Canaan’s offspring, the idolatrous enemies of Israel whose land Abraham’s descendants would later take (15:13–16), became a primary focus in chap. 10. This notation is important since Moses was writing the Pentateuch just before the Israelites took Canaan (see Introduction: Author and Date, Background and Setting).

  9:19 from these the whole earth. All men who have ever lived since the Flood came from these 3 sons of Noah (cf. 10:32). The “one blood” of Acts 17:26 is that of Adam through Noah. All physical characteristics of the whole race were present in the genetics of Noah, his sons, and their wives.

  9:21 was drunk. Fermentation, which leads to drunkenness, may have been caused by changed ecological conditions as a result of the Flood. He may have taken off his clothes because of the heat, or been involuntarily exposed due to his drunkenness.

  9:22 saw the nakedness. There is no reasonable support for the notion that some perverse activity, in addition to seeing nakedness, occurred. But clearly, the implication is that Ham looked with some sinful thought, if only for a while until he left to inform his brothers. Perhaps he was glad to see his father’s dignity and authority reduced to such weakness. He thought his brothers might share his feelings so he eagerly told them. They did not, however, share his attitude (v. 23).

  9:24 younger son. In the sense of youngest son.

  9:25–27 Cursed be Canaan. The shift from Ham to his son Canaan established the historic legitimacy of Israel’s later conquest of the Canaanites. These were the people with whom Israel had to do battle shortly after they first heard Moses’ reading of this passage. Here, God gave Israel the theological basis for the conquest of Canaan. The descendants of Ham had received a sentence of judgment for the sins of their progenitor. In 10:15–20, the descendants of Canaan are seen to be the earlier inhabitants of the land later promised to Abraham.

  9:26 may Canaan be his servant. Conquered peoples were called servants, even if they were not household or private slaves. Shem, the ancestor of Israel, and the other “Semites” were to be the masters of Ham’s descendants, the Canaanites. The latter would give their land to the former.

  9:27 dwell in the tents. This means that spiritual blessings would come to the Japhethites through the God of Shem (v. 26) and the line of Shem from which Messiah would come.

  Genesis 10

  10:1—11:9 The genealogy of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (v. 1).

  10:1–32 See the map “The Nations of Genesis 10” for the locations of Noah’s descendants.

  10:5 were separated…according to his language. This act describes the situation after the Tower of Babel account in chap. 11.

  10:6–20 The sons of Ham. Many of whom were Israel’s enemies.

  10:8–10 Nimrod. This powerful leader was evidently the force behind the building of Babel (see 11:1–4).

  10:10 Babel. The beginning of what later would prove to be Babylon, the destroyer of God’s people and His city Jerusalem (ca. 605–539 B.C.).

  10:11 to Assyria and built Nineveh. This was Israel’s primary enemy from the East. Nimrod was Israel’s prototypical ancient enemy warrior, whose name in Heb. means “rebel” (cf. Mic. 5:6).

  10:15–19 Canaan. A notable shift occurs in this section away from place names to the inhabitants themselves (note the “ite” ending). These are not only the cursed people of Canaan�
�s curse for the scene at Noah’s drunkenness, but also they are those who possess the Promised Land which Israel as a nation needed to conquer. But the Noahic curse alone did not determine their guilt, for God said to Abram that the iniquity of the Amorites must first be complete before his descendants could occupy the Promised Land (15:16).

  10:21–31 The sons of Shem, i.e., Semitic people.

  10:21 Japheth the elder. The marginal variant is correct which would make Shem the oldest of Noah’s 3 sons.

  10:25 the earth was divided. This looks ahead to the dispersion of nations at Babel (11:1–9).

  Gen. 10:32

  The Nations of Genesis 10

  Genesis 11

  11:1 one language and one speech. God, who made man as the one creature with whom He could speak (1:28), was to take the gift of language and use it to divide the race, for the apostate worship at Babel indicated that man had turned against God in pride (11:8, 9).

  11:2 as they journeyed from the east. God had restated His commission for man to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:7). It was in the course of spreading out that the events of this account occurred.

  11:3, 4 let us make bricks…build ourselves a city, and a tower…make a name for ourselves. While dispersing, a portion of the post-Flood group, under the leading of the powerful Nimrod (10:8–10), decided to stop and establish a city as a monument to their pride and for their reputation. The tower, even though it was a part of the plan, was not the singular act of rebellion. Human pride was, which led these people to defy God. They were refusing to move on, i.e., scattering to fill the earth as they had been instructed. In fact, this was Nimrod’s and the people’s effort to disobey the command of God in 9:1, and thus defeat the counsel of heaven. They had to make bricks, since there were few stones on the plain.

  11:4 whose top is in the heavens. Not that the tower would actually reach to the abode of God and not that the top would represent the heavens. They wanted it to be a high tower as a monument to their abilities, one that would enhance their fame. In this endeavor, they disobeyed God and attempted to steal His glory.