The Flood
Overview
- Testament: Old
- Book: Genesis 6:1 — 9:17
- Summary: God sends a worldwide flood to judge human wickedness, saving Noah and his family in the ark.
Details
Seeing that “every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually,” God decided to wipe out humanity. But Noah found grace — a just and blameless man who walked with God.
God instructed Noah to build an enormous ark (300 x 50 x 30 cubits) with three decks, using gopher wood coated with pitch. Noah and his family (8 people) entered with pairs of every animal.
The flood:
- Rained 40 days and nights
- Waters prevailed 150 days
- Every living thing perished on dry land
- Ark rested on mountains of Ararat
- Noah sent out a raven, then three doves
- After a year, they disembarked
After the flood, God established His covenant — never again to destroy the earth by flood, symbolized by the rainbow.
Key People Involved
Key Places
- Mountains of Ararat — Where the ark rested
Important Verses
- “And, lo, I, do make my covenant with you, and with your seed after you… The bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant.” — Genesis 9:12-13
- “And, behold, every living thing of flesh, man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven, is destroyed from off the earth; and man hath left.” — Genesis 7:23
Cross-References
- Matthew 24:37-39 — Jesus compares Noah’s days to end times
- Hebrews 11:7 — “By faith Noah… prepared an ark”
- 1 Peter 3:20-21 — Noah as type of baptism
- 2 Peter 2:5 — “Noah, the preacher of righteousness”