Genesis Chapter 7 | Orr Family Bible Commentary

7:23

“He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.”
Genesis 7:23, ESV

The chapter at a glance

1–5Go into the arkGod calls Noah’s household in, and Noah obeys
6–16The LORD shut him inThe flood begins; God Himself closes the door
17–24The waters prevailAll flesh dies; only those in the ark are kept

The chapter in brief

The LORD tells Noah to go into the ark with all his household, for He has seen that Noah is righteous before Him in this generation. Noah is to take seven pairs of every clean animal and bird and a pair of the animals that are not clean, because in seven days God will send rain for forty days and forty nights. Noah does all the LORD commands. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day, the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens are opened. Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, and the animals, two by two, go in, “And the LORD shut him in.” The waters rise and bear up the ark, and prevail until “all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered,” fifteen cubits deep. Every living thing on the dry land dies. Only Noah is left, and those with him in the ark, and the waters prevail on the earth 150 days.

This is the judgment God announced in chapter 6, and the chapter tells it with the weight of a funeral and the care of a ship’s log: dates, numbers, and the same lists of creatures again and again. The waters above and below, separated on the second and third days of creation, rush back together; the world is being unmade. Yet in the middle of it God Himself closes the door on the ark. Jesus says the coming of the Son of Man will be like this, with people unaware “until the flood came and swept them all away” (Matthew 24:39). And Peter sees in the eight brought safely through water a picture of the salvation that comes “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). Judgment is real, and the only safety is the refuge God provides.

Points for discussion

vv. 1–5

Clean animals and a household

God calls “you and all your household” into the ark. Noah’s family is saved with him, which Hebrews also notes, saying he built the ark “for the saving of his household” (Hebrews 11:7). The command now distinguishes clean animals, seven pairs, from those not clean, one pair. Israel’s food laws were not yet given, so the distinction here looks ahead to sacrifice: when Noah comes out, he will offer clean animals to the LORD (8:20). God provides beforehand for the worship that will follow salvation. Noah again “did all that the LORD had commanded him” (v. 5).

vv. 6–16

The LORD shut him in

The date is given to the day, the way a record of real events is kept. The fountains of the great deep burst and the windows of the heavens open: the waters God separated on the second day (1:6-8) and gathered on the third (1:9-10) are let loose again. It is creation in reverse. Then comes a short sentence with a world of comfort in it: “And the LORD shut him in.” Noah did not close the door; God did. His safety did not depend on Noah’s grip on the door but on God’s hand. Jesus says of His sheep, “no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). The same door that kept Noah safe shut the others out. Jesus warns that people in Noah’s day were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” until the end (Matthew 24:38). The door of the ark stood open for a long time while God’s patience waited (1 Peter 3:20). It does not stay open forever.

For discussion

How does “the LORD shut him in” speak to a believer who fears falling away? Read John 10:27-29 and Philippians 1:6.

vv. 17–24

The whole earth covered

The language is relentless: the waters “prevailed” four times (vv. 18, 19, 20, 24), “all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered,” “all flesh died,” “everything on the dry land... died.” Some faithful believers read the flood as regional, covering the whole world then known or inhabited, pointing out that the Hebrew word for “earth” can mean “land.” We name that view with respect. This commentary holds that the flood covered the whole globe, because we believe it most faithfully reflects the Word: the text says the mountains “under the whole heaven” were covered (v. 19), the ark rose above them for months, and God promised never again to send such a flood (9:11), a promise hard to read of a regional flood, since regional floods have come many times since. Peter calls it a judgment on “the world that then existed” (2 Peter 3:6), and Jesus sets it beside His own return, which will come on all (Matthew 24:37-39). The point is not a quarrel but a warning: God judged the world once by water, and “the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire” (2 Peter 3:7). Only those in the refuge were kept.

vv. 17–23

A picture of baptism

Peter writes that eight persons “were brought safely through water,” and “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20-21). The water was judgment; the ark carried Noah through it. Baptism pictures Christ carrying His people through the judgment that fell on Him. It is the sign; Christ is the ark. Christians differ on who should receive that sign. Baptist brothers, with the 1689 London Baptist Confession, hold that it belongs to those who profess faith, and we honor them. This commentary holds that the children of believers also receive it (Acts 2:39; Colossians 2:11-12; Westminster Confession 28.4), and, with the Westminster Confession (28.5), that baptism is not required for salvation. Peter himself says that what saves is not the water but the appeal to God “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Threads across the chapter

Obedience. Noah does all that God commands (v. 5), the animals go in “as God had commanded” (vv. 9, 16), and God then shuts the door (v. 16).
Creation undone. The waters above and below, divided in Genesis 1, burst together (v. 11) and prevail over the whole earth (vv. 17-24).
All and only. “All flesh died” (v. 21), and “only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark” (v. 23).
Breath of life. The creatures with “the breath of life” go into the ark (v. 15), and those outside “in whose nostrils was the breath of life” die (v. 22).

Key words

7:6: מַבּוּל mabbul“Flood”; a word found in the Old Testament only in the flood story and in Psalm 29:10
7:16: סָגַר sagar“Shut”; God Himself closes the door of salvation and judgment
7:18–24: גָּבַר gavar“Prevailed”; the waters grow strong and overpower the earth

Cross-references

Matthew 24:37-39As in the days of Noah, so the coming of the Son of Man
Luke 17:26-27Eating and drinking until the day Noah entered the ark
2 Peter 3:5-7The world then deluged, the present world stored up for fire
1 Peter 3:20-21Eight persons brought safely through water; baptism corresponds to this
Hebrews 11:7Noah built the ark for the saving of his household
John 10:27-29No one will snatch Christ’s sheep from His hand
Isaiah 54:9God’s oath in the days of Noah and His oath of steadfast love
Genesis 1:6-10The waters separated and gathered at creation

Questions for your group

1
Why do you think Genesis tells the flood with such careful dates and numbers?
2
What does “And the LORD shut him in” teach about where our security in salvation rests?
3
Jesus said His return would come as the flood did, on people going about ordinary life. How should that shape the way we live this week?
4
How does Peter’s link between the flood and baptism help us understand what baptism signifies?
5
Christians differ on whether the flood was worldwide or regional. What is at stake in the question, and how can we discuss it without losing sight of the warning and the refuge?

Genesis 7