Genesis 7

The LORD said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.

You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.

Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.

In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”

Noah did everything that the LORD commanded him.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.

Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.

Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground

went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened.

It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth—the sons of Noah—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship—

they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.

Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah.

Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then the LORD shut him in.

The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth.

The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.

The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered.

The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.

The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter details God’s final instructions to Noah before the flood, the entry of Noah and the animals into the ark, and the onset of the global deluge that judges the earth. It marks the climactic execution of divine judgment and preservation, centering on obedience, divine timing, and the cataclysmic scale of the floodwaters that reshape the earth.

Flow.

God commands Noah to enter the ark, specifying clean and unclean animals and announcing seven days until the rain begins (vv. 1–4).
Noah obeys completely, and he, his family, and the animals enter the ark in pairs (vv. 5–9).
After seven days, the flood begins: the “fountains of the great deep” burst open, the “windows of the heavens” open, and rain falls for forty days (vv. 10–12).
Every living thing not in the ark perishes as waters rise, covering the mountains and destroying all land-based life (vv. 13–24).

Connections.
Following chapter 6, which introduces God’s decision to judge the earth and establish a covenant with Noah, chapter 7 enacts that judgment with precise divine command and fulfillment. The obedience of Noah and the distinction between clean and unclean animals prepare for the worship and sacrifices in chapter 8, where the waters recede and God establishes a new beginning. The shut door of the ark (v. 16) anticipates the security of God’s preservation, which chapter 8 will unfold in the renewal of creation.

What it teaches.
God executes holy judgment on a corrupt world while preserving a righteous remnant according to His sovereign decree (WCF 6.3). Noah’s obedience reflects a faith that rests in divine revelation (HC LD 7), and the distinction between clean and unclean animals indicates a created order with purpose beyond survival. The flood’s extent—covering all high mountains—affirms the totality of God’s judgment on sin (), consistent with the testimony of Scripture that God is both just and merciful in saving those whom He appoints (WCF 3.7). The ark becomes a means of salvation, prefiguring the final rescue through Christ (, though not stated here).

Apply.
The same voice that commanded the waters and sealed the ark speaks today with authority, calling for trust in His promised preservation through judgment.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.