Commentary - Genesis 6:9-12

Bird's-eye view

This short passage serves as a crucial hinge in the book of Genesis. It marks the formal introduction to the story of the Flood, pivoting from the general description of humanity's fall and the specific, bizarre wickedness of the Nephilim, to God's chosen instrument of salvation, Noah. The text sets up a stark, covenantal contrast. On one side, we have the man Noah, who is defined by three key characteristics: righteousness, blamelessness in his context, and a living fellowship with God. He is the remnant, the seed of the woman preserved by grace. On the other side, we have the entire world, which is defined by two pervasive realities: corruption before God and being filled with violence. This is not simply a story about a good man in a bad time; it is a legal indictment. God, the righteous judge, observes the universal depravity and prepares to act. The passage establishes the theological foundation for the coming judgment, showing that God's de-creation of the world through the Flood is not arbitrary but a just response to mankind's radical corruption, and that His salvation of Noah is not based on Noah's intrinsic perfection but on God's grace finding a foothold in a man of faith.

Essentially, this is the courtroom scene before the sentence is executed. The character of the defendant (the world) is described as utterly corrupt and violent. The character of the one to be spared (Noah) is described as righteous and walking with God. This sets the stage for the central theme of the entire Bible: God judges sin, but He graciously saves a people for Himself through a chosen representative.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 6:9 begins a new major section in the book, marked by the Hebrew phrase elleh toledoth, "These are the generations of..." This formula structures the entire book of Genesis, organizing it around key patriarchal figures. We have already had the generations of the heavens and the earth (Gen 2:4) and the generations of Adam (Gen 5:1). Now, the historical lens zooms in on Noah. This follows the account of the sons of God and the daughters of men, the rise of the Nephilim, and God's declaration that His Spirit would not abide in man forever, limiting his days to 120 years (Gen 6:1-4). It also follows the sweeping summary of human wickedness: that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen 6:5). So, the introduction of Noah as a righteous man is set against the darkest possible backdrop. He is the exception that proves the rule of universal depravity. This section, therefore, provides the narrative and theological justification for the Flood, which will dominate chapters 7 and 8, and it sets up the new beginning for humanity through the Noahic Covenant in chapter 9.

Key Issues

A Tale of Two Worlds

In these four verses, the Holy Spirit paints a picture of two completely different worlds occupying the same space. There is the world of Noah, and there is the world of everybody else. The world of Noah is a world of righteousness, integrity, and fellowship with God. The world of everybody else is a world of spiritual rot and brutal violence. It is crucial to see that this is not a natural distinction, as though Noah were simply a better sort of person. This is a supernatural, covenantal distinction. God had "found" Noah (Gen 6:8). Grace found him. This is the story of the antithesis, the conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, playing out on a global scale. The seed of the serpent had overrun the entire planet, filling it with corruption and violence. The seed of the woman was narrowed down to one man and his family. The coming flood, therefore, is not just a geological event; it is a great act of separation, a baptism of the whole earth, judging the world of the serpent and saving the world of the faithful man, who is a type of Christ.

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among those in his generations; Noah walked with God.

These are the generations of Noah. The phrase here, elleh toledoth, doesn't mean "these are the ancestors of Noah," but rather "this is the story that proceeds from Noah." This is his history, his account. The narrative focus of redemptive history now narrows to this one man. Amidst a world spiraling into chaos, God centers His plan on a particular person and his household.

Noah was a righteous man, The word for righteous here is tsaddiq. This does not mean Noah was sinlessly perfect. We know from later in the story that he was not (Gen 9:21). Rather, it means he was legally in the right before God. His righteousness was a gift of grace, apprehended by faith, just like Abel's was (Heb 11:4) and Abraham's would be (Gen 15:6). In a world where every man's heart was continually evil, Noah's heart was oriented toward God. He believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. He was a man who stood in right relation to God's covenant.

blameless among those in his generations; The word is tamim, which means complete, whole, or having integrity. It's the same word used for sacrificial animals that were without blemish. Again, this is not sinless perfection. The key qualifier is "in his generations." Compared to the freakish corruption, the genetic and moral chaos of his time, Noah was a man of integrity. He was morally sound, a straight stick in a forest of crooked timber. He was what a man was supposed to be in a world of monsters.

Noah walked with God. This is the highest commendation, and it is given to only one other man before this: Enoch (Gen 5:24). This is not just about moral behavior; it describes a deep, personal, dynamic fellowship. It's the language of friendship and companionship. Adam and Eve had this kind of fellowship in the Garden before the Fall. In a world that had turned its back on God, Noah walked with Him, listened to Him, and communed with Him. This relationship was the source of his righteousness and integrity.

10 And Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The history that proceeds from Noah is immediately defined by his family. The covenant is never just about an individual; it is familial, generational. These three sons are named here because they, along with their father, will form the bottleneck through which the entire human race must pass. All the nations of the earth, and ultimately the Messiah Himself, will come from this one family. Their inclusion in the story is a testament to the principle of federal headship. They are saved because of their connection to their believing father, the head of their household.

11 Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Now the camera pans back from the portrait of Noah to the landscape of the world. And what does it see? Two things. First, the earth was corrupt before God. The word for corrupt, shachath, means spoiled, ruined, or rotten. This is a spiritual condition. It describes the inner state of man. "Before God" is crucial; this is God's verdict. Men might have looked at their civilization and seen progress, strength, and renown (Gen 6:4), but God looked at the heart and saw putrefaction. It was a world spiritually dead and rotting.

Second, the earth was filled with violence. The Hebrew word here is hamas. This is not just random crime. It refers to malicious, cruel, and lawless violence. It is injustice, oppression, and bloodshed born of hatred. The internal corruption (shachath) had manifested itself in external brutality (hamas). When the heart rots, the hands become cruel. The world was not just a little off; it was saturated, filled to the brim, with this violent lawlessness. This is what happens when men reject God as their king; every man becomes a law unto himself, and the result is a world governed by the fist.

12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

This verse repeats and intensifies the previous one. God saw... and behold. This is the language of a formal inspection and finding. God is not a distant observer; He looks, and He sees things as they truly are. And what He sees confirms the charge: it was corrupt. The word "behold" invites us to be shocked along with the narrator. Look at this mess!

The reason for the corruption is then stated plainly: for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. This is comprehensive. "All flesh" refers to all of humanity, with the exception of the remnant, Noah. The corruption wasn't limited to a few bad actors; it was the universal condition of mankind. They had corrupted "their way," their path, their manner of living. God had set a way for man to walk, but man had universally defiled it, choosing his own path to destruction. This is the total depravity of man on full display. The whole project of humanity had gone wrong, and it was time for the Creator to intervene.

Application

The world of Noah is not a distant, alien world. It is our world, seen with the varnish stripped off. Our newspapers and news feeds tell the same story every day: a world filled with corruption and violence. The human heart, left to itself, always produces the same bitter fruit. We are tempted to think that our technological sophistication or our democratic institutions have somehow moved us beyond the raw depravity of the ancient world. But the heart of man has not changed one bit. The same rot (shachath) and the same brutality (hamas) are with us today, sometimes disguised in three-piece suits, but often not disguised at all.

In the midst of this, the calling of the Christian is to be a Noah. It is to be righteous by faith in Christ, to be blameless in our generation by pursuing integrity, and to walk with God in living fellowship. We are not called to be sinless, but we are called to be distinct. We are called to be the island of sanity in a world gone mad. Like Noah, we are called to believe God's warnings about a coming judgment and to build an ark of salvation. That ark today is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our task is to preach righteousness, as Noah did (2 Pet 2:5), and to call men and women to come into the ark before the door is shut. The story of Noah is a terrifying story of judgment, but it is also a glorious story of grace. God did not destroy everyone. He saved a remnant. And He has promised to do the same for us, not through a wooden ark, but through the crucified and risen Christ, who is our only refuge from the wrath to come.