Génesis 6

VBL · Chapter 6/50

¹Y los seres humanos comenzaron a multiplicarse y a esparcirse por toda la tierra. Y tenían hijas,

²y los hijos de Dios se dieron cuenta de que estas mujeres eran hermosas, y tomaban para sí las que querían.

³Entonces el Señor dijo: “Mi espíritu de vida no permanecerá con este pueblo para siempre, porque son mortales. Ahora el tiempo de vida será de 120 años”.

⁴En esos días había gigantes en la tierra y, aún después, los hubo también. Estos nacieron después de que los hijos de Dios se acostaran con las hijas de este pueblo. Sus hijos se volvieron grandes guerreros y hombres de renombre en la antigüedad.

⁵Y el Señor se dio cuenta de cuán malvados se habían vuelto los habitantes de la tierra, pues cada uno de los pensamientos en sus mentes estaban llenos de maldad.

⁶El Señor se lamentó de haber creado a los seres humanos para habitar la tierra, y le entristeció este pensamiento.

⁷Así que el Señor dijo: “Voy a eliminar de la tierra a estas personas que he creado; y no solo a ellos, sino también a los animales, a los reptiles y a las aves, porque me lamento de haberlos creado”.

⁸Pero el Señor se agradó de Noé.

⁹Esta es la historia de Noé y su familia. Noé era un hombre íntegro, que vivía una vida con principios morales entre las personas de su época. Él tenía una relación estrecha con Dios.

¹⁰Y Noé tenía tres hijos: Sem, Cam, y Jafet.

¹¹Dios vio cuán inmoral se había vuelto el mundo entero, lleno de violencia y de personas que actuaban sin ley.

¹²Dios se dio cuenta de que la perversión del mundo se debía a que todos vivían vidas inmorales.

¹³Entonces Dios le dijo a Noé: “He decidido poner fin a todos los habitantes de la tierra porque todos son violentos y viven sin ley. Yo mismo los voy a destruir a todos, y a la tierra misma junto con ellos.

¹⁴“Construye un arca de madera de ciprés. Haz habitaciones dentro del arca, y cúbrela con alquitrán, por dentro y por fuera.

¹⁵Y así es como deberás construirla: El arca debe medir 300 codos de largo, 50 codos de ancho, y 30 codos de alto.

¹⁶Hazle un techo al arca, dejando una ventana del tamaño de un codo entre el techo y la parte superior de los lados. Coloca una puerta lateral en el arca, y haz el arca de tres cubiertas.

¹⁷“Yo mismo voy a enviar un diluvio a la tierra que destruirá todo lo que respire. Todo ser vivo sobre la tierra morirá.

¹⁸Pero yo guardaré mi pacto contigo. Tu entrarás al arca, tomarás contigo a tu esposa, a tus hijos y a sus esposas.

¹⁹Tomarás un par - macho y hembra - de cada especie de animal, y te asegurarás de preservarlos con vida.

²⁰Harás lo mismo con cada especie de ave, ganado, y con los reptiles: un par de cada uno vendrá a ti para que puedas mantenerlos con vida.

²¹Lleva contigo toda clase de alimentos y almacénala para que tú y los animales tengan suficiente para comer”.

²²Y Noé hizo exactamente lo que Dios le ordenó que hiciera.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Human wickedness multiplies on the earth, grieving God, who decides to destroy humanity with a flood, but chooses Noah, a righteous man, to build an ark and save his family and the animals.

Explanation

This chapter marks a dramatic turning point: violence and corruption have taken over the earth to the point that God 'repents' of having made humankind — an expression describing God's deep sorrow over evil, not an arbitrary change of plan. Amid this dark scene, Noah stands out as someone who 'walked with God,' echoing the phrase used for Enoch. The detailed instructions for building the ark (measurements, material, compartments) show that salvation required practical, patient obedience, not merely abstract faith. The ark becomes a symbol of refuge in the midst of judgment. Today's lesson is that even when the surrounding world seems corrupt, an upright life can be an instrument of salvation for many.

Fun facts

The ark's dimensions (300 x 50 x 30 cubits, about 135m x 22m x 13m) result in a length-to-width ratio very close to that used in modern cargo ships, which naval engineers note as surprisingly stable for flotation.
The expression 'sons of God' and 'giants' (nephilim) in verse 4 is one of the most debated texts among biblical scholars to this day, with no definitive consensus on their exact identity — but the chapter's central point, humanity's growing violence, is clear.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Génesis 6:1Humanity grows in number, and it’s against this backdrop of multiplying that the strange scene in the next verse — the ‘sons of God’ and the ‘daughters of men’ — takes place.
Génesis 6:2The identity of the ‘sons of God’ who marry the ‘daughters of men’ is one of the most debated questions in the Old Testament, and there’s no single answer. The most common readings are: heavenly beings, a kind of angels; the line of Seth, described as closer to God, mixing with the line of Cain; or perhaps powerful kings and nobles of the time. The text doesn’t explain, it just describes the fact.
Génesis 6:3The number ‘an hundred and twenty years’ also has more than one possible reading. It could be a new limit on the length of human life going forward — which doesn’t quite match the much longer ages recorded right after this — or it could be a countdown to the flood, giving people time to change their ways before the rain arrived.
Génesis 6:4The word translated here as ‘giants’ is nefilim in the original Hebrew, and no one knows for certain the exact origin of the term or who these figures were. The text only calls them mighty men ‘of old, men of renown,’ mentioned in passing with no further explanation. It’s one of the most obscure points in the whole book of Genesis.
Génesis 6:5After the episode in verses 1 through 4, the text widens the picture: it isn’t just one specific group behaving badly, it’s all of humanity, with evil thoughts all the time. It’s this state of affairs that leads to the decision to send the flood.
Génesis 6:6Describing God as ‘repenting’ and grieving is a human way of expressing a change of course in the face of widespread wickedness — the text uses human emotion to convey the seriousness of the decision that follows.
Génesis 6:7God decides to destroy not only human beings but also animals, creeping things, and birds — the corruption described in the previous verse is treated as something affecting all life on earth, not just people.
Génesis 6:8In the middle of the announcement of total destruction, one single person is spared: Noah. It’s this exception that opens up the rest of the story told in the chapters that follow.
Génesis 6:9The text describes Noah as ‘a just man and perfect’ and someone who ‘walked with God’ — the same expression used for Enoch in the previous chapter, marking Noah as part of a line set apart from the rest of corrupted humanity.
Génesis 6:10This confirms the three sons of Noah already named at the end of the previous chapter: Shem, Ham, and Japheth — the only ones, along with their wives, who will survive the flood inside the ark.
Génesis 6:11This repeats and reinforces the description of widespread evil: the earth is corrupt and full of violence, the two reasons the text gives to justify the judgment that is coming.
Génesis 6:12God Himself confirms what the narrator had already said: all of humanity had corrupted its way. Repeating the idea in different forms drives home just how badly the situation had gotten.
Génesis 6:13God announces directly to Noah His plan to destroy all life because of the violence spread across the earth — it’s the first time He speaks to Noah in this story, opening the instructions for the ark.
Génesis 6:14God gives Noah the first practical instruction: build an ark of ‘gopher wood,’ divided into rooms and covered with pitch inside and out so no water can get in.
Génesis 6:15A ‘cubit’ was an ancient unit of measure based on the length of the arm, from the elbow to the fingertip — about 18 inches. That means the ark was roughly 440 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high: an enormous vessel by the standards of the time. It was measured the way people measured everything before the meter existed.
Génesis 6:16This adds more construction details: a window near the top, a door in the side, and ‘lower, second, and third stories’ — the ark was, in practice, a huge cargo ship with several levels.
Génesis 6:17God explains the reason for the whole construction: He is going to send a ‘flood’ that will destroy all life that breathes under heaven. It’s the first time the word ‘flood’ appears, explaining what the ark is for.
Génesis 6:18In the middle of announcing destruction, God promises a ‘covenant’ with Noah — he and his entire family, wives included, will enter the ark and survive. It’s the first time the word ‘covenant’ appears in the Bible.
Génesis 6:19God tells Noah to bring a pair of every kind of animal into the ark, male and female, ensuring that animal life continues after the flood.
Génesis 6:20The instruction breaks it down by category — birds, animals, and creeping things — but repeats the same rule: a pair of each kind, enough to restart life once the water goes down.
Génesis 6:21Besides the animals, Noah also needs to gather enough food to feed his family and all the creatures during the time they will spend inside the ark.
Génesis 6:22This closes the chapter with a simple line that sums up Noah’s response: he did exactly everything God commanded, without straying from the instruction.