B'resheet (Gen) 6
6
1In time, when men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3Adonai said, “My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years.” 4The N’filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown.
(Maftir) 5Adonai saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only. 6Adonai regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart. 7Adonai said, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them.” 8But Noach found grace in the sight of Adonai.
Haftarah B’resheet: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 42:5–43:10 (A); 42:5–21 (S)
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’resheet: Mattityahu (Matthew) 1:1–17; 19:3–9; Mark 10:1–12; Luke 3:23–38; Yochanan (John) 1:1–18; 1 Corinthians 6:15–20; 15:35–58; Romans 5:12–21; Ephesians 5:21–32; Colossians 1:14–17; 1 Timothy 2:11–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 1:1–3; 3:7–4:11; 11:1–7; 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 3:3–14; Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5
Parashah 2: Noach (Noah) 6:9–11:32
9Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with God. 10Noach fathered three sons, Shem, Ham and Yefet. 11The earth was corrupt before God, the earth was filled with violence. 12God saw the earth, and, yes, it was corrupt; for all living beings had corrupted their ways on the earth.
13God said to Noach, “The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with the earth. 14Make yourself an ark of gofer-wood; you are to make the ark with rooms and cover it with pitch both outside and inside. 15Here is how you are to build it: the length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width seventy-five feet and its height forty-five feet. 16You are to make an opening for daylight in the ark eighteen inches below its roof. Put a door in its side; and build it with lower, second and third decks.
17“Then I myself will bring the flood of water over the earth to destroy from under heaven every living thing that breathes; everything on earth will be destroyed. 18But I will establish my covenant with you; you will come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
19“From everything living, from each kind of living being, you are to bring two into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they are to be male and female. 20Of each kind of bird, each kind of livestock, and each kind of animal creeping on the ground, two are to come to you, so that they can be kept alive. 21Also take from all the kinds of food that are eaten, and collect it for yourself; it is to be food for you and for them.” 22This is what Noach did; he did all that God ordered him to do.
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleGenesis 6
6
1People started to increase in number and spread out across the earth. Daughters were born to them, 2and the sons of God#6:2. “Sons of God”: some have seen this as a reference to angels, but Jesus clearly stated that angels do not marry (Matthew 22:30), and in the very next verse punishment falls on all as human beings. The sons of God can be identified as those in the lineage of Seth, distinguished from these women who are descended from Cain. The genealogies of both groups have just been presented (chapters 4 and 5). saw that these women were beautiful, and they took whichever ones they wanted.
3Then the Lord said, “My life-giving Spirit will not remain in these people forever, because they are only mortal. The time they have left will be 120 years.”#6:3. That this refers to a new maximum lifespan seems unlikely since many after this time lived much longer than 120 years. The Hebrew says literally, “His days shall be 120 years.” Here “days” can be taken simply as time, or even time remaining, until the Flood would come.
4There were giants#6:4. “Giants”: literally, “Nephelim.” This word is translated “giants” in the Septuagint. However, some take the word to be based on the Hebrew word “fallen.” These “giants” are also referenced later (see Numbers 13:33). In Symmachus' Greek translation he renders “Nephelim” as “the violent ones.” on earth in those days, and also later on. They were born after the sons of God slept with the daughters of these people. Their sons became the great warriors and famous men of ancient times.
5The Lord saw how terribly evil people on earth had become—every single thought in their minds was evil all the time! 6The Lord was sorry he'd made human beings to live on the earth; it made him very sad to think about it. 7So the Lord said, “I'm going to wipe out these people I created from the earth, and not only them but also the animals, the creatures that run along the ground, and the birds, because I'm sorry I made them.”
8But the Lord was pleased with Noah.
9This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was a man of integrity, living a moral life among the people of his time. He had a close relationship with God. 10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11God saw how corrupt the whole world had become, full of violent and lawless people. 12God recognized that the corruption in the world was due to everyone on earth living corrupt lives. 13So God told Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people on earth because they are all violent and lawless. I myself am going to destroy all of them, along with the earth.
14Build an ark#6:14. The word used here for “ark” is different from that used later to describe the Ark of the Lord's Agreement. out of cypress wood. Make rooms inside the ark, and coat it with tar, both inside and out. 15This is how to build it: the ark is to measure 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. 16Make a roof for the ark, leaving a cubit-wide opening between the roof and the top of the sides.#6:16. The Hebrew of this last phrase is unclear. Put a door in the side of the ark, and construct three decks inside.
17I myself am going to flood the earth with water that will destroy everything that breathes. Every living thing everywhere on earth will die. 18But I will keep my agreement with you. You are to go into the ark, taking with you your wife and your sons and their wives. 19Take a pair, male and female, of every kind of animal into the ark and make sure you keep them alive. 20The same applies to every kind of bird, livestock, and the creatures that run along the ground—a pair of every kind will come to you so they can be kept alive. 21Take all kinds of food with you too. Store it so you and the animals will have enough to eat.”
22Noah did exactly what God ordered him to do.
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com