Gênesis 6

ARC · Chapter 6/50

¹E aconteceu que, como os homens se começaram a multiplicar sobre a face da terra, e lhes nasceram filhas;

²Viram os filhos de Deus que as filhas dos homens eram formosas; e tomaram para si mulheres de todas as que escolheram.

³Então disse o Senhor: Não contenderá o meu Espirito para sempre com o homem; porque elle tambem é carne: porém os seus dias serão cento e vinte annos

⁴Havia n'aquelles dias gigantes na terra; e tambem depois, quando os filhos de Deus entraram ás filhas dos homens, e d'ellas geraram filhos: estes eram os valentes que houve na antiguidade, os varões de fama.

⁵E viu o Senhor que a maldade do homem se multiplicára sobre a terra, e que toda a imaginação dos pensamentos de seu coração era só má continuamente.

⁶Então arrependeu-se o Senhor de haver feito o homem sobre a terra, e pezou-lhe em seu coração.

⁷E disse o Senhor: Destruirei o homem que creei de sobre a face da terra, desde o homem até ao animal, até ao reptil, e até á ave dos céus; porque me arrependo de os haver feito.

⁸Noé porém achou graça aos olhos do Senhor.

⁹Estas são as gerações de Noé: Noé era varão justo e recto em suas gerações: Noé andava com Deus

¹⁰E gerou Noé tres filhos: Sem, Cão, e Japhet.

¹¹A terra porém estava corrompida diante da face de Deus: e encheu-se a terra de violencia.

¹²E viu Deus a terra, e eis que estava corrompida; porque toda a carne havia corrompido o seu caminho sobre a terra.

¹³Então disse Deus a Noé: O fim de toda a carne é vindo perante a minha face; porque a terra está cheia de violencia; e eis que os desfarei com a terra.

¹⁴Faze para ti uma arca da madeira de Gopher: farás compartimentos na arca, e a betumarás por dentro e por fóra com betume.

¹⁵E d'esta maneira a farás: De trezentos covados o comprimento da arca, e de cincoenta covados a sua largura, e de trinta covados a sua altura.

¹⁶Farás na arca uma janella, e de um covado a acabarás em cima; e a porta da arca porás ao seu lado; far-lhe-has andares baixos, segundos e terceiros.

¹⁷Porque eis que Eu trago um diluvio de aguas sobre a terra, para desfazer toda a carne em que ha espirito de vida debaixo dos céus: tudo o que ha na terra expirará.

¹⁸Mas comtigo estabelecerei o meu pacto; e entrarás na arca tu e os teus filhos, e a tua mulher, e as mulheres de teus filhos comtigo.

¹⁹E de tudo o que vive, de toda a carne, dois de cada especie, metterás na arca, para os conservar vivos comtigo; macho e femea serão.

²⁰Das aves conforme a sua especie, e das bestas conforme a sua especie, de todo o reptil da terra conforme a sua especie, dois de cada especie virão a ti, para os conservar em vida.

²¹E tu toma para ti de toda a comida que se come, e ajunta-a para ti; e te será para mantimento para ti e para elles.

²²Assim fez Noé: conforme a tudo o que Deus lhe mandou, assim o fez.

📖 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

Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.
Gênesis 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.