Genesis 6:9-11:32
“Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with God. Noach fathered three sons, Shem, Ham and Yefet” (Genesis 6:9-10).
Noach was different from the rest of mankind. He was a righteous man who walked wholeheartedly with Elohim. The word ‘righteous’ simply means ‘living rightly’ before Elohim. ‘Wholehearted’ means that he did not have a divided heart swayed by the corruption of the world around him. The Hebrew word in this verse, tamim, means ‘pure, blameless, and teachable.’ Scripture doesn’t indicate that he was even tempted by the evil happening in the world. In the pre-flood corrupt world where people’s hearts had only evil intent, Noach was different.
Hebrew Word Pictures
Noach (Comfort) or Noach – נח – nun, chet
– life protects
“God 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. 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. But I will establish my covenant with you; you will come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you” (Genesis 6:13-18).
Because of the violence on the earth, Elohim declared the end of all living things. Only Noach and his family would be saved through the flood. The Hebrew word for ‘violence’ in Hebrew is chamas and means ‘unjust gain, false, injustice, absolute wrongdoing.’
Elohim says He Himself will flood the earth to destroy every living thing that breathes. When judgment comes onto the earth, it is always Elohim who brings judgment –– not an angel, not mankind. Elohim.
Everything that has the ‘breath of life’ will perish in the flood. The Hebrew words are neshama ruach chai. Elohim breathed neshama into man when He formed him from the dust of the earth and gave him a soul. Ruach is the ‘breath’ that imparts life into the spirit of man so that he breathes through his nostrils. When a man takes his last breath, the Ruach will leave.
“Adonai said, “My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years” (Genesis 6:3).
Before the flood, the lifespan of humans was nearly one thousand years; after the flood men and women lived only a few hundred or less. It is generally taught that as part of the judgment of mankind, human lifespan was cut to 120 years, even though Noach, his sons, and their offspring lived well beyond 120 years. The judgment of humanity came with the flood, not with the number of years a human being would sojourn on earth.
“The span of our life is seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty …” (Psalm 90:10). From this Psalm, it would seem the lifespan of mankind degenerated from 120 years into 80. If Elohim’s judgment was length of a man’s days on earth, people would be living to 120 years of age which they do not. Of course, there are always the exceptions of those who live to nearly 120, just as there are those who only live one day.
In the Book of Jasher (See Study Helps), it appears the 120 years mentioned in Genesis 6:3 was the time allotted byElohim for mankind to repent from their wickedness.
“For thus saith the Lord, Behold I give you a period of one hundred and twenty years; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told you, and it shall not exist, saith the Lord. And Noach and Methuselah spoke all the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day, constantly speaking to them…. And the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty years, saying, If they will return, then will God repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth” (Jasher 5:8, 11).
Selah
Yeshua said at the time of his return the world would be “like the ‘days of Noach’” (Matthew 24:8). Could the 120 years be something to consider in the remez or prophetic vision regarding the world’s need for repentance and Messiah’s return?
Year of Jubilee
“Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land…” (Leviticus 25:8-9).
There are two important seasons or mo’edim given to the nation of Isra’el that are connected –– the Year of Jubilee and Day of Atonement. The Year of Jubilee occurred every 50 years beginning on the Day of Atonement, the day of Elohim’s judgment.
The Year of Jubilee and the 120 years for repentance may very well be indicative of Messiah’s return. 7 x 7 years = 49 years with the 50th year being the Year of Jubilee. Consider that Elohim may be giving mankind 120 Jubilee years to repent until Messiah returns in judgment. Multiply the 50 years x 120 Jubilees and it equals 6000 years from the beginning of creation. Could this be considered the ‘end of the age’ or the beginning of the seventh millennium when Yeshua returns to rule and reign on the earth? The Jubilee begins with “a trumpet blast of freedom” (Leviticus 25:10). In the context of Yeshua’s return on the Feast of Trumpets with trumpet blasts that will set captive Isra’el free, the Day of Atonement and the 120 years of Jubilee may be a clue for the general time of Messiah’s return.
The Nephilim
“In time, when men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose… Adonai said, ‘My Spirit will not live in human beings [flesh] forever, for they too are flesh…. The N’filim [fallen ones] 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’” (Genesis 6:1-4).
The Book of Enoch (See Study Helps) explains in more detail the ‘days of Noach’ and the evil that drove Elohim to destroy the earth. The people in Noach’s generation were not just unrighteous, they were utterly wicked. The bene-Elohim or the “sons of Elohim” (fallen angels) and the “daughters of men” (young women) were having sexual relations and birthing Nephilim or half-breeds who had spiritual fathers and human mothers.
The ‘flesh of humanity’ is being contrasted to the Nephilim. Angels are not flesh; they do not procreate which is why the situation on earth was an abomination to Elohim. Fallen angels and human women were creating spiritual, flesh beings that were different from both spiritual beings and mortal mankind.
According to the Book of Enoch, the Nephilim devoured everything from the flesh of humans to drinking blood. As giants, their appetites were so great, they devoured the whole earth. Elohim grieved that he made humankind so He decided to destroy the earth. He would remove the human factor of the problem, starting again through the righteous line of Noach.
In the floodwaters, the human mothers of the Nephilim died, but what happened to the spiritual fathers? According to Jude 6, the fallen angels, who did remain in their proper place of authority in the heavens are bound in chains until the Day of Judgment. As for the half-breed offspring, the Nephilim, their mortal bodies died in the flood, but their immortal nature lived on to become evil spirits –– spirits that need bodies of humans to possess –– the evil spirits and demons that Yeshua cast out. The Nephilim “were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards” (Genesis 6:4).
“So he traveled all through the Galil, preaching in their synagogues and expelling demons”
(Mark 1:39).
“After this, Yeshua traveled about from town to town and village to village, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. With him were the Twelve, and a number of women who had been healed from evil spirits and illnesses” (Luke 8:1-2).
“They came to Yeshua and found the man out of whom the demons had gone, sitting — dressed and in his right mind — at the feet of Yeshua; and they were frightened. Those who had seen it told how the formerly demonized man had been delivered” (Luke 8:35-36).
The Command of Seven
Many believe that Noach took all known animals, two by two, male and female, onto the ark. However, a closer reading of Genesis 7 reveals something else.
“Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth” (Genesis 7:2-3).
Through the numbers of pairs of animals that Elohim commanded Noach to take on the ark, Noach learned the difference between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ animals. Of the ‘clean’ animals (and birds), Noach was to take seven pairs. Of the ‘unclean’ animals, Noach was to take only one pair. This becomes important after the flood when Noach leaves the ark, builds an altar, and makes an offering to Elohim. If Noach had sacrificed any of the ‘unclean’ animals, they would not have been able to re-populate the earth. Instead, Noach offers ‘clean’ animals on the altar.
After the flood, Noach is given meat to eat along with green plants. In the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle, the fellowship or peace offerings were eaten by the priests or with the individual making the offering. This is not only prophetic to Elohim’s outline for worship in the Tabernacle, but He is showing Noach the required animal offerings. At the same time, Elohim reveals to Noach the difference between the animals he may eat and the animals he may not. This is the second time Elohim gives a dietary command, and this event occurs one thousand years before the Israelites received the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Noach was not only a righteous man, but he was also wise. He obeyed the command of Elohim to build an ark even though he did not completely understand what was going to happen. For 100 years while he built and prepared the ark, he endured the mockery of foolish non-God-fearing people until the moment the door was shut and the judgment on mankind began.
The ark rested in the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. According to the mo’edim, this would be three days after the start of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is a memorial to the ‘temporary dwellings’ of Isra’el in the wilderness; a vision of eternity. The ark was Noach’s ‘temporary dwelling’ throughout the duration of the flood.
Hebrew Word Pictures
Ararat (Curse Reversed) – אררת – alef, resh, resh, tav
– the first authority, the head of the covenant
Forty days after the ark rested on Ararat, Noach sent out a raven. Ravens are scavengers and eat dead flesh. When the raven did not return to Noach, he knew there was nothing for the animals to eat. The raven, though it couldn’t find a place to rest or food to eat, continued to fly ‘to and fro’ implying it lived upon the roof of the ark constantly waiting for the appearance of food in the receding water.
Noach sent out a dove. A dove is a type of pigeon. In essence, Noach sent out a homing pigeon that would return to him with news of dry land. The first time he released the dove, it returned because water still covered the earth. The second time, the dove returned with an olive leaf, and Noach knew the water had dried up from the earth.
Selah
The olive tree is symbolic of Isra’el and, the olive leaf is prophetic that through one of Noach’s sons, Isra’el would be established.
After being in the ark for nearly six months, on the first day of the first month, the water had dried up from the earth. Noach removed the covering of the ark and looked out. On Elohim’s calendar, this would have been the beginning of months with the Passover occurring fourteen days later. Being protected in the ark, death did pass over Noach and his family allowing them to live and bring forth new human life on earth.
By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, Noach was able to leave the ark and walk on dry ground. The closest ‘appointed time’ specific to Noach leaving the ark is Shavuot or Feast of Weeks when the Torah is given to the Israelites on Mt. Sinai (and the Ruach Elohim is poured out on Isra’el in Acts 2). The dates and time give reference to the ‘seasons’ in which these events happened.
Noachide Laws and the Covenant
Elohim gave Noach Torah or instructions after the flood. The instructions were necessary to avoid the events that happened on the earth before the flood. Animals would now be filled with fear of man as man would begin to eat the flesh of animals along with plants. Noach is told that flesh with its blood is not to be eaten. Because human life and the nishmat chayim ruach is the image of Elohim, an accounting of life for life from every human being would be required. At this time, Elohim institutes capital punishment so that whoever shed human blood would have his own blood shed.
Many believe there is only one covenant that Elohim made with humanity called the ‘new covenant.’ This is not true. In Genesis 6:18, after the destruction of humanity in the flood, Elohim established His covenant with Noach. This covenant includes the word ‘never’ which means that it is still in force.
“God spoke to Noach and his sons with him; he said, ‘As for me – I am herewith establishing my covenant with you, with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you .… I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth’” (Genesis 9:8-10).
Elohim also gave Noach a ‘sign’ for His covenant. He put His rainbow in the clouds so that He would remember the covenant between Himself, Noach, and the earth.
“God added, ‘Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come: I am putting my rainbow in the cloud–it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud; I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind, and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of any kind on the earth’” (Genesis 9:12-16).
Elohim also promises that as long as the earth exists, there will be sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease (Genesis 8:22).
“By trusting, Noach, after receiving divine warning about things as yet unseen, was filled with holy fear and built an ark to save his household. Through this trusting, he put the world under condemnation and received the righteousness that comes from trusting” (Hebrews 11:7).
The Curse of Canaan
Noach has three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japeth. They become the fathers of the nations that fill the earth. Japeth became the father of Gomer (Germany), Magog, Tubal, Meshekh (modern-day Russia). His grandchildren include Tarshish (modern-day India/Pakistan). Ham had sons named Cush (Ethiopia), Mitzrayim (Egypt), Put (Libya) and Canaan (Canannites). Ham’s grandsons became modern-day Saudi Arabia. Cush fathered Nimrod who began the kingdom of Babylon (Iraq). His children became the Jebusites, Emorites, Girgashites, and Hivites who eventually settled Sodom and Gomorrah.
Noach plants a vineyard, gets drunk, and passes out in his tent –– uncovered. Ham sees his father’s nakedness and tells his brothers. Shem and Japeth take a cloak and put it over their shoulders, walk backward into the tent, and cover their father who is shamefully exposed. When Noach wakes up, he knows what his youngest son had done. Rather than cursing Ham who had come through the flood, he curses his grandson, Canaan.
“Cursed be Kena’an; he will be a servant of servants to his brothers. Then he said, ‘Blessed be Adonai, the God of Shem; Kena’an (Canaan) will be their servant. May God enlarge Japeth; he will live in the tents of Shem, but Kena’an will be their servant’” (Genesis 9:25-27).
There are several interpretations in the Talmud (source for Jewish law and theology) for how Noach knows what happened while he was passed out. One interpretation suggests that Ham castrated his father, thus rendering him unable to have another child, bringing a curse on his progeny through his grandson. Another interpretation suggests that Ham raped his father based on similar phrases used in the account with Shechem and Dinah. A third interpretation is that Ham had sex with his own mother bringing a curse on his own son.
The words of Noach to his sons are prophetic. Japeth grows into a large nation and populates the lands north and west of Ararat. Canaan is cursed and leaves the ways of Elohim and worships other gods –– Ba’al, Astarte, and Asthoreth, each with sexual sins attached to their worship.
Shem in Hebrew means ‘name’ which is what Noach called Elohim –– HaShem. Shem fathered Eber, the root from where the word Hebrew is derived. He became the father of the Semitic peoples who become the Tribes of Isra’el.
Shem’s other sons were Elam (east of Babylon), Asshur (Assyria/Nineveh), Lud (western Turkey), Aram (Syria), and Arphaxad (the lineage through which Messiah comes). Eber fathers another son whose name is Peleg because “the earth was divided” at the time of his birth. This, most likely, references the Tower of Babel and the division of languages, nations, and cultures.
Hebrew Word Pictures
Shem (Name) – שם – shin, mem
– consume the chaos
Ham (Hot) – chet, mem – protect chaos
Japeth (Enlarged) – יפת – yod, peh, tav
– finished work of the source of the covenant
The Origin of Language
It is believed that Nimrod, the son of Cush, was the ruler of Shinar in Mesopotamia. This city is in Babylon or modern-day Iraq about 59 miles southwest of Bagdad. The purpose of the Tower of Babel was to create a monument that would honor Nimrod, his people, and the works of their hands. With one language, they were accomplishing the task.
Because of what had happened in the days before the flood, Elohim decides to end the project before “nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!” (Genesis 11:6) He comes down and confuses language so they can no longer build the structure. In Hebrew, ‘confused’ is balal and means to ‘mix’ or ‘confuse.’ The word saphah is used for ‘language,’ but is an unused word meaning ‘lips or speech.’ From balal comes the Hebrew word ‘babylon’ which may mean ‘gate of God.’
Since that day, nations, languages, and cultures have had boundaries to protect the world from becoming one world –– globalism –– where the power and presence of Elohim is challenged. In the last days, mankind will be judged for worshiping the works of his hands as in the days of Babel (Revelation 9:20).
Yeshua and the ‘Days of Noach’
“For the Son of Man’s coming will be just as it was in the days of Noach. Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark; and they didn’t know what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be just like that when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:37-39).
“For the Messiah himself died for sins, once and for all, a righteous person on behalf of unrighteous people, so that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but brought to life by the Spirit; and in this form he went and made a proclamation to the imprisoned spirits, to those who were disobedient long ago, in the days of Noach, when God waited patiently during the building of the ark, in which a few people — to be specific, eight — were delivered by means of water” (1 Peter 3:18-20).
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