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Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.
Genesis 7:1 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.
  • KJV And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
  • BSB Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
  • NKJV Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.
  • NLT When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God invites Noah and his household into the ark because he has seen Noah's righteousness. The door of salvation opens to Noah's family.

Overview

God personally summons Noah, affirming the righteousness God himself had worked in him by grace. The inclusion of the whole household shows God's gracious dealing with families through a faithful head. This call to "come" into the place of safety pictures the gospel invitation to find refuge in Christ before judgment falls.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Matt 24:37–39“As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
  • 2 Pet 2:5–9and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;
  • Gen 6:9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
  • Heb 11:7By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
  • 1 Pet 3:20who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
  • Isa 3:10–11Tell the righteous “Good!” For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
  • Gen 7:13In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth — the sons of Noah — and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship —
  • Luke 17:26As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.
  • Ezek 9:4–6Yahweh said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
  • Ps 33:18–19Behold, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness;
  • Prov 14:26In the fear of Yahweh is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children.
  • Acts 2:39For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
  • Prov 11:4–8Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
  • Isa 26:20–21Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
  • Zeph 2:3Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the land, who have kept his ordinances. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of Yahweh’s anger.
  • Prov 10:9He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
  • Phil 2:15–16that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
  • Gen 7:7Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.
  • Prov 10:6–7Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
  • Ps 91:1–10He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
  • Job 5:19–24He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
  • Prov 18:10Yahweh’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 7:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 7:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.