All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.
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Genesis 7:21-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
In 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— they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah. Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then Yahweh shut him in. The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth. The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters. The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered. The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship. The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.
Parallel Translations
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All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.
All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.
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And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
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And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, and every swarming thing that swarmeth upon the earth, and every man;
all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was in the dry land, died.
And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven; and they were blotted out from the earth; and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark.
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Cross-references (37)
- 2 Peter 2:5 (vv21, 23) and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world…
- Hebrews 11:7 (v23) By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which…
- 1 Peter 3:20 (v23) who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight…
- Genesis 2:7 (v22) Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Luke 17:26-27 (v23) As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married, and they were…
Show all 34 cross-references
- Genesis 6:13 (v21) God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and…
- Genesis 6:17 (vv21–22) I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that…
- Genesis 7:4 (v21) In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made…
- Genesis 6:6-7 (v21) Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created…
- Matthew 24:37-39 (v23) “As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and…
- Romans 8:20 (v21) For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
- 2 Peter 3:6 (v23) by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished.
- Job 22:15-17 (vv21, 23) Will you keep the old way, which wicked men have trodden, who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a…
- Genesis 7:21-22 (v23) All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.…
- Isaiah 24:1-8 (v23) Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants. It will be as with the people, so…
- Isaiah 24:6 (v21) Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell therein are found guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are…
- Isaiah 24:19 (v21) The earth is utterly broken. The earth is torn apart. The earth is shaken violently.
- Jeremiah 4:22-27 (v21) “For my people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil,…
- Jeremiah 12:3-4 (v21) But you, Yahweh, know me. You see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the…
- Hosea 4:3 (v21) Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells in it will waste away, with all living things in her, even the animals of the field…
- Joel 1:17-20 (v21) The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. How the animals…
- Joel 2:3 (v21) A fire devours before them, and behind them, a flame burns. The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them, a desolate…
- Zephaniah 1:3 (v21) I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I…
- Malachi 3:17-18 (v23) They shall be mine,” says Yahweh of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son…
- Matthew 24:39 (v21) and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
- Matthew 25:46 (v23) These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Luke 17:27 (v21) They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and…
- Romans 8:22 (v21) For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.
- Exodus 14:28-30 (v23) The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There…
- Job 5:19 (v23) He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil will touch you.
- Psalms 91:1 (v23) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 91:9-10 (v23) Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come…
- Ezekiel 14:14-20 (v23) though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord…
- 2 Peter 2:9 (v23) the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
34 distinct cross-references across this passage (37 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v23 That is, God.
That is, God.
Learn what it is to obey God only, and to forsake the multitude, 1 Pet. 3:20.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Gen 7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon…
Gen 7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
Ver. 21. And every man died.] Now these mockers behold that ark with envy, that erst they beheld with scorn; they wish themselves in the darkest corner of it, that lately laughed at it, and perhaps did what they could to hinder the finishing of it. {a} Yea, some, likely, to save them from drowning, caught at and clung as fast to the outside of the ark as Joab, for the same cause, did to the horns of the altar. But all in vain; for,
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{a} Verisimile eat non abstinuisse manus ab opere turbando . - Piscator.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21–23 All flesh that moved, i.e. lived; for motion is…
All flesh that moved, i.e. lived; for motion is a sign of life.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v21 Here is, I. The general destruction of all flesh…
Here is, I. The general destruction of all flesh by the waters of the flood. Come, and see the desolations which God makes in the earth (Psa 46:8), and how he lays heaps upon heaps. Never did death triumph, from its first entrance unto this day, as it did then. Come, and see Death upon his pale horse, and hell following with him, Rev 6:7, Rev 6:8.
1. All the cattle, fowl, and creeping things, died, except the few that were in the ark. Observe how this is repeated: All flesh died, Gen 7:21. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land, Gen 7:22. Every living substance, Gen 7:23. And why so? Man only had done wickedly, and justly is God's hand against him; but these sheep, what have they done? I answer, (1.) We are sure God did them no wrong. He is the sovereign Lord of all life, for he is the sole fountain and author of it. He that made them as he pleased might unmake them when he pleased; and who shall say unto him, What doest thou? May he not do what he will with his own, which were created for his pleasure? (2.) God did admirably serve the purposes of his own glory by their destruction, as well as by their creation. Herein his holiness and justice were greatly magnified; by this it appears that he hates sin, and is highly displeased with sinners, when even the inferior creatures, because they are the servants of man and part of his possession, and because they have been abused to be the servants of sin, are destroyed with him. This makes the judgment the more remarkable, the more dreadful, and, consequently, the more expressive of God's wrath and vengeance. The destruction of the creatures was their deliverance from the bondage of corruption, which deliverance the whole creation now groans after, Rom 8:21, Rom 8:22. It was likewise an instance of God's wisdom. As the creatures were made for man when he was made, so they were multiplied for him when he was multiplied; and therefore, now that mankind was reduced to so small a number, it was fit that the beasts should proportionably be reduced, otherwise they would have had the dominion, and would have replenished the earth, and the remnant of mankind that was left would have been overpowered by them. See how God considered this in another case, Exo 23:29, Lest the beast of the field multiply against thee.
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2. All the men, women, and children, that were in the world (except that were in the ark) died. Every man (Gen 7:21 and Gen 7:23), and perhaps they were as many as are now upon the face of the earth, if not more. Now, (1.) We may easily imagine what terror and consternation seized on them when they saw themselves surrounded. Our Saviour tells us that till the very day that the flood came they were eating and drinking (Luk 17:26, Luk 17:27); they were drowned in security and sensuality before they were drowned in those waters, crying Peace, peace, to themselves, deaf and blind to all divine warnings. In this posture death surprised them, as Sa1 30:16, Sa1 30:17. But O what an amazement were they in then! Now they see and feel that which they would not believe and fear, and are convinced of their folly when it is too late; now they find no place for repentance, though they seek it carefully with tears. (2.) We may suppose that they tried all ways and means possible for their preservation, but all in vain. Some climb to the tops of trees or mountains, and spin out their terrors there awhile. But the flood reaches them, at last, and they are forced to die with the more deliberation. Some, it is likely, cling to the ark, and now hope that this may be their safety which they had so long made their sport. Perhaps some get to the top of the ark, and hope to shift for themselves there; but either they perish there for want of food, or, by a speedier despatch, a dash of rain washes them off that deck. Others, it may be, hoped to prevail with Noah for admission into the ark, and pleaded old acquaintance, Have we not eaten and drunk in thy presence? Hast thou not taught in our streets? "Yes," might Noah say, "that I have, many a time, to little purpose. I called but you refused; you set at nought all my counsel (Pro 1:24, Pro 1:25), and now it is not in my power to help you: God has shut the door, and I cannot open it." Thus it will be at the great day. Neither climbing high in an outward profession, nor claiming relation to good people, will bring men to heaven, Mat 7:22; Mat 25:8, Mat 25:9. Those that are not found in Christ, the ark, are certainly undone, undone for ever; salvation itself cannot save them. See Isa 10:3. (3.) We may suppose that some of those that perished in the deluge had themselves assisted Noah, or were employed by him, in the building of the ark, and yet were not so wise as by repentance to secure themselves a place in it. Thus wicked ministers, though they may have been instrumental to help others to heaven, will themselves be thrust down to hell.
Let us now pause awhile and consider this tremendous judgment! Let our hearts meditate terror, the terror of this destruction. Let us see, and say, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; who can stand before him when he is angry? Let us see and say, It is an evil thing, and a bitter, to depart from God. The sin of sinners will, without repentance, be their ruin, first or last; if God be true, it will. Though hand join in hand, yet the wicked shall not go unpunished. The righteous God knows how to bring a flood upon the world of the ungodly, Pe2 2:5. Eliphaz appeals to this story as a standing warning to a careless world (Job 22:15, Job 22:16), Hast thou marked the old way, which wicked men have trodden, who were cut down out of time, and sent into eternity, whose foundation was overflown with the flood?
II. The special preservation of Noah and his family: Noah only remained alive, and those that were with him in the ark, Gen 7:23. Observe, 1. Noah lives. When all about him were monuments of justice, thousands falling on his right hand and ten thousands on his left, he was a monument of mercy. Only with his eyes might he behold and see the reward of the wicked, Psa 91:7, Psa 91:8. In the floods of great waters, they did not come nigh him, Psa 32:6. We have reason to think that, while the long-suffering of God waited, Noah not only preached to, but prayed for, that wicked world, and would have turned away the wrath; but his prayers return into his own bosom, and are answered only in his own escape, which is plainly referred to, Eze 14:14, Noah, Daniel, and Job, shall but deliver their own souls. A mark of honour shall be set on intercessors. 2. He but lives. Noah remains alive, and this is all; he is, in effect, buried alive - cooped up in a close place, alarmed with the terrors of the descending rain, the increasing flood, and the shrieks and outcries of his perishing neighbours, his heart overwhelmed with melancholy thoughts of the desolations made. But he comforts himself with this, that he is in the way of duty and in the way of deliverance. And we are taught (Jer 45:4, Jer 45:5) that when desolating judgments are abroad we must not seek great nor pleasant things to ourselves, but reckon it an unspeakable favour if we have our lives given us for a prey.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–22 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon…
And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground,.... Not everything, particularly trees; for after the flood was abated there was an olive tree, a leaf of which was brought to Noah by the dove, Gen 8:11 but all animals:
both men and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven, and they were destroyed from the earth; this is repeated, partly for explanation of the preceding clause, and partly for confirmation of this general destruction, which might seem almost incredible; there never was such a destruction of creatures before, or since, nor never will be till the general conflagration; and is a proof of the sovereignty of God, his almighty power, the purity and holiness of his nature, and the strictness and severity of his justice, and shows what a fearful thing it is to fail into his hands:
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and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark; besides those, of the millions of mankind that were upon the earth, not one was left, the flood came and destroyed them all, Luk 17:27 the fable some Jewish writers relate of Og being found alive, and which they gather from Deu 3:11 by sitting upon a piece of wood of one of the ladders of the ark, to whom Noah reached out food every day, and so he remained alive (q), deserves no regard; though perhaps from hence arose the Grecian fable of the flood of Ogyges, which seems to be the same with this of Noah.
(q) Pirke Eliezer, c. 23. fol. 23. 1, 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v21 All flesh died, all in whose nostrils was the…
All flesh died, all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land, every living substance - And why so? Man only had done wickedly, and justly is God's hand against him, but these sheep what have they done? I answer,
1. We are sure God did them no wrong. He is the sovereign Lord of all life, for he is the sole fountain and author of it. He that made them as he pleased, might unmake them when he pleased, and who shall say unto him, What dost thou?
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2. God did admirably serve the purposes of his own glory by their destruction, as well as by their creation. Herein his holiness and justice were greatly magnified: by this it appears that he hates sin, and is highly displeased with sinners, when even the inferior creatures, because they are the servants of man, and part of his possession, and because they have been abused to be the servants of sin, are destroyed with him. It was likewise an instance of God's wisdom. As the creatures were made for man when he was made, so they were multiplied for him when he was multiplied; and therefore, now mankind was reduced to so small a number, it was fit that the beasts should proportionable be reduced, otherwise they would have had the dominion, and would have replenished the earth, and the remnant of mankind that was left would have been overpowered by them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v22 Verse 22. Of all that was in the dry…
Verse 22. Of all that was in the dry land] From this we may conclude that such animals only as could not live in the water were preserved in the ark.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v21 Gen 7:21. All flesh died; all that was on…
Gen 7:21. All flesh died; all that was on the dry land — And why so? Man only had done wickedly, and justly is God’s hand against him, but these sheep, what have they done? I answer, 1st, We are sure God did them no wrong. He is the sovereign Lord of all life; for he is the sole fountain and author of it. He that made them as he pleased, might unmake them when he pleased, and who shall say unto God, What dost thou? 2d, God did admirably serve the purposes of his own glory by their destruction, as well as by their creation. Herein his holiness and justice were greatly magnified: by this it appears that he hates sin, and is highly displeased with sinners, since even the inferior creatures, because they are the servants of man, and part of his possession, and because they had been abused to be the servants of sin, are destroyed with him. It was likewise an instance of God’s wisdom. As the creatures were made for man when he was made, so they were multiplied for him when he was multiplied; and, therefore, now mankind was reduced to so small a number, it was fit that the beasts should proportionably be reduced, otherwise they would have had the dominion, and would have replenished the earth, and the remnant of mankind that was left would have been overpowered by them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v21 all flesh died . . . fowl . .…
all flesh died . . . fowl . . . cattle, and . . . creeping thing--It has been a uniform principle in the divine procedure, when judgments were abroad on the earth, to include every thing connected with the sinful objects of His wrath (Gen 19:25; Exo 9:6). Besides, now that the human race was reduced to one single family, it was necessary that the beasts should be proportionally diminished, otherwise by their numbers they would have acquired the ascendancy and overmastered the few that were to repeople the world. Thus goodness was mingled with severity; the Lord exercises judgment in wisdom and in wrath remembers mercy.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v21 21. And all flesh died — In the land…
21. And all flesh died — In the land inhabited by man. Far as the narrator could see the mountains were covered, and all living things were swept away. See the introductory note on the extent of the deluge.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v23 (23) Every living substance.—Every thing that stood erect (See…
(23) Every living substance.—Every thing that stood erect (See Note on Gen_7:4.)
Upon the face of the ground.—The adâmâh, the portion subdued to his use by the adam, man.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21, 23 Vers. 21, 22 describe the effect of the Deluge…
Vers. 21, 22 describe the effect of the Deluge in its destruction of all animal and human life. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth. A general expression for the animal creation, of which the particulars are then specified. Both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. Literally, in fowl, and in cattle, &c. (cf. ver. 14). ;And every man. i.e. all the human race (with the exception of the inmates of the ark), which is further characterized as all in whose nostrils was the breath of life. Literally, the breath of the spirit of lives, i.e. all mankind. A clear pointing backwards to Gen_2:7, which leads Davidson to ascribe vers. 22, 23 to the Jehovist, although Eichhorn, Tuch, Bleek, Vaihinger, and others leave them in the fundamental document, but which is rather to be regarded as a proof of the internal unity of the book. Of all that was in the dry land, a further specification of the creatures that perished in the Flood,died. It is obvious the construction of vers. 21, 22 may be differently understood. Each verse may be taken as a separate sentence, as in the A.V, or the second sentence may commence with the words, "And every man," as in the present exposition. Thus far the calamity is simply viewed in its objective result, In the words which follow, which wear the aspect of an unnecessary repetition, it is regarded in its relation to the Divine threatening.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v23 Noah only remained alive, and they that were with…
Gen_7:23
Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark
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The almost solitary preservation of a good man from imminent and long-continued peril
I.
THEN MORAL GOODNESS IS SOMETIMES A SAFEGUARD FROM THE IMMINENT PERILS OF LIFE.
II. THEN MORAL GOODNESS IS SIGNALLY HONOURED AND REWARDED BY GOD.
III. THEN MORAL GOODNESS MAY SOMETIMES BRING A MAN INTO THE MOST UNUSUAL AND EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. It may make a man lonely in his occupation and life mission, even though he be surrounded by a crowded world; it may make him unique in his character, and it may render him solitary in his preservation and safety. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
God destroys that He may save
A mariner in a storm would very fain save his goods, but to save his ship he heaves them overboard, a tender-hearted mother corrects her child, whereas the stripes are deeper in her heart than in its flesh. As it was said of a judge who, being about to pass sentence of death upon an offender, said, I do that good which I would not. Thus God, more loving than the careful mariner, more tender than the indulgent mother, and more merciful than the pitiful judge, is willingly unwilling that any sinner should die. He punisheth no man as he is a man, but as he is a sinful man; He loves him, yet turns him over to justice. It is Gods work to punish, but it is withal His strange work, His strange and foreign act, not His good will and pleasure. (J. Spencer.)
Noahs sojourn in the ark
Now, first of all, it was a great mercy to escape the wickedness of a wicked world, to be delivered from the blasphemies, the daring excess of iniquity which abounded openly on every side, to be rescued from sights and sounds that only jarred upon a soul that thirsted for the living God; when the door was closed, and the little Church and family of God were separated from the sinners; when the rain descended and the world began to drown; when Noah and his children felt themselves alone with God, there must have been an inexpressible sensation of release. However awful the scene without, they were able to live without disturbance, and to be at rest. And yet while in this, their awful and most merciful severance from the world, we see some, though lesser, trials. As that calm and holy house moved on from day to day, from month to month, was there not with all its peace, with all its opportunity of undisturbed intercourse with God, the loss of much that had rejoiced the soul? As day rose on day, must not the sense of confinement and restraint have come at times over the faithful Noah and his sons? Must there not have risen some longings for the green meadows and the evening walk, the beauty of the fields and the cheerful sights of Gods excellent works, that give great pleasure to godly men? To be shut in that lonely house, and to see the spring and the summer come round, the changing seasons without any change to them, all watery and blank without, must have been a trial; and yet the very fact of such a cutting off from the world and worldly things, of such loss and privation of pleasures, innocent and allowed, likens this sojourn in the ark to a long and holy fast--a lengthened Lent filling up the circle of a year. But still, we may be sure that Noah looked upon it as a space of retirement, which was to be carefully husbanded and spent for the profit of his soul. The very loss of innocent delights, the very separation from the world, must have led Noah to search for some proper duties and proper work, there providentially assigned, and there to be fulfilled. We cannot but believe that the months were crowded with constant meditations on the things of God, constant liftings up of soul, and constant exercises of faith. No idle space was it to the man of God, and, though inactive as regards the labours of the world, it was a season of spiritual husbandry and of inward toil. And thus when Noah walked forth on that sort of Easter time of the visible material world, he was doubtless all the more prepared for future trials, with a still firmer trust in God, a still sublimer faith, a deeper knowledge of the things of God, and with a larger measure of spiritual strength. And now to turn from the stay of Noah in the ark to ourselves, it is true that, while such a kind of retirement from the world can never be given to us, and that such a length of retirement may never be given, yet God does carry us away, at times, from active life, and shuts upon us the door of our house, as it were the door of the ark. Often in the midst of our life, our hand is forced from the plough, our feet from the crowded ways of the world; and even of the guileless pleasures which good men may find in the works of God, we are for a time deprived.
Surely, in our wiser and more thoughtful hours, we may thank God for these forced seasons of retirement, forced upon us that we may escape the pollutions of the world, study our Saviours will and word, give ourselves to fervent and more frequent prayer, commune with our heart and in our chamber, and be still--examine the tenor of our past lives, repent deeply, and at length, of those things which we have done amiss and contrary to the motions of the Spirit of grace, break off evil habits that have been formed, or are beginning to be formed, and by dwelling on all the love and all the truths of Jesus our Lord, be moved to consecrate ourselves afresh to Him, and to make our sickness the beginning of a more holy life. (Bp. Armstrong.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21, 23 moved upon
moved upon
"moved about" or "roamed"
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all the living creatures that lived in great numbers upon the earth
This refers to all the animals that move around on the ground in large groups.
who breathed the breath of life through their noses
Here "noses" represent the whole animal or human. AT: "everyone that breathed" (See: Synecdoche)
the breath of life
The words "breath" and "life" represent the power that causes people and animals to be alive. (See: Metonymy)
died
This refers to physical death.
translationWords
life
livestock
breath
die
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v22 7:22 Everything that . . . lived: See study…
7:22 Everything that . . . lived: See study note on 6:17.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.