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.
Parallel Translations
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Genesis 7:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Peter 2:5 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 of the ungodly;
- Hebrews 11:7 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 he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
- 1 Peter 3:20 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 souls, were saved through water.
- Luke 17:26-27 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 given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
- Matthew 24:37-39 “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 drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
- 2 Peter 3:6 by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished.
- Genesis 7:21-22 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.
- Job 22:15-17 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 stream, who said to God, ‘Depart from us;’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’
- Isaiah 24:1-8 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 with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest. The earth will be utterly emptied and utterly laid waste; for Yahweh has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and fades away. The lofty people of the earth languish. The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell therein are found guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left. The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of tambourines ceases. The sound of those who rejoice ends. The joy of the harp ceases.
- Malachi 3:17-18 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 who serves him. Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn’t serve him.
- Matthew 25:46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Exodus 14:28-30 The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
- Job 5:19 He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil will touch you.
- Psalms 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 91:9-10 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 near your dwelling.
- Ezekiel 14:14-20 though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord Yahweh. “If I cause evil animals to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it is made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the animals; though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They only would be delivered, but the land would be desolate. “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and animal;’ though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only would be delivered themselves. “Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my wrath on it in blood, to cut off from it man and animal; though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness.”
- 2 Peter 2:9 the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain 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 Gen 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which…
Gen 7:23 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.
Ver. 23. And every living substance was destroyed.] That all ensuing ages, considering this standing monument of God’s wrath against sin (whence once it is become, as physicians say of some diseases, corruptio totius substantiae), might hear, and fear, and do no more so.
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 This is so often repeated, that it may be…
This is so often repeated, that it may be more deeply ingrafted into the dull minds and hard hearts of men, to teach men that they ought again and again to consider this dreadful instance of God’s justice against sin and incorrigible sinners.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (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 And every living substance was destroyed literally, wiped out…
And every living substance was destroyed literally, wiped out (cf. Gen_6:7 Gen_7:4) which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and literally, from, man urgecattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the hearten; and they were destroyed wiped, out by washing (cf. Gen_6:7) from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. The straits to which the advocates of the documentary hypothesis are sometimes reduced are remarkably exemplified by the fortunes of these verses (21-23) in the attempt to assign them to their respective authors. Astruc conjectures that ver. 21 was taken from what he calls monumentum B, ver. 22 from "monument" A, and ver. 23 from monument C. Eichhorn ascribes vers. 21, 22 to an Elohistic author, and ver. 23 to a Jehovistic. Ilgen assigns vers. 21, 22 to the first, and ver. 23 to the second Elohist. Bleek, all three to the Elohist; and Davidson ver. 21 to the Elohist, vers. 22, 23 to the Jehovist. Amid such uncertainty it will be reasonable to cling to the belief that Moses wrote all the three verses, at least till the higher criticism knows its own mind.
The Deluge.
Read full note →
I A STRIKING TESTIMONY TO THE DIVINE FAITHFULNESS.
1. In respect of threatenings against the wicked. Whether the faith of Noah ever betrayed symptoms of wavering during the long interval of waiting for the coming of the Flood it is impossible to say; it can scarcely be doubted that the men who for six score years had seen the sun rise and set with unwearied regularity, that had watched the steady and continuous movement of nature"s laws and forces throughout the passing century, oftentimes exclaimed, Where is the promise of his coming, for all things continue as they were from the beginning?" And yet God kept his word, and fulfilled his threatening. "The flood came, and took them all away". (Mat_24:39) Cf. the Divine threatenings against Babylon, (Jer_51:33) against Tyre, (Isa_23:12) against Jerusalem (2Ki_21:13; Jer_26:18) against the Jews. (Deu_28:49) Let impenitent sinners thereby be reminded that there is one more word of doom which he will yet cause to come to pass (Psa_9:17; 2Th_1:8; 2Pe_3:10)
2. In respect of promises to the saints. At the same time that he foretold to Noah the destruction of his licentious and violent contemporaries, he distinctly promised that he would establish his covenant with Noah, and preserve both him and his amid the general overthrow. And that too he implemented in due time and to the letter. Let the saints then learn to trust the precious promises of God (2Pe_1:4) which have been given to enable them to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust (thv ejn kosmw ejn ejpiqumia fqorav, i.e. the destruction that is already operating in the world and coming out of, as it is carried in, the world"s lust).
II A SIGNAL DISPLAY or THE DIVINE POWER.
1. In controlling his creatures.
(1) In collecting the animals, which he did, doubtless, by making use of their instincts which led them to apprehend the coming danger. Vide Job 39-41, for God"s power over the animal creation.
(2) In using the powers of nature breaking up the flood-gates of the deep, and opening the windows of heaven. The phenomenon was distinctly miraculous; but if God made the world, causing it to stand together out of the water and through the water, the supernatural character of the Deluge should not occasion difficulty. Nor should the power of God be overlooked in the ordinary phenomena of nature. "Nature is but another name for an effect whose cause is God." In the miracle God reveals what he is always silently and imperceptibly doing in the natural event. Nothing happens in the realm of providence without the concurrence of Almighty power (Amo_3:6; Mat_10:29) Let God"s power exhibited over nature"s forces remind us of his ability to bring the present terrestrial economy to an end as he has promised. (2Pe_3:10, 2Pe_3:11)
(3) In destroying the lives of men. In every case life is a gift of God, and can only be recalled by him (Deu_32:39; 2Sa_2:6) Yet, unless when God interposes to destroy on a large scale, e.g. by famine, pestilence, war, accident, his absolute and unchallengeable control over men"s lives (Psa_31:15) is apt to be forgotten. And with what infinite ease he can depopulate the fairest and most crowded regions he has often shown; witness, in addition to the Flood, the destruction of the cities of the plain Gen_19:24, Gen_19:25) of the first-born in Egypt, (Exo_12:29) of the army of Pharaoh, (Exo_14:27) of the host of Sennacherib. (2Ki_19:35)
2. In punishing his enemies. That appalling visitation is fitted to remind us that God is able to execute vengeance
(1) On the greatest sinners. Having cast down the sinning angels, and drowned the world of the ungodly, and burnt up the filthy Sodomites, it is scarcely likely that any criminal will be beyond his power to apprehend and chastise. (2Pe_2:9 Jud_1:15)
(2) In the severest forms. Having all the resources of nature at his command, the gleaming thunderbolt, the sweeping flood, the sleeping volcano, the tempestuous hurricane, all the several and combined potencies of fire, air, earth, and water, he can never want a weapon wherewith to inflict upon his adversaries "the tribulation and wrath, indignation and anguish," he has decreed for their portion (Rom_2:8, Rom_2:9; 2Th_1:8, 2Th_1:9; Rev_20:15 Rev_21:8)
(3) It the most unexpected times. Few things connected with the Noachic Deluge are more impressive and paralyzing to the mind than the suddenness of the surprisal with which it sprang upon the wicked generation that for 120 years had been disbelieving its reality and ridiculing the warnings of the patriarch. "So ALSO SHALL THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE.
(4) With the most inevitable certainty. Tempted by their long lives to imagine that the penalty of death was cancelled or had become inoperative, or at least would not really be put in force against them, these men of the first age were recalled from their delusive reasonings. The Deluge was God"s proclamation that the penalty was still in force against sinners, God"s explanation of what that penalty meant, God"s certification that that penalty was sure.
3. In protecting his people. The ark floating on the waters was a visible sermon to all time coming of God"s ability to save them who believe and obey him. And, like the shelter enjoyed by Noah, the salvation which God bestows upon his people is
(1) gracious flowing from the Divine mercy;
(2) free with no condition attached except that men shall, like Noah, believe and obey;
(3) adequate containing all that is required for their spiritual necessities, as the ark held abundant provision for the voyage;
(4) secure " the Lord shut him inn.
So says Christ, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish". (Joh_10:28)
III A SOLEMN ATTESTATION OF THE DIVINE HOLINESS. Proclaiming
1. That the Divine character was holy. A deity who is himself subject to imperfection is inconceivable. But sinful men are prone to forget that God is of purer eyes than to look upon iniquity. In this last age of the world God has discovered that to men by sending forth an image or likeness of himself in the person of his Son, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners (cf. Joh_14:9) In the first age he announced the same great truth by the water-flood.
1. That the Divine law was holy. That, besides being himself personally pure, he requires sinless obedience at the hands of his creatures, the Almighty has in every separate era or epoch of human history taken pains
2. to inform men; in Edenic times by the forbidden tree; in ante diluvian by the Deluge; in Mosaic by Mount Sinai; in Christian by the cross of Cal vary.
3. That the Divine government was holy. That from the first the world has been governed in the interests of holiness is unmistakably me a doctrine or scripture. If any in Noah"s time believed either that God was indifferent to righteousness, or that it was possible for "the throne of iniquity to have fellowship with him" they must have been terribly undeceived when the crack of doom was heard above their heads. So will it be when the righteous Judge reveals himself a second time in flaming fire to render unto every man according to his deeds.
Lessons:
1. It is impossible for God to lie". (Heb_6:18)
2. "There is nothing too hard for the Lord". (Gen_18:14)
3. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.". (Heb_10:31)
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 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
Read full note →
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.)
.
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 So every living thing ... was wiped out
So every living thing ... was wiped out
If necessary, this can be stated in active form. AT: "So every living thing ... perished" or "So the flood completely destroyed every living thing" (See: Active or Passive)
Read full note →
They were all destroyed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "God destroyed them all" (See: Active or Passive)
from the earth
"so they were no longer on the earth"
those with him
"the people and animals that were with him"
were left
"remained" or "lived" or "remained alive"
translationWords
blot out
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.