This is the account of Noah.This phrase introduces a new section in Genesis, often referred to as a "toledot," which means "generations" or "account." It marks a transition in the narrative, focusing on Noah and his lineage. The structure of Genesis is divided into these sections, each beginning with a similar phrase, indicating a new chapter in the unfolding story of humanity. Noah's account is significant as it leads to the story of the Flood, a pivotal event in biblical history.
Noah was a righteous man,
The term "righteous" in this context implies that Noah lived in accordance with God's standards. In a time of widespread corruption and violence, Noah's righteousness set him apart. This righteousness is not just moral uprightness but also a relational fidelity to God. Noah's life exemplifies the principle found inHabakkuk 2:4, "the righteous will live by his faith," which is echoed in the New Testament (Romans 1:17).
blameless in his generation;
"Blameless" suggests integrity and completeness in character. In a corrupt generation, Noah's blamelessness highlights his distinctiveness. This does not imply sinlessness but rather a wholehearted devotion to God. The Hebrew word for "generation" can also mean "age" or "time," emphasizing the contrast between Noah and the prevailing culture. This anticipates the call for believers to be "blameless and pure" in a "crooked and depraved generation" (Philippians 2:15).
Noah walked with God.
Walking with God indicates a close, personal relationship with the Creator, characterized by faith and obedience. This phrase is also used to describe Enoch inGenesis 5:24, suggesting a continuity of faithful individuals amidst a fallen world. Walking with God implies ongoing fellowship and alignment with His will, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture, as seen inMicah 6:8, which calls for walking humbly with God. Noah's walk with God prefigures the life of Jesus Christ, who perfectly walked in obedience to the Father.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
NoahA central figure in the Genesis account, Noah is described as a righteous and blameless man who walked with God. His life and actions are pivotal in the account of the flood.
2.
The Generation of NoahThis refers to the people living during Noah's time, characterized by widespread corruption and violence, contrasting with Noah's righteousness.
3.
Walking with GodThis phrase indicates a close, personal relationship with God, suggesting a life lived in accordance with God's will and purposes.
Teaching Points
Righteousness in a Corrupt WorldNoah's life exemplifies how one can live righteously even when surrounded by corruption. His example encourages believers to maintain integrity and faithfulness regardless of societal pressures.
Blamelessness and IntegrityThe Hebrew word for "blameless" (tamim) suggests completeness or wholeness. Believers are called to live lives of integrity, reflecting God's holiness in all areas.
Walking with GodThis phrase implies an ongoing, daily relationship with God. It challenges believers to cultivate a consistent spiritual walk through prayer, scripture study, and obedience.
Faith and ObedienceNoah's faith was demonstrated through his obedience to God's commands, even when they seemed daunting or illogical. This teaches that true faith is active and results in obedience.
Legacy of FaithNoah's life left a legacy of faith for future generations. Believers are encouraged to consider the impact of their faith on their families and communities.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 6:9?
2.How can we emulate Noah's "righteous" and "blameless" life in today's world?
3.What does "walked with God" mean, and how can we apply it daily?
4.How does Noah's obedience in Genesis 6:9 connect to James 2:17's faith?
5.In what ways can we demonstrate faithfulness amidst a corrupt society like Noah?
6.How can Noah's example in Genesis 6:9 inspire our family leadership today?
7.How does Genesis 6:9 define Noah's righteousness and blamelessness in his generation?
8.What does "Noah walked with God" imply about his relationship with the divine?
9.How does Genesis 6:9 challenge modern views on morality and righteousness?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 6?
11.What defines narrative criticism in literary analysis?
12.What is the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh?
13.Who is the Preacher of Righteousness?
14.How can one live for righteousness?What Does Genesis 6:9 Mean
This is the account of NoahGenesis 6:9 opens with, “This is the account of Noah”. Scripture often uses this phrase to launch a new, historical section (seeGenesis 2:4; 10:1). Here it signals a shift from the broad description of human corruption (Genesis 6:5-7) to a focused narrative about one man and his family. By highlighting Noah’s story, the text invites us to see how God preserves a remnant in the midst of widespread evil, much like He later does with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and Joseph (Genesis 50:20).
Noah was a righteous manThe verse continues, “Noah was a righteous man”. Righteousness in Scripture always depends on God’s standard, not human opinion. Noah’s righteousness is affirmed directly by God inGenesis 7:1: “I have found you righteous in this generation”. The New Testament underscores that his righteousness was rooted in faith: “By faith Noah… became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).Ezekiel 14:14 even lists Noah alongside Daniel and Job as exemplars of true righteousness, reminding us that authentic righteousness is recognized across both Testaments.
Key traits of Noah’s righteousness:
• Trusting God’s word before seeing results (Hebrews 11:7).
• Acting in obedience despite cultural opposition (Genesis 6:22).
• Standing as a visible contrast to the pervasive wickedness around him (Genesis 6:5-6).
Blameless in his generationThe text adds, “blameless in his generation”. “Blameless” describes integrity, not sinless perfection (seeJob 1:1;Philippians 2:15). In Noah’s “generation”—a society so corrupt that “every inclination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was altogether evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5)—he lived above reproach.
What blamelessness looked like for Noah:
• Consistency: His private life matched his public witness (Proverbs 20:7).
• Separation: He refused to adopt the violent ways of his contemporaries (Genesis 6:11-12).
• Readiness: Because he was blameless, he was prepared to receive God’s specific instructions for the ark (Genesis 6:14-16).
Noah walked with GodFinally, “Noah walked with God”. This phrase first appeared of Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and points to ongoing communion. Walking indicates movement, progress, and daily fellowship rather than momentary encounters.Micah 6:8 echoes this call: “Walk humbly with your God”.
Walking with God involves:
• Fellowship—regular, personal relationship with the Lord (Genesis 5:22;Colossians 2:6).
• Obedience—responding to divine direction even when it seems unprecedented (Genesis 6:22).
• Perseverance—maintaining course for 120 years of ark-building amidst ridicule (2 Peter 2:5).
summaryGenesis 6:9 paints a three-dimensional portrait of Noah: historically situated (“This is the account”), morally upright (“righteous… blameless”), and relationally devoted (“walked with God”). In a corrupt world doomed for judgment, Noah’s faith-fueled righteousness and intimate walk with God set the stage for humanity’s preservation through the flood. His life invites believers today to the same pattern of trusting obedience, integrity before a watching world, and steady communion with the Lord.
THE GENERATIONS OF NOAH (
Genesis 6:9;
Genesis 9:28).
(9)Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations.--"Just" is, literally,righteous,one whose actions were sufficiently upright to exempt him from the punishment inflicted upon the rest of mankind. "Perfect" meanssound, healthy,and conveys no idea of sinlessness. It answers to the Latininteger,whence our word integrity, and not toperfectus.
Generations(doroth) is not the same word as at the beginning of the verse (toldoth),but simply meanshis contemporaries.And this he was because--
Noah walked with God.--See Note onGenesis 5:22.
Verse 9. -
These are the generations of Noah. "Novi capitis initium = "haec est historia Noachi (Rosenmüller; cf.
Genesis 5:1).
Noah (
vide Genesis 5:29)
was a just man.
צַדִּיק: not of spotless innocence (Knobel); but upright, honest, virtuous, pious (
vir probus); from
צָדַּק, to be straight, hence to be just; Piel to render just or righteous (Eccl. Lat.,
justificare)
, to declare any one just or innocent (Gesenius); better "justified" or declared righteous, being derived from the Piel form of the verb (Furst). "Evidently the righteousness here meant is that which represents him as justified in view of the judgment of the Flood, by reason of his faith,
Hebrews 11:7" (Lange). "To be just is to be right in point of law, and thereby entitled to all the blessings of the acquitted and justified. When applied to the guilty this epithet implies pardon of sin among other benefits of grace" (Murphy).
And perfect.
תָּמִים: complete, whole (
τέλειος,
integer);
i.e. perfect in the sense not of sinlessness, but of moral integrity (Gesenius, Calvin). It describes "completeness of parts rather than of degrees in the renewed character" (Bush). "The just is the right in law, the perfect is the tested in holiness" (Murphy). If, however, the term is equivalent to the
τελείωσις of the Christian system (
1 Corinthians 2:6;
Hebrews 7:11), it denotes that complete readjustment of the being of a sinful man to the law of God, both legally and morally, which is effected by the whole work of Christ for man and in man; it is "the establishment of complete, unclouded, and enduring communion with God, and the full realization of a state of peace with him which, founded on a true and ever valid remission of sins, has for its consummation eternal glory" (Delitzsch on
Hebrews 7:11).
In his generations.בְּדְֹּרֹתַיו, from
דּוּר, to go in a circle; hence a circuit of years; an age or generation (
generatio, seeulum) of men. The clause marks not simply the sphere of Noah's virtue, among his contemporaries, or only the duration of his piety, throughout his lifetime, but likewise the constancy of his religion, which, when surrounded by the filth of iniquity on every side, contracted no contagion (Calvin). "It is probable, moreover, that he was of pure descent, and in that respect also distinguished from his contemporaries, who were the offspring of promiscuous marriages between the godly and the ungodly" (Murphy).
And Noah walked with God. The special form in which his just and perfect character revealed itself amongst his sinful contemporaries. For the import of the phrase see on Genesis 5:22. Noah was also a preacher of righteousness (
2 Peter 2:5), and probably announced to the wicked age in which -he lived the coming of the Flood (
Hebrews 11:7).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
This [is]אֵ֚לֶּה(’êl·leh)Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428:These, thosethe accountתּוֹלְדֹ֣ת(tō·wl·ḏōṯ)Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 8435:Descent, family, historyof Noah.נֹ֔חַ(nō·aḥ)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5146:Noah -- 'rest', patriarch who survived the floodNoahנֹ֗חַ(nō·aḥ)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5146:Noah -- 'rest', patriarch who survived the floodwasהָיָ֖ה(hā·yāh)Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961:To fall out, come to pass, become, bea righteous man,צַדִּ֛יק(ṣad·dîq)Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6662:Just, righteousblamelessתָּמִ֥ים(tā·mîm)Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 8549:Entire, integrity, truthin his generation;בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו(bə·ḏō·rō·ṯāw)Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1755:A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwellingNoahנֹֽחַ׃(nō·aḥ)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5146:Noah -- 'rest', patriarch who survived the floodwalkedהִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־(hiṯ·hal·leḵ-)Verb - Hitpael - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980:To go, come, walkwithאֶת־(’eṯ-)Preposition
Strong's 854:Nearness, near, with, by, at, amongGod.הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים(hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430:gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative
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OT Law: Genesis 6:9 This is the history of the generations (Gen. Ge Gn) 
