Genesis 7: The LORD shut him in
Noah's household enters the ark, the LORD shuts him in, and the flood destroys all life outside.
Where Genesis 7 sits
- In the story
- Act II, Fall: Genesis 3–11
- In the Bible
- Old Testament · The Law · chapter 7 of 50 in Genesis
- In Genesis
- Noah: the flood and the covenant, 6:9–9:29 · part of All humanity
- Before
- Genesis 6: Corruption and the ark
- After
- Genesis 8: God remembered Noah
Genesis 7 summary
The LORD calls righteous Noah and his family into the ark with seven pairs of clean animals and two of the rest, and gives seven days' warning. On the dated day the fountains of the deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens pour rain forty days; all enter as God commanded, and the LORD shuts the door. The waters rise above the highest mountains, every breathing creature on land dies, only Noah and those with him remain, and the waters prevail 150 days.
Genesis 7 in context
- Speaking
- Moses, narrating; the LORD gives the final command
- Written for
- Israel, learning that God's judgment is real and total, and that safety is only where He shuts His people in
- Around it
- Follows the building of the ark (ch. 6); God's remembering Noah turns the story (8:1)
How Genesis 7 points to Christ
As the flood came and swept them all away, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matt 24:38–39); the world of that time perished in the flood, and the present one is kept for the day of judgment (2 Pet 3:6–7)
The sections of Genesis 7
- Come into the ark7:1–5
The LORD calls righteous Noah, his family and the animals into the ark, clean ones by seven pairs, warning of rain in seven days.
- Two by two7:6–10
Noah, six hundred years old, enters with his family and the animals as God commanded, and the waters come.
- The fountains break open7:11–16
On the dated day the deep bursts forth and the floodgates of the heavens open; all enter, and the LORD shuts Noah in.
- The waters prevail7:17–24
The waters cover the high mountains and destroy all life on land; only Noah's company survives, as the waters prevail 150 days.
Read Genesis 7
The Great Flood
1Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; 3and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth. 4For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”
5And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
6Now Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth. 7And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8The clean and unclean animals, the birds, and everything that crawls along the ground 9came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.
10And after seven days the floodwaters came upon the earth. 11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
13On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—14they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature. 15They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life. 16And they entered, the male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
17For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth. 18So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. 19Finally, the waters completely prevailed upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.
20The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits. 21And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind. 22Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.
24And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.
Berean Standard Bible, 24 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.
Around Genesis 7
Also in Noah: the flood and the covenant
Read alongside
- Matthew 24:38–39 They were oblivious until the flood came and swept them all away.
- 2 Peter 3:6 The world of that time perished in the flood.
- 1 Peter 3:20 A few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
How Genesis 7 connects
- Type · The flood that came and swept them all away pictures The coming of the Son of Man in judgment (Matthew 24:38–39; 2 Peter 3:5–7)
Doctrines Genesis 7 teaches
- The last judgment · Genesis 7:21–23; 2 Peter 3:6
- Providence · Genesis 7:16
- Saving faith · Genesis 7:5; Hebrews 11:7
Questions on Genesis 7
Where does the text say the LORD shut Noah in?
Show the answer
At 7:16. After every living thing has entered as God commanded Noah, the text says simply, “Then the LORD shut him in.” Noah’s safety rests on the LORD’s own hand.
How many days do the waters prevail at the end of chapter 7, and where is that number matched in chapter 8?
Show the answer
The waters prevail for 150 days (7:24), and the same number returns in 8:3, where after 150 days the waters have gone down. The two counts face each other across God’s remembering Noah (8:1).
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