Genesis Chapter 6 Answers

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This webpage provides answers for the Genesis Bible study daily questions on chapter six.

We pray that God will bless you with spiritual wisdom as you study His Holy Word.

About These Answers

DAY ONE
Questions and Answers

1. The first four verses of this chapter have been interpreted many ways for thousands of years. The controversy stems from the interpretation of the words “sons of God”, “daughters of men” and “The Nephilim”. Let’s take a brief look at these terms.

Two of the more prominent interpretations of the term “sons of God” have been that given to mean they are angels and men of the line of Seth. After reading what did Jesus said about angels marrying in Mathew 22:30, which are you more likely to believe?

Why would the term “sons of God” seem out of place when used in the context of the passage if God made Adam in his own image and likeness (Gen 1:26-7) and Adam had a son in his own likeness, in his own image (Gen 5:3)? 

ONE MAN'S OPINION: It would not seem out of place and I believe the sons of God are the descendants of Adam and Seth 

2. In the context of the passage and the passages before it, who do you think the daughters of men were? 

The daughters of the line of Cain. The context of Chapter four is the two sons of Adam – Can and Abel and then what happens to Cain. The context of Chapter five is the third son of Adam – Seth and his line. It seems to follow that there are no other lines from Adam so then the discussion turns to their intermingling. 

3. The Nephilim means giants. Two commentators illuminate an underlying meaning below:

[There were giants in the earth] napiliym (OT:5303), from naaphal (OT:5307), "he fell." Those who had apostatized or fallen from the true religion. The Septuagint translate the original word by gigantes, which literally signifies earth-born, and which we, following them, term giants, without having any reference to the meaning of the word, which we generally conceive to signify persons of enormous stature.from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft

But although the idea of gigantic power does underlie the language of the sacred historian, the term Nephilim seems to bear a deeper significance; and if etymology may guide us, it describes a class of men of worthless and at the same time of violent character. It is commonly traced to naapal (OT:5307), to fall, and considered to signify either fallen ones, apostates, or falling upon others. from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft

Why would this interpretation make sense? 

The context of the Bible in general from Genesis chapter 3 where Adam and Eve sin, all the way through the flood is the corruption of man - God’s greatest creation. This is simply yet another angle on the how of this sad story which is preceded by a description of the two lines of Adams descendants – Cain and Seth and the results of their intermingling.

DAY TWO
Questions and Answers

4. List 2 examples of mankind’s evil that caused God to be upset as provided in chapter six. 

Here's three:

1. Verses 2 and 3: sensuality and marriage taken lightly
2. Verses 5,6 and 7: inclination and thoughts of his heart were evil all the time
3. Verses 11,12 and 13: violence

5. It seems that the two areas of sin that were prevalent in the days before the flood were sex (i.e. a degradation of marriage) and violence. How do we see the same problems in the world today? Give some examples. What does this say about mankind? 

That is all you see on television – violent shows about shootings, murder, autopsies, ultimate fighting, etc and the degradation of marriage is easily seen in the world today with the gradual acceptance of homosexuality and other sexual depravity that degrades the marriage covenant. Check out this verse:

Luke 17:26-27
26 "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 

DAY THREE
Questions and Answers

6. It's interesting to note that the online encyclopedia Winkpedia provides the information below in an article under the title: “super centenarian” – a term used for someone who has reached the age of 110 years or more.

The article states “…this is something achieved by only one in a thousand centenarians, and only about one super centenarian in 44 lives to turn 115.”  The article also provides information on claims of extreme age as provided below: 

“While claims of extreme age have persisted from the earliest times in history, the earliest super centenarian accepted by Guinness World Records is Thomas Peters, who was born in Groningen, Netherlands, April 6, 1745, and died there March 26, 1857 at almost 112 years of. . . However, scholars such as Jean-Marie Robine consider Geert Adriaans Boomgaard of the Netherlands as well (1788-1899) to be the first verifiable case, as the alleged evidence for Peters has been "lost." The earliest super centenarian to reach the age of 113 is Delina Filkins, who was born in Herkimer County, New York, May 4, 1815, and died there December 4, 1928. 

Over eight hundred super centenarians have been documented in history, and this is doubtless a fraction of the number who have really lived, but the majority of claims to this age do not have sufficient documentary support to be validated. This is slowly changing as those born after birth registration was standardized in more countries and parts of countries attain super centenarian age. 

The longest documented lifespan is the 122 years 164 days of Jeanne Calment (1875–1997). While her stories of meeting Vincent Van Gogh or attending the 1885 funeral of Victor Hugo might have been embellished, her life was documented in the records of her native city of Arles, France, beyond reasonable doubt. 

The Guinness Book of World Records accepted in 1978 the claim that Shigechiyo Izumi was born June 29, 1865, and from the 1980 edition considered him the oldest person. He died February 21, 1986 (the 111th birthday of Jeanne Calment). However, subsequent research by some Japanese scholars has cast doubt on his claim, as his birth certificate is believed to refer to that of his older brother who died young and whose name might have been reused as a necronym.” 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercentenarian#Longest_lived_people 

In verse 3 God states. . . "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."  This could mean that God waited 120 years before sending the flood or it could mean mankind would only live 120 years or so.

How old were the following people who lived after the flood according to the Bible?

• Sarah lived to be 127. (Gen 23:1)
• Jacob lived to be at least 130. (Gen 47:9)
• Aaron lived to be 123. (Num 33:39)
• Moses lived to be 120. (Deut 34:7)
• Caleb lived to be at east 85. (Josh 14:10-13)
• Eli lived to be 98. (I Sam 4:15-18)
• Barzillai lived to be at least 80. (2 Sam 19:32)
• Man in general lives about 70 years, or 80 if we have the strength.(Ps 90:10)

7. We learn that Noah was a “…righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” Who was the person who most likely influenced Noah in his walk with God?  What does Hebrews 11:7 tell us about Noah’s frame of mind when God told him to build the ark?

Enoch who also walked with God and was his great grandfather and alive during Noah’s lifetime. He was alive during the first 69 years of Noah’s life. 

Noah built the ark in holy fear and with faith in God 

Heb 11:7
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

DAY FOUR
Questions and Answers

8. For what reasons might the revelation of God to Noah have seemed unbelievable to Noah, his wife and children?

• It had never flooded before
• It was only Noah who received the revelation
• The ark was so big
• Every animal on earth was to be saved
• The daughter-in-law's families would perish in the flood
• Noah’s wife’s family would perish in the flood
• The magnitude of the event
• The enormity of the task to build the ark
• There might have been no boats constructed previously
• There might have never been a flood previously

9. Consider that the Bible tells us Noah was a man of the soil (Gen 9:20). Also consider the size of the ark Noah was to build (450 feet or 137 meters long, 75 feet or 23 meters wide and 45 feet or 14 meters high). What does this say about Noah’s faith? 

That it was great and it carried him many, many days while it took him a long time to build such a structure. It also served him well as he led his family. 

10. What do you think helped to convince Noah’s family of the truth of God’s revelation to him:

• Noah’s example and life
• The rain for forty days
• The animals coming to them
• The life and example of those living around them
• Other: __________________________________

DAY FIVE
Questions and Answers

11. There are three famous arks in the Bible. Noah built the first and put animals in it. What was placed in the other two and how are they related to each other? 

Ark that Moses’ mother placed him in Ark of the Covenant that Moses placed the ten commandments in

12. How long do you think it took Noah and his family to build the ark?  List all the things God commanded Noah to do.

Option 1:
Noah was 500 when he had his sons. Assuming his sons married between the ages of 15 and 20, and the flood came when he was 600, then is seems likely that it took somewhere between 80 and 85 years to build the ark.

Option 2:
God means that He will wait 120 years while Noah builds the ark according to verse 3.

God's commands to Noah:

Verse 14
- So make yourself an ark of cypress wood make rooms in it and
- coat it with pitch inside and out. 

Verse 15
- The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high

Verse 16
- Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top
- Put a door in the side of the ark and - make lower, middle and upper decks 

Verse 21
- You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them

13. What would confirm your belief in the story of the flood the most? Would it be:

• The recent alleged discovery of the Ark in Iran
• The fact that there are stories of a great flood found in the ancient traditions of the Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, British, American Indian, and Babylonian cultures as well as evidence on cuneiform tablets
• Worldwide geological evidence of a flood
• Rainbows
• Other:___________________________________

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