When the Lord saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, 6 the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved. 7 So the Lord said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, and not only the human beings, but also the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them. 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord. 9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 But the earth was corrupt in the view of God and full of lawlessness. 12 When God saw how corrupt the earth had become, since all mortals had corrupted their ways on earth, 13 God said to Noah: I see that the end of all mortals has come, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I am going to destroy them with the earth.
14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood, equip the ark with various compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you shall build it: the length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 Make an opening for daylight and finish the ark a cubit above it. Put the ark’s entrance on its side; you will make it with bottom, second and third decks. 17 I, on my part, am about to bring the flood waters on the earth, to destroy all creatures under the sky in which there is the breath of life; everything on earth shall perish. 18 I will establish my covenant with you. You shall go into the ark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 Of all living creatures you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, one male and one female, to keep them alive along with you. 20 Of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of thing that crawls on the ground, two of each will come to you, that you may keep them alive. 21 Moreover, you are to provide yourself with all the food that is to be eaten, and store it away, that it may serve as provisions for you and for them. 22 Noah complied; he did just as God had commanded him.
In Genesis 6:5-22, God observes the great wickedness of humanity, with every inclination of the human heart being evil (v. 5). In response, He declares His intention to destroy the world by a great flood, but Noah, a righteous man, finds favor with God (v. 8) . The Lord instructs Noah to build an ark of gopher wood, giving precise dimensions and commanding him to bring his family and pairs of animals to preserve life (vv. 14-21). Noah obeys everything the Lord commands (v. 22). This passage demonstrates both God’s justice in punishing sin and His mercy in preserving a remnant. Throughout salvation history, God preserves a faithful group amidst widespread corruption and judgment. An example of this is the remnant that returned to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile (Ezra 9:8; Nehemiah 1:3).
Theologically, the flood represents both divine judgment and salvation through water. This typology is explicitly drawn in 1 Peter 3:20-21, where the floodwaters symbolize Christian baptism: "eight persons were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now." Just as Noah and his family were saved through the waters of the flood, Christians are saved through the waters of baptism – not merely as a symbol of cleansing, but as a true participation in Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4). Through baptism, sin is washed away, and new life in Christ begins (Titus 3:5).
The flood narrative aligns with God's broader plan of salvation. The ark, a means of rescue amidst judgment, foreshadows the Church, the vessel of salvation (Mt. 16:18). The theme of righteous deliverance amid divine judgment continues in Exodus 14:21-31, where Israel passes through the Red Sea—a further typological prefiguration of baptism (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Similarly, Christ speaks of the "days of Noah" as a parallel to the final judgment (Mt. 24:37-39), showing how this story anticipates God’s future intervention in history.
Ultimately, Noah serves as a prototype of Christ, the true righteous one through whom salvation comes. As Noah mediates the preservation of humanity, Christ, the new Adam, mediates eternal salvation (Rom. 5:18-19). The covenant God establishes with Noah (Gen. 9:8-17) anticipates the new and everlasting covenant in Christ’s blood (Lk. 22:20). Thus, the flood account is not merely an ancient narrative but a significant step in God's unfolding redemptive plan, culminating in Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, in Your justice, You cleanse the world of sin, yet in Your mercy, You preserve the righteous. As You saved Noah and his family through the waters of the flood, so too, through the waters of Baptism, You save us in Christ Jesus. Grant us the grace to walk in righteousness, finding favor in Your sight. This we pray through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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