Genesis 6:7

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 6:7 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Genesis 6:7 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the Lord said, etc.] Not to the angels, nor to Noah, but within himself, on observing to what a height the sin of man had got, and what a spread it made on the earth: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; though he is my creature, the work of my hands, I have made him out of the earth, and made him lord of it; I am now determined to show my detestation of his wickedness, and for the honour of my justice to destroy him from off it; just as a potter takes a vessel he dislikes, when he has made it, and dashes it to pieces: or “I will wipe men off of the earth” f363; like so much dust; man was made of the dust of the earth, he is dust, yea, sinful dust and…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- The Growth of Sin 3. דון dı̂yn “be down, strive, subdue, judge.” בשׁגם bāshagām “inasmuch, as also.” The rendering “in their error” requires the pointing בשׁגם beshāgām, and the plural form of the following pronoun. It is also unknown to the Septuagint. 4. נפילים nepı̂lı̂ym “assailants, fellers, men of violence, tyrants.” Having traced the line of descent from Adam through Sheth, the seed of God, to Noah, the author proceeds to describe the general spread and growth of moral evil in the race of man, and the determination of the Lord to wipe it away from the face of the earth. Genesis 6:1-4 There are two stages of evil set forth in Genesis 6:1-4 - the one contained in the present four…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“I will destroy man - The original word is very significant. I will wipe off man from off the earth; as dirt is wiped off from a place which should be clean, and thrown to the dunghill. Or, I will blot out man from the earth, as those lines are blotted out of a book which displease the author, or as the name of a citizen is blotted out of the rolls of the freemen when he is disfranchised. Both man and beast the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air - These were made for man, and therefore must be destroyed with man. It repenteth me that I have made them - For the end of their creation also was frustrated: they were made that man might serve and honour God with them and therefore were…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“6:7 wipe . . . from the . . . earth: As Adam and Eve were banished from the garden-sanctuary (3:23), all of humankind would be expunged from God’s good creation. • every living thing: Human sin had so corrupted the earth that judgment fell on the animals and birds over which they had dominion (see 1:28 and study note). The special role of humans in the created order (1:28-30) means that nature is affected by human moral choices (see 8:1; Job 38:41; Hos 4:3; Rom 8:19-22).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I will: Psa 24:1, Psa 24:2, Psa 37:20; Pro 10:27, Pro 16:4 both man, and beast: Heb. from man unto beast, Jer 4:22-27, Jer 12:3, Jer 12:4; Hos 4:3; Zep 1:3; Rom 3:20-22 Genesis 6:8”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification