Antediluvian Patriarch · OT
Noah
The righteous man who built the ark and preserved humanity and the animals through the flood.
Noah ('rest' or 'comfort') was the son of Lamech and the tenth generation from Adam. Genesis describes him as 'a righteous man, blameless in his generation,' who 'walked with God' in an age when the wickedness of humanity had grown so great that the Lord regretted having made them. Spared by grace, Noah was given the precise blueprint for an enormous wooden vessel and the unimaginable task of warning his generation while building it.
When the flood came, Noah, his wife, their three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and their wives entered the ark with pairs of every kind of animal. The waters prevailed for 150 days. When the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifice; God responded by establishing a covenant with all creation, signing it in the sky with a rainbow and promising never again to destroy the earth by flood.
The New Testament holds up Noah as a model of faith (Hebrews 11:7) and as a sign of the coming judgment: 'as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man' (Luke 17:26).
Key moments
Found grace in the eyes of the Lord
Genesis 6:8 — the turning point of the antediluvian story.
Built the ark
120 years of preparation while warning his generation.
Entered the ark with his family and the animals
Genesis 7 — God himself shut the door.
Offered sacrifice on Ararat
His first act on dry ground was worship.
Received the rainbow covenant
God's promise never again to destroy the earth by flood.
Key verses
"But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah."
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"These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, andperfect in his generations: Noah walked with God."
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"And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation."
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"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth."
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"By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."
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"and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;"
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Frequently asked
How old was Noah when the flood came?
Genesis 7:6 puts Noah at 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth. He lived 350 years after the flood, dying at 950.
Was the flood global or local?
Christian readers have held both views. The text uses universal language ('all flesh,' 'every living thing'), which the historic majority view has read as a global event, while some modern interpreters argue it describes the entire known world of Noah's day. Either way, the theological point — universal judgment and covenant grace — stands.
How many of each animal entered the ark?
Genesis 6:19-20 specifies pairs of every kind, while 7:2-3 adds that clean animals and birds came in by sevens — extra clean animals for sacrifice and food after the flood.
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