Genesis 6:18
in Genesis 6But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
KJV
But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
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This verse in Genesis 6
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAnd therefore, since all earthly things perish in the flood, but the just alone remains forever, it is said to him: I will establish my covenant with thee; for he is the heir of divine grace, he is the heavenly possessor of the inheritance, the sharer in the most blessed goods.
This site's exposition
I will establish My covenant with you
on Genesis 6:18-19
This is the first time the word covenant appears in the Bible. It is spoken before the flood comes, so the promise stands over Noah through the years he spends on the ark. His sons, his wife and his sons' wives are inside it, a household kept alive with him. 1 Peter 3:20 counts eight souls saved through water.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
When Noah was ordered to enter the ark and was entrusted with the safeguarding of the seed of the earth, he was given this command, which reads: "Come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons' wives." He separated them from their wives, so that with the help of chastity they might escape the ocean's depths and that worldwide destruction.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
But with thee will I establish my covenant - (1.) The covenant of Providence, that the course of nature shall be continued to the end of time, not withstanding the interruption which the flood would give to it: this promise was immediately made to Noah and his sons, chap. ix, 8, &c. they were as trustees for all this part of the creation, and a great honour was thereby put upon him and his.
Their parents' piety often procures them temporal salvation, as here; and it furthers them in the way to eternal salvation, if they improve the benefit of it. God here makes Noah a great blessing to the world, and herein makes him an eminent type of the Messiah, though not the Messiah himself, as his parents expected, ch. v. 29 .
But with thee will I establish my covenant - (1.) The covenant of Providence, that the course of nature shall be continued to the end of time, not withstanding the interruption which the flood would give to it: this promise was immediately made to Noah and his sons, chap. ix, 8, &c. they were as trustees for all this part of the creation, and a great honour was thereby put upon him and his.
But with thee will I establish my covenant,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Their parents' piety often procures them temporal salvation, as here; and it furthers them in the way to eternal salvation, if they improve the benefit of it. God here makes Noah a great blessing to the world, and herein makes him an eminent type of the Messiah, though not the Messiah himself, as his parents expected, ch. v. 29 .
They were as trustees for all this part of the creation, and a great honour was thereby put upon him and his. The covenant of grace, that God would be to him a God and that out of his seed God would take to himself a people. Note, (1.) When God makes a covenant, he establishes it, he makes it sure, he makes it good; his are everlasting covenants.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood--The repetition of the announcement was to establish its certainty (Ge 41:32). Whatever opinion may be entertained as to the operation of natural laws and agencies in the deluge, it was brought on the world by God as a punishment for the enormous wickedness of its inhabitants.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But with thee will I establish my covenant--a special promise of deliverance, called a covenant, to convince him of the confidence to be reposed in it. The substance and terms of this covenant are related at Ge 6:19-21.
With thee will I establish my covenant - The word ברית berith, from בר bar, to purify or cleanse, signifies properly a purification or purifier, (see on Genesis 15 (note)), because in all covenants made between God and man, sin and sinfulness were ever supposed to be on man’s side, and that God could not enter into any covenant or engagement with him without a purifier; hence, in all covenants, a sacrifice was offered for the removal of offenses, and the reconciliation of God to the sinner; and hence the word ברית berith signifies not only a covenant, but also the sacrifice offered on the occasion, Exo 24:8; Psa 50:5; and Jesus Christ, the great atonement and purifier, has the same word for his title, Isa 42:6; Isa 49:8; and Zec 9:
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲקִמֹתִ֥י | vahakimoti | and I will establish | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתִ֖י | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אִתָּ֑ךְ | ʾitakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וּבָאתָ֙ | uvata | and you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַתֵּבָ֔ה | hatevah | the ark | H8392 → | 28 times |
| אַתָּ֕ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וּבָנֶ֛יךָ | uvaneikha | and sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֥ | veishtekha | and wife your | H802 → | 781 times |
| וּנְשֵֽׁי־ | uneshei- | and [the] wives of | H802 → | 781 times |
| בָנֶ֖יךָ | vaneikha | sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אִתָּֽךְ׃ | ʾitakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
וַהֲקִמֹתִ֥יand I will establish
vahakimotiH6965 →628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתִ֖יcovenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
אִתָּ֑ךְwith you
ʾitakhH854 →929 times
וּבָאתָ֙and you will go
uvataH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַתֵּבָ֔הthe ark
hatevahH8392 →28 times
אַתָּ֕הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וּבָנֶ֛יךָand sons your
uvaneikhaH1121 →4930 times
וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֥and wife your
veishtekhaH802 →781 times
וּנְשֵֽׁי־and [the] wives of
uneshei-H802 →781 times
בָנֶ֖יךָsons your
vaneikhaH1121 →4930 times
אִתָּֽךְ׃with you
ʾitakhH854 →929 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 26:20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
it leads to
- Psalms 30:5
For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 27:5
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
- Isaiah 54:7–8
“For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.
- Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 30:5
Through
Hebrews 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…
it leads to
- Genesis 6:13
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
- 1 Peter 3:20
who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
- Genesis 6:13
Through
Genesis 17:7I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
it leads to
- Romans 9:7–9
Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
- Romans 9:7–9
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Covenant34 verses
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Noah and the Ark, Chapter X; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4.24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.