Read Genesis 6:9-9:17 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph divisions
Gen 6:9-12 {s} Righteous Noah contrasted with the corrupt earth
Gen 6:13-8:14 {s} Righteous preserved through the judgment of the wicked
Gen 8:15-9:7 {s} Blessing on the righteous, be fruitful and multiply
Gen 9:8-17 {p} Elohiym’s everlasting covenant with the earth
These four paragraphs together make the next strong theme of Genesis, with the topic, God preserves the righteous but destroys the wicked. (These paragraph topic sentences and theme topic sentences are my own that I have come up with in my notes; they are of course not the final word; please change it up for your own study if you find something else.)
But also I just want to point out that one of Scripture’s teaching tools is history that prophesies; and besides the prophesy of Messiah Yeshua as the ark of our salvation, this history is prophesying to us that the day is coming when God will judge the wicked. When that day comes, He will preserve the righteous through it. We of all people have no reason to fear for the future!
Gen 6:9-9:17 chiastic structure
1a) Gen 6:9-7:5, Preparation: corruption but plan of salvation + food instruction;
1a) Gen 6:9-10, Noah was perfect in his generations;
1a) Gen 6:9a, This is the genealogy of Noah;
1b) Gen 6:9b, Noah was a just man;
central axis) Gen 6:9c, Perfect in his generations;
2b) Gen 6:9d, Noah walked with Elohiym;
2a) Gen 6:10, And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth;
1b) Gen 6:11-13b, The corruption of the earth;
1a) Gen 6:11-12a, The earth was corrupt and filled with violence;
1a) Gen 6:11a, The earth also was corrupt before Elohiym;
central axis) Gen 6:11b, And the earth was filled with violence;
2a) Gen 6:12a, So Elohiym looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt;
1b) Gen 6:12b, For all flesh;
central axis) Gen 6:12c {s} Had corrupted their way on the earth;
2b) Gen 6:13a, Elohiym said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before Me;
2a) Gen 6:13b, For the earth is filled with violence through them;
1c) Gen 6:13c, And behold, I will destroy them with the earth;
central axis) Gen 6:14-16, Make an ark of gopherwood + its blueprints;
2c) Gen 6:17, I am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy all flesh/ everything that is on the earth shall die;
2b) Gen 6:18-21, Elohiym’s covenant with Noah + plan of salvation + food instruction;
2a) Gen 6:22-7:5, Noah righteous before Elohiym in this generation;
1a) Gen 6:22, Thus Noah did; according to all that Elohiym commanded him, so he did;
1b) Gen 7:1a, YHVH: Come into the ark, you and all your household;
central axis) Gen 7:1b, Because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation;
2b) Gen 7:2-4, Bring with you animals + birds to keep species alive on the earth;
2a) Gen 7:5, And Noah did according to all that YHVH commanded him;
1b) Gen 7:6-16, In Noah’s 600th year, he went into the ark + household + animals;
1c) Gen 7:17-24, The waters prevailed upon the earth/ every living thing died but those on the ark;
central axis) Gen 8:1a, Elohiym remembered Noah + every living thing + all the cattle that were with him in the ark;
2c) Gen 8:1b-14 {s} The waters dried up from the earth in Noah’s 601st year;
2b) Gen 8:15-19, Elohiym spoke to Noah: Go out of the ark + household + animals;
1a) Gen 8:15-17a, Go out of the ark, you, wife, sons, sons’ wives, every living thing with you;
1b) Gen 8:17b, That they may breed abundantly in the earth;
central axis) Gen 8:17c, And be fruitful;
2c) Gen 8:17d, And multiply upon the earth;
2a) Gen 8:18-19, Noah went forth, sons, wife, sons’ wives, every living thing with him;
2a) Gen 8:15-9:17 {s+p} Aftermath: blessing (overlap) + man’s evil heart but promise + food instruction + the covenant;
(I do believe that Gen 8:15-9:17 forms a single chiastic structure, but I was not able to find it today; here are the two structures for each of the Hebrew paragraphs)
Gen 8:15-9:7 {s} The blessing;
1a) Gen 8:15-19, Be fruitful and multiply;
1b) Gen 8:20, Noah blessed YHVH by offering the lifeblood of the olah sacrifice;
central axis) Gen 8:21-22, YHVH smelled the soothing aroma and declared three promises;
2b) Gen 9:1-6, YHVH blessed Noah/ the lifeblood of animals + men;
2a) Gen 9:7 {s} Be fruitful and multiply;
Gen 9:8-17 {p} The covenant;
1a) Gen 9:8-11a, I establish My covenant with you + your descendants + every living creature with you;
1b) Gen 9:11b, Never again shall all flesh be cut off + earth destroyed by flood;
1c) Gen 9:12, This is the sign of the covenant between Me and you + every living creature;
1d) Gen 9:13a, I set My rainbow in the cloud;
central axis) Gen 9:13b, It shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth;
2d) Gen 9:14, It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
2c) Gen 9:15a, I will remember My covenant between Me and you + every living creature;
2b) Gen 9:15b, The flood shall never again destroy all flesh;
2a) Gen 9:16-17 {p} The rainbow/ sign of the everlasting covenant which I have established between Me + all flesh.
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