seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 6:6 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal(b); their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
a. Genesis 6:3 Or My spirit will not remain in
b. Genesis 6:3 Or corrupt
Humans were living to be almost a 1,000 years old. I saw that in the 5th chapter. Now what does Verse 3 here mean?
The easy English commentary weighs in.
We do not know who ‘the sons of God’ were. Some people suggest that they were angels. Those people think that 2 Peter 2:4 tells us this. But perhaps the ‘sons of God’ were descendants of Seth who married descendants of Cain.
Two different meanings of this verse are possible.
Two different meanings of this verse are possible.
Some people think that God made people’s lives shorter. People’s lives had been much longer than this. (See for example Genesis 5:27.) Instead of that, people’s lives after this time would be 120 years or less.
A different meaning of this verse is possible. God said that he would wait for 120 years. During those 120 years, people would continue to live. And during those 120 years, God would look at people. He would decide whether any people were good. If he found any good people, he would save them. He decided to save Noah and his family. But everyone else died in the flood. Compare this with the story that Jesus told about crops and bad plants. (See Matthew 13:24-30.) The farmer did not remove the bad plants, because good crops were among them. He waited until the harvest. God does not remove evil things immediately when good things are among them. He waits until the right time. So he waited for 120 years and he did not remove evil men immediately. He waited until the right time. In that way, he could save Noah and his family.
A different meaning of this verse is possible. God said that he would wait for 120 years. During those 120 years, people would continue to live. And during those 120 years, God would look at people. He would decide whether any people were good. If he found any good people, he would save them. He decided to save Noah and his family. But everyone else died in the flood. Compare this with the story that Jesus told about crops and bad plants. (See Matthew 13:24-30.) The farmer did not remove the bad plants, because good crops were among them. He waited until the harvest. God does not remove evil things immediately when good things are among them. He waits until the right time. So he waited for 120 years and he did not remove evil men immediately. He waited until the right time. In that way, he could save Noah and his family.
The other commentaries are split. Some say that it was fallen angels that intermarried with humans. Some say that this is a description of the wickedness of the human race. One thing seems to be certain, God isn't happy with the human race.
