Genesis 6:1-8

Genesis 6:1-8

[1] And it came to pass, when men  began  to multiply  on  the face  of the earth,  and daughters  were born  unto them, [2] That the sons  of God  saw  the daughters  of men  that they  were fair;  and they took  them wives  of all which they chose.  [3] And the LORD  said,  My spirit  shall not always  strive  with man,  for that he also  is flesh:  yet his days  shall be an hundred  and twenty  years.  [4] There were giants  in the earth  in those days;  and also after  that,  when  the sons  of God  came in  unto the daughters  of men,  and they bare  children to them, the same  became mighty men  which were of old,  of renown.  [5] And GOD  saw  that the wickedness  of man  was great  in the earth,  and that every imagination  of the thoughts  of his heart  was only  evil  continually.  [6] And it repented  the LORD  that he had made  man  on the earth,  and it grieved  him at  his heart.  [7] And the LORD  said,  I will destroy  man  whom I have created  from the face  of the earth;  both man,  and  beast,  and the creeping thing,  and the fowls  of the air;  for it repenteth  me that I have made  [8] But Noah  found  grace  in the eyes  of the LORD. 

What does Genesis 6:1-8 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

As wickedness increased on the earth God determined to destroy the human race with the exception of those few people to whom He extended grace.
"Stories of a great flood sent in primeval times by gods to destroy mankind followed by some form of new creation are so common to so many peoples in different parts of the world, between whom no kind of historical contact seems possible, that the notion seems almost to be a universal feature of the human imagination." [1]
There were two major reasons for the flood: the sins of the sons of God ( Genesis 6:1-4) and the sins of humankind generally ( Genesis 6:5-8).