The Meaning of Genesis 7:7 Explained

Genesis 7:7

KJV: And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

YLT: And Noah goeth in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, unto the ark, from the presence of the waters of the deluge;

Darby: And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

ASV: And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Noah  went in,  and his sons,  and his wife,  and his sons'  wives  with him, into the ark,  because of  the waters  of the flood. 

What does Genesis 7:7 Mean?

Study Notes

went in
.
walked
Noah and Enoch are the two antediluvians of whom it is said that they "walked with God" Genesis 5:24 ; Genesis 6:9 . Enoch, "translated that he should not see death" Hebrews 11:5 becomes a type of the saints who will be "caught up" before the great tribulation; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 ; Revelation 3:10 ; Daniel 12:1 ; Matthew 24:21 . Noah, preserved through the Flood, is a type of the Israelitish people who will be preserved through the tribulation Jeremiah 30:5-9 . See "Tribulation"; Psalms 2:5 ; Revelation 7:14 .

Context Summary

Genesis 7:1-24 - The Great Flood
What anguish! They climbed the highest story of their towers, then to the hills, but the greedy waters followed them, till the last crag was covered, and all living things in the first homes of human life had perished. Equally sudden and unexpected shall be the days of the Son of Man. See Luke 17:26; 2 Peter 3:7. But what drowns other men only lifts the child of God nearer his home. The waters bear up the ark. When the loftiest refuges of lies and pride are submerged, and the whole landscape is covered with a monotonous waste of trouble, God says to the soul, "Come into the ark." It is as though He is inside and wants us to enter into close fellowship with Himself. See Psalms 27:5. When God shuts the door behind us, no power can force, no skeleton key can unlock, and no wedge can pry the door. For the extent of the Deluge it is appropriate to consider Luke 2:1-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 7

1  Noah, his family and the living creatures enter the ark
6  The flood begins
17  The increase of the flood for forty days
21  All flesh is destroyed by it
24  Its duration of 150 days

What do the individual words in Genesis 7:7 mean?

So went Noah and his sons and his wife and the wives of his sons with him into the ark because of the waters of the flood
וַיָּ֣בֹא נֹ֗חַ וּ֠בָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹ וּנְשֵֽׁי־ בָנָ֛יו אִתּ֖וֹ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֑ה מִפְּנֵ֖י מֵ֥י הַמַּבּֽוּל

וַיָּ֣בֹא  So  went 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
נֹ֗חַ  Noah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נׄחַ  
Sense: son of Lamech, father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; builder of the ark which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood.
וּ֠בָנָיו  and  his  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹ  and  his  wife 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
וּנְשֵֽׁי־  and  the  wives 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
בָנָ֛יו  of  his  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אִתּ֖וֹ  with  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַתֵּבָ֑ה  the  ark 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֵּבָה  
Sense: ark.
מִפְּנֵ֖י  because 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
מֵ֥י  of  the  waters 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
הַמַּבּֽוּל  of  the  flood 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַבּוּל  
Sense: .