CHAPTER 6

6:1-2 And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose.

ALCUIN OF YORK. (Gen. 6:1-2). ABOUT WHOM DID HE SAY, "AFTER THAT MEN BEGAN TO BE MULTIPLIED UPON THE EARTH, AND DAUGHTERS WERE BORN TO THEM", AND AGAIN, "THE SONS OF GOD SEEING THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, THAT THEY WERE FAIR"? — Answer. The Scripture decided to call Cham's progeny the daughters of men, and Seth's [variant: Sem's] offspring the sons of God. The latter were pious according to an ancestral blessing, the former were unchaste according to their father's curse. But after the sons of Seth [variant: of Sem], overcome by concupiscence, contracted marriages with the daughters of Cham, from such a union were born men with immense bodies, proud of their strength and rude in manners, whom the Scripture calls giants. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 96]

AMBROSE OF MILAN. The author of divine Scripture does not wish these giants to be understood, according to the custom of poets, as children of the earth, but rather it asserts that they were begotten of angels and women, and calls them by this name to express the size of their bodies.  [Noah and the Ark 4.8]

APHRAHAT THE PERSIAN SAGE. When Noah saw that the generation of Seth was intermingled with the house of Cain, which was cursed, he determined that he would not marry a wife nor have children, so that they should not be intermingled and cursed with the house of Cain, the cursed seed. [Demonstrations 13.5]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 6:2) THE SONS OF GOD WENT IN TO THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, AND THEY BROUGHT FORTH CHILDREN. — They also often ask how angels could have sex with the daughters of men, of whom the giants are said to have been born, although some manuscripts, not only Latin but also Greek, read not of the angels, but of the sons of God. To solve this question some have claimed that they were just men, and so it could also be said of them that they were angels. Scripture, for example, says about John, who was a man: Behold, I send my angel before you to prepare your way. (Mt. 11:10; Mk. 3:1) But the problem is knowing how giants were born through sex of men, or how they could be joined with women, if they were not men, but angels. [Questions on Genesis, 3]

JEROME OF STRODON. 6:2 SO WHEN THE SONS OF GOD SAW THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, THAT THEY WERE COMELY. The Hebrew word ELOIM is of common number; for both 'God' and 'gods' are designated in the same way. For this reason Aquila dared to say 'sons of the gods', in the plural, understanding 'gods' as holy ones or angels. For God stood up in the assembly of the gods: moreover, in the midst of the gods He gives judgement. Consequently, Symmachus too follows the sense of this kind of rendering and says: The sons of the mighty saw the daughters of men, and the rest. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CASSIAN THE ROMAN. The sons of Seth who were the sons of God who saw the daughters of those who were born of the line of Cain, and inflamed with the desire for their beauty took to themselves from them wives who taught their husbands the wickedness of their fathers, and at once led them astray from their innate holiness and the single-mindedness of their forefathers. [Conf. 8.21 NPNF s.2 v. 11]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. (Gen. 6:1) But let us listen to the very words of Moses; as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit, he can only teach the truth: When men began to multiply on the earth, they were born daughters. - If he adds: he was born girls, it is to insist on the idea that they were numerous. In fact, when there are so many roots, many twigs must come out of it. The sons of God seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took them for wives among all they chose. Let's study each word carefully so as not to lose anything of their deep meaning. It is necessary, in fact, to discuss carefully this passage, to destroy the fables which one made with irreflexion on this subject. Here at first is the most daring, whose absurdity we are about to show you, by presenting to your recollection the true meaning of the Scripture, so as not to allow your ears to be opened to those who utter such blasphemies and who dare to speak against themselves. They say that these are not men, but angels, and that they are the angels who are called sons of God. First of all, it is they who show where the angels are called sons of place, but never have they been able to find it; men have been called sons of God; but the angels, never. The scripture says of them, He sent His angels into the midst of the winds, and His ministers in the midst of the burning fires. (Ps. CIII, 4.) But she says men I said: you are gods (Ps. LXXXI, 6); and more: I begot sons and raise them (Is. I, 2); and also Israel, my eldest son (Ex. IV, 22); but never is the angel called son, nor son of God. Besides, here is what we still dare to add. Yes, they were angels, but because of these unworthy unions, they are stripped of their rank. What ? They fell, and that's the cause of their downfall? But Scripture teaches us, on the contrary, that before the creation of the first man, the devil had fallen from his rank with those who resembled him by their pride; as a wise man says: By the jealousy of the devil, death has entered the world. (Sag II, 24 :) Well! tell me: if his fall had not preceded the birth of man, how, by keeping his dignity, could he have been jealous of man? How can reason admit that an immaterial angel honored with such superiority was jealous of man chained by the flesh? After having been precipitated from the heavenly glory in the greatest shame, he, who was immaterial, seeing the man come out of the hands of the Creator and receive, despite his bodily nature, so many marks of honor, was devoured by jealousy, and by this perfidy for which he took the form of a serpent, he made the man subject to death. Such is his wickedness; he can not bear the happiness of others. It had been a long time since the devil and all his phalanx had been stripped of their glory and covered with ignominy; this is clear for everyone. Besides, what extravagance is there not to say that the angels have thus been deposed for their affiliation with women, and that this incorporeal nature has been able to unite with bodies? Do you not know what Christ says about the nature of angels? In the resurrection, there are neither marriages nor union: we are like the angels of God. (Mat XXII, 30, Mark, XII, 25, Luke, XX, 35.) An immaterial nature can never have such desires. But even outside of that, one must think that it is in any case something too absurd to be admitted. Indeed, the saints, even inspired by the Holy Spirit, could not see the angels (Dan X, 7, 11): because the man of desires, Daniel, saw only the appearance of an angel and not his substance (how to see an immaterial substance?); but before this apparition he was on the point of losing all his strength and even life. If, then, such a man has almost expired at this sight, what folly would there be to admit this insane blasphemy that an incorporeal and spiritual nature could have united with human bodies!

(Gen. 6:2) But we must not spend too much time on this discussion; the reflections I have just offered to your charity are no doubt sufficient to prove to you that such an opinion can not be sustained. So I will show you what is the truth about it, reading again the words of the scripture: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the earth, that they were born daughters. The sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took them for wives among all they chose. We have already proved to you that Scripture is in the habit of giving men the name of son of God. Those whom she calls are descendants of Seth and his son Enos, who is said to have confided in the invocation of the name of God. (Gen. IV, 26.) These descendants are called sons of God in the holy Scriptures, because they had imitated until then the virtues of their ancestors; The name of the sons of men was given to those who were born before Seth, that is, to the sons of Cain, and also to their descendants. It happened when men were multiplied on the earth, that they were born daughters. As soon as the sons of God (the descendants of Seth and Enos) had seen the daughters of men (those whose birth was mentioned earlier), they found them beautiful. See how this single word shows impurity! They did not think only of having children, but of the pleasures of the senses. As soon as they saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, desires excited by this beauty dragged them to their ruin; the aspect of beauty was for them the occasion of frantic libertinage. And that's not all; they took as wives all that they chose. This completes showing us the excess of their disorders; overcome by beauty, they could not restrain the violence of their desires, but they were drunk and tamed by sight to the point of alienating God's heart by this impious conduct. And to make us understand that they did not attach themselves to marriage or paternity, the Scripture adds: When they saw that they were beautiful, they took as wives all that they chose. What? will it be necessary to blame the simple glances.

No, it is not the eye that is the cause of our ruin, it is the weakness of our will and the disturbance of our concupiscence. For the eye is made to celebrate the Creator by seeing the creatures of God. So the eye is made to see; but if sight brings us to evil, it is the fault of the thought that reigns within. For our organs are useful to us, and holes are given by the Lord to do good; at the same time he gave them to govern them an incorporeal substance, that is to say the soul. But it can be careless and let go of the reins, like a clumsy squire that lets the guides escape, while the horses and himself are dragged into the precipice; in the same way our will, when it does not know how to make of its members the appropriate use, is overwhelmed by its disordered desires. So our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing the fragility of our nature and the weakness of our will, has protected us by a law designed to moderate the curiosity of our looks, and extinguish the fire before birth; He said, He who looks upon a woman to desire her has already committed adultery in her heart. (Matthew V, 27.) Thus, he says, I forbid you to look guilty to protect you from guilty actions. Do not believe to sin by the action alone; it is the will that is reprehensible. These men were seduced by the appearance of beauty. Seeing that they were beautiful, they took as wives all that they chose. However, even after their guilty actions and impure thoughts, still admire the goodness of God. [Homilies on Genesis]

JULIUS AFRICANUS. What is meant by the Spirit, in my opinion, is that the descendants of Seth are called the angels of heaven (ἄγγελοι τοῦ ουρανού) on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Savior Himself; but that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people, and having stirred the indignation of God. [Frag. 2 Passion of St. Symphorosa, ANF v.6]

TERTULLIAN OF CARTHAGE. For if it is on account of the angels— those, to wit, whom we read of as having fallen from God and heaven on account of concupiscence after females— who can presume that it was bodies already defiled, and relics of human lust, which such angels yearned after, so as not rather to have been inflamed for virgins, whose bloom pleads an excuse for human lust likewise? For thus does Scripture withal suggest: “And it came to pass,” it says, “when men had begun to grow more numerous upon the earth, there were withal daughters born them; but the sons of God, having descried the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all whom they elected.” For here the Greek name of women does seem to have the sense “wives,” inasmuch as mention is made of marriage. When, then, it says “the daughters of men,” it manifestly purports virgins, who would be still reckoned as belonging to their parents— for wedded women are called their husbands’— whereas it could have said “the wives of men:” in like manner not naming the angels adulterers, but husbands, while they take unwedded “daughters of men,” who it has above said were “born,” thus also signifying their virginity: first, “born;” but here, wedded to angels. Anything else I know not that they were except “born” and subsequently wedded. So perilous a face, then, ought to be shaded, which has cast stumbling-stones even so far as heaven: that, when standing in the presence of God, at whose bar it stands accused of the driving of the angels from their (native) confines, it may blush before the other angels as well; and may repress that former evil liberty of its head—(a liberty) now to be exhibited not even before human eyes. But even if they were females already contaminated whom those angels had desired, so much the more “on account of the angels” would it have been the duty of virgins to be veiled, as it would have been the more possible for virgins to have been the cause of the angels’ sinning. [On the Veiling of Virgins 7 ANF v.4]

6:3 And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall certainly not remain among these men for ever, because they are flesh, but their days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

ALCUIN OF YORK. (Gen. 6:3) WHAT IS MEANT BY, "MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT REMAIN IN MAN FOREVER, BECAUSE HE IS FLESH"? — Answer. Spirit in this passage means wrath, and flesh means the weakness of human nature, as if he had said, "Because there is a weak condition in men, I will not reserve them for eternal torments, but from now on I will return to them what they deserve." [Question 97]

WHAT DOES THAT PREDETERMINED NUMBER SIGNIFY: "AND HIS DAYS SHALL BE A HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS"? — Answer. That number was given for mankind to do penance, but as they disregarded it, vengeance came upon them in advance; for the Flood came after a hundred years. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 98]

AMBROSIASTER. (Genesis 6:3) WHY DOES GOD EXPRESS HIMSELF IN THIS WAY: “MY SPIRIT WILL NOT REMAIN IN MEN, BECAUSE THEY ARE FLESH, AND THEIR DAYS WILL BE BUT A HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS.” —  The giants who were then on the. earth, superb and malicious men, proud of the magnitude of their size, obedient to the desires of their flesh, and apostates from birth, displeased sovereignly with God. It was then that he declared that mankind would perish by the deluge, and he set the time for it to allow time for correction to those whom the just threats of his indignation would touch with repentance. It is for this reason that the construction of this ark lasted a hundred years. Twenty years passed before Noah began to build it. But the narration seems to cast darkness over what it adds after talking about Noah's years. The judgment of God was made before Noah had reached the age of five hundred years. What does he say, in effect: "My Spirit will not abide in these men," and he adds, "Because iniquity has increased on the earth, I will destroy from off the earth, from man to man, to the animals,” (Gen. 6:3) prediction that the flood was charged to fulfill, and we know that after the flood the life of men was prolonged for many years, Aaron, brother of Moses lived one hundred and twenty-three years, but Moses did not live beyond a hundred and twenty years, because he did not glorify God in the water of contradiction, (Num. 33:38) for without this sin of defiance he would had entered the promised land. (Num. 27:14) Some believe that the fact of the high priest Jehoiada, who lived a hundred and thirty years, relates to the time of Moses. (2 Chron. 24:15) [Questions on the Old and New Testaments]

JEROME OF STRODON. 6:3 THE LORD GOD SAYS: "MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT ABIDE UNTO THESE MEN FOREVER, BECAUSE THEY ARE CARNAL.” — The Hebrew says, "My spirit shall not judge these men eternally, because they are flesh," that is, because the condition of man is fragile; I will not reserve them for eternal punishment, and I will give back to them what they deserve. It is not the severity of God, as our manuscripts recite, but its clemency is resounding in this place, since the sinner is visited for his fault. Therefore, God in wrath said to some: "I will not visit your daughters because of their prostitution, nor your wives for their adulteries (Hos. 4:11)," and elsewhere: "I will visit their iniquities in the rod and their sins in the whip; but I will not take away their mercy (Ps. 88:33)." And not to appear cruel in removing sinners from time to do penance, he adds, "Their days shall be one hundred and twenty years,” That is to say, they will have a hundred and twenty years to repent. A great number are therefore in error, when they say that God limited human life to one hundred and twenty years; these hundred and twenty years was the time given to this generation to do penance. So, we find that after the deluge Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years, and others more than two hundred and three hundred years. As men neglected to do penance, God did not want to wait for the appointed time, but he cut it off twenty years, and unleashes the deluge, after having left them one hundred years to repent. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. The Lord God will say: My Spirit will not remain perpetually in these men, for they are men of flesh. Their days will be one hundred and twenty years. We can see in this few words the abyss of mercy. The Lord God says, My Spirit will not remain forever in these men, for they are men of flesh. By spirit he hears here his power that protects us, and he predicts their loss. And to show that this is what it is, he adds: because they are men of flesh; that is to say, who abandon themselves entirely to the works of the flesh by neglecting the goods of the soul, and spend their lives as if they were formed only of flesh and if the soul failed them. It is, indeed, a constant use of Scripture to call carnal men flesh; for virtuous men, on the contrary, she says they have no flesh. This is how St. Paul says: You are not of flesh (Rom 8: 9); it was not that they had no flesh, but that, in spite of this, they were superior to the carnal impressions and the senses. For as he said to them, You are not flesh, because they despise all that is carnal; they are called men of flesh who are continually occupied with carnal things. As they are men of flesh, I will not tolerate the defilement of their sins any longer.

You have seen how great his indignation was, his terrible threats; see how mercy mingles with this indignation and these threats. This is Our Lord: He often makes threats to us, not to fulfill them, but to correct us and not to realize them. For if he wanted to punish, why prevent? But as he would not, he hesitates and always differs, he waits, he warns, offering the guilty an opportunity to avoid punishment by fleeing vice and practicing virtue. Thus he began by threatening a general destruction; in fact, these words: My Spirit will not remain perpetually in these men, for they are men of flesh; these words mean: I will not let them live long. However, not satisfied with the five hundred years of patience he had shown during the whole life of Noah, whose name alone was to warn, he recoils and further differs the effect of his indignation, he carries it back to a more distant time and he said to them, "I have threatened you; I have publicly announced the anger which the multitude of your sins has excited in me; as I desire salvation, even incurable sinners, and I do not wish to kill anyone, I still grant you (139) a reprieve of one hundred and twenty years. If you want to cleanse yourself of your sins, return to better feelings and practice virtue, you will avoid the punishment that awaits you. Their days, he says, will be one hundred and twenty years. [Homilies on Genesis]

PSEUDO-BASIL OF CAESAREA. Noah spent a hundred years working on the ark and the people would not turn away from their sins. Even when he came to seven days and he tried once more to warn them, because they might have gained insight but they did not do so at all.  But I think that if they have showed repentance in those seven days, the wrath would not have come upon them. [Homily on Noah’s Ark]

6:4 Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 6:4) With regard to the giants, that is to say, very large and very strong men, I think that there is nothing strange in that they could have been born of men, because even after the flood they existed; as a matter of fact, in our own day there have also been some individual humans incredibly large, not only men but also women. It is therefore more credible that righteous men, called angels, or sons of God, (Cf. Gen. 6:2) moved by lust, sinned with women, instead of angels, who could not commit that sin because they lack bodies; although certain demons have been evil with women, so many things are said and by so many people, that it is not easy to decide on an opinion on this question. [Questions on Genesis, 3]

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA. Possibly what is  said  in  the  divine  Scripture  about  the  giants  before  the deluge  deals  with  such  things;  and  it  is  about  the  ones  that  were  engendered  by them,  about  whom  it  is  said:  ‘When  the  angels  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men, that  they  were beautiful, they  took from  them  as  wives from  whomever they  chose: from  them  were born  the  giants  who were  famous  of  old.’  For someone might say, that these demons are those giants, and that their spirits were deified by later generations of man, and that their battles, the disagreements among them and their wars are told as the things about the gods. [Praep. evang. V,4. PG21:324]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 6:4 AT THAT TIME THERE WERE GIANTS ON EARTH, AFTER THE SONS OF GOD CAME TO THE SONS OF MEN AND BEGOT WITH THEM. THOSE WERE THE GIANTS FROM OF OLD, MEN CALLED BY NAME. The Hebrew says: Fallen ones were on the earth at that time, that is, ANNAPHILIM. And then, as the sons of gods came to the sons of men and begot with them, their offspring were at first called strong men. Instead of fallen ones or giants, Symmachus puts “violent ones.” The name of the fallen ones belongs to the angels and the children of the saints. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. At that time there were giants on the earth, after the sons of God knew the daughters of men, and gave them children; they were giants who have remained famous since then. Sacred Scripture means, I believe, that these giants were robust bodies. Their race thus increased that of the guilty. This is what this other word shows elsewhere: The giants come to satisfy my fury. (Is XIII, 3.) Some people think that this number of one hundred and twenty years is the end of life. This is not what God wants to say, but he wants to show how far the patience that he still has after so many sins goes. But we can see that after so much indignation and threats, after such a long delay as he had left them to do penance, not only did the sinners profit from nothing, but persevered in their faults; so he said: After the sons of God knew the daughters of men, they gave them children: they were giants who have remained famous ever since. [Homilies on Genesis]

6:5-8 And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually, 6 then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered it deeply. 7 And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace before the Lord God.

ALCUIN OF YORK. (Gen. 6:5-7) WHAT IS MEANT BY WHAT GOD SAID, "IT REPENTETH ME THAT I HAVE MADE MAN", AND AGAIN BY, "BEING TOUCHED INWARDLY WITH SORROW OF HEART"? CAN REMORSE OR SORROW OF HEART BEFALL GOD? — Answer. God does not repent of his action or suffer as a man does, his purpose concerning all things being as fixed as his foreknowledge is infallible, but the holy Scripture uses words that are familiar to us and intelligible, adapting to our smallness so that we may learn the unknown from the known. (Bed. in Pent., PL 91, col. 224-225. Bed. Hexm. II, PL 91, col. 84. Greg. Mor. L. XXX1I. PL 76, col. 866.) [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 99]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. We read in several Latin versions: "God repented, and said: I will exterminate from the earth the man I created.” But we find in the Greek the word dienonethe, which expresses rather the action of contemplating, than that of repentance. This is also the meaning adopted by several Latin interpreters. [Locutions]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. See what excess of perversity, what insensitive souls! Neither the fear of punishment nor the delay granted by divine clemency could deter them from their guilty actions: once carried to the abyss, deprived of the eyes of conscience, they were too immersed in the intoxication of their criminal desires to have the thought of going back. This is what the Sage says: When the wicked is in the abyss of his evils, he despises. (Prov., XVIII, 3.) Indeed, it is a serious thing, very serious, my beloved, to fall into the trap of the devil. The soul seized in these nets is driven; and as the swine enjoys wallowing in the mud, likewise, buried under its vicious habits, it no longer even feels the infection of its sins. So much moderation and vigilance is needed to leave the devil with no access, so as not to obscure our judgment, lest our reason, being thus blinded, we fall into the state of those who are deprived of the rays of the sun, to the point of no longer seeing the Sun of justice and thus falling into the abyss: this is what happened to these men. Learn still to know the divine clemency. The Lord God veiled that the crimes of men had multiplied on the earth. What does this word mean? The Lord did not know that? certainly not; but Holy Scripture always preserves our weakness; it shows us, just as those who had experienced so much clemency had persisted in the same faults, and had committed even more serious ones. When he saw that the crimes of men had multiplied on earth. From this guilty liaison came forth, as from a source, a host of other sins; so it is said: the crimes of men. For where libertinism, fornication, and excesses of this nature are found, it is probable that the most villainous intoxication, iniquity of every kind, avarice, and a host of other cities will be found there. at the same time. The Lord God seeing that the crimes of men had multiplied on the earth and that each thought in his heart only to harm each day.

See how every word shows the greatness of sins! After having said, in general, that the crimes of men had multiplied on the earth, we add each one. This word has great strength. It is not only the young man, but also the old man, as guilty as the young man: it is not only the man but the woman; the slave, but the free man; the rich, but the poor. See also the importance of this word: thought. They were not only training faults, but premeditated in the heart; they thought about it at all times, they put all their ardor into it. They did not resemble those who, having succumbed once or twice to sin, then turn away from it; but they delighted in doing evil. They did so with fury, relentlessly, and without hesitation; it was not for a more or less short time, but constantly; finally they devoted all their lives to it. See what a height of iniquity! See how they had no other desire than that of crime, and how all the ages brought you their contingent. Everyone, it is said; the most tender age was not exempt from it, in spite of its ordinary innocence; but from the cradle one struggled with perversity, and one sought mutually to surpass oneself in guilty actions.

Think, I pray you, of the extreme wisdom of the righteous, who, in the midst of such a set (140) of crimes, had the strength to avoid evil and deserve no blame: as if he had been of a superior nature, his mind had so much energy, and a disposition so natural to virtue, that he was able to escape these fatal instances and escape universal ruin.

And the Lord God wondered why he had made man on earth. See what word vulgar and appropriate to our weakness! He wondered meaning, he repented. It is not that God can repent; certainly not! But Scripture speaks to us according to human habits, to show us how enormous were the sins which had so excited the anger of the God of mercy. And the Lord God wondered why he had made man on earth. Did I create him only so that he might fall into such a misfortune and be himself the author of his loss? Is it for this reason that from his earliest days I have honored him with so much glory, I have surrounded him with my providence with the intention of making him choose virtue and flee his destruction? Since he has abused my goodness, it is better now to stop his evil.

(Gen. 6:7) The Lord God reflected and said: I will remove from the face of the earth the man I created, and with man the flocks, the reptiles and the birds of the sky, because I wondered why I had created. I did, he says, everything that depended on me. I brought the man of nothingness to existence; I gave him the natural idea of ​​what to do and what not to do, I gave him free will, I used ineffable patience; after a long delay, after my anger and my threats, I granted another reprieve, wishing to revoke my sentence if he understood his sins. But since all this is useless, it is necessary to accomplish my menates and destroy them entirely: I will make this criminal race disappear, like a bad leaven, so that it can not teach evil to future creations. And the Lord God said, I will remove from the face of the earth the man whom I have created, from the man himself to the animals. One may say, If man is guilty, why are animals punished? Here is the reason: they are not made for themselves, but for the man. The latter being annihilated, what would the animals have served? Moreover, they share the punishment to show us all the indignation of the Lord. In the beginning, when the first man sinned, all the earth was cursed: now that the man is going to be destroyed, the animals are dragged into his ruin. Likewise, when man was still pleasing to God, all nature participated in his happiness, as St. Paul says: Every creature shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption by the deliverance of the sons of the glory of God. (Rom. VIII, 21.) Now the man to be punished for his innumerable sins, and abandoned to a universal destruction, the flocks, reptiles and birds of the sky are destined to perish by the deluge that will swallow everything. And just as if the steward of a house has drawn the wrath of the master, those who serve under him share his sadness; In the same way, men coming to perish, all the beings who occupied the same residence, and who were subject to his laws, should suffer the same penalty. I wondered why I had made men. See how this word is appropriate to our weakness. I did not want, said God, to inflict such terrible punishment on them. They themselves have irritated me so much by the excess of their iniquity. Besides, God did not want to destroy the human race absolutely and to destroy our species radically; but here we learn all the ugliness of sin and all the beauty of virtue; we see that one man doing the will of God is better than a thousand evaders. Noah found favor with the Lord God. Although all this crowd has let itself go to such disorders, this just keeps the spark of virtue; he spoke to all men, he exhorted them to leave their vices from which he avoided contagion. Finally, just as they had excited by their misdeeds the wrath of the God of mercy, so he, faithful to virtue, found favor in the sight of the Lord God. No doubt, God does not consider people. (Act X, 34.) But if in such a multitude he finds a single man who has sought to please him, he does not neglect it. On the contrary, he honors him with special protection and watches over him with all the more attention because, among so many who are trained to evil, he has constantly followed the road of virtue…

(Gen. 6:7-9) Such is the nature of present happiness with all its riches: they do not follow us and we must go without them. The rich leave everything, they are naked leaving the earth; they are covered only by their perversity and the heap of their sins. What a difference with virtue! even here below, she makes those who love her more powerful than their enemies and makes them even invincible; she gives them unmixed happiness and does not even let them feel the accidents of life: but moreover, when they leave here, she accompanies them, and especially at the moment when we most need her support she offers us her almighty help in the terrible day when she calms for us the eye of our Judge; so it saves us in the present the miseries of this life, and in the future the torments of the other. It has yet another effect, it is to make us enjoy inexpressible goods. To assure you, to make you understand that these words are not empty declamations, I will seek the proof of them in the words which have been offered to your charity. See how this admirable man, I mean Noah, while the entire human race managed to excite the anger of a God of mercy, could alone avoid by virtue the effect of this anger and reconcile all the benevolence of God. Let's talk, if you will, about what is happening in this life. There may be many men who do not believe in future and invisible things. Let us examine what is happening here, let us see what is the fate of those who engage in evil, and those who embrace virtue. After God, in spite of His goodness, decided, because of the increase of crimes, to punish the human race by a universal catastrophe, and that He said: I will remove from the earth the man whom I have I have created, he showed how far his indignation went in pronouncing sentence, not only against man, but against quadrupeds, reptiles, and birds; indeed, since men were to be destroyed and submerged, it was right and natural to share their fate with the beings that had been created for them. This judgment was still unlimited and made no distinction between men, to show that God does not attach himself to individuals, but to the hearts he visits without disdaining anyone, and that if we offer him the slightest opportunity he displays his ineffable mercy too, to show that he did not absolutely want to destroy the human race, but that he wanted to keep the spark, to save a root that could give still more immense branches, the Scripture said: Noah found favor with God.

See how accurate Scripture is, and how it does not contain a single useless syllable. After exposing to us the enormity of the faults of men and the terrible punishment reserved for the wicked, it tells us who, in such a crowd The fact is that virtue by itself is always admirable, but the one who practices it in the midst of men who reject it deserves even more admiration. So Holy Scripture makes us admire this righteous mingling with those who are going to test the wrath of God, and she says: Noah found favor with the Lord God. He not only found grace, but before the Lord God. It teaches us that it had no other purpose than to be well seen from this eye that knows neither sleep nor drowsiness, and that he did not care about human glory , shame and mockery. It is probable that he, who cultivated virtue in opposition to everyone, must be a subject of ridicule and jesting for those who did evil; indeed, it is still their habit with regard to those who seek virtue instead of imitating them. [Homilies on Genesis]

6:9-13 And these are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man; being perfect in his generation, Noah was well-pleasing to God. 10 And Noah begot three sons, Sem, Cham, Japheth. 11 But the earth was corrupted before God, and the earth was filled with iniquity. 12 And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupted; because all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. 13 And the Lord God said to Noah, A period of all men is come before me; because the earth has been filled with iniquity by them, and, behold, I destroy them and the earth.

ALCUIN OF YORK. (Gen. 6:9) "NOAH WAS A JUST AND PERFECT MAN." IF NO ONE IS WITHOUT SIN, HOW CAN ANYONE BE PERFECT? — Answer. Some are here said to be perfect, not in the way in which the saints are to be made perfect in that immortality in which they will be made equal to God's angels, but as perfect as they can be in this journey. (Bed. in Pent., PL 91, col. 225. Bed. Hexm. II, PL 91, col. 90.) [Question 100]

(Gen. 6:10-13) WHAT IS MEANT BY WHAT GOD SAID TO NOAH, "THE END OF ALL FLESH IS COME"? — Answer. The end of all flesh means the end of all mortals except those who were to be saved in the ark. Those, therefore, were saved as the seedbed of the second beginning. [Question 101]

"I WILL DESTROY THEM WITH THE EARTH." HOW "WITH THE EARTH", SINCE THE EARTH ENDURED AFTERWARDS? — Answer. Teachers say that the vigor and fertility of the earth has been much lesser after the flood than it was before, and that for this reason men were then given permission to eat meat, while before the flood men had lived only on the fruits of the earth. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 102]

JEROME OF STRDON. 6:9 NOAH, A RIGHTEOUS AND PERFECT MAN IN HIS GENERATION, HE PLEASED GOD. — It is said purposely in his generation to show that he was just, not according to righteousness, but according to the purity of his generation. So we read in the Hebrew text: "Noah, a righteous man, was perfect in his generation; Noah walked with God, that is to say, followed his footsteps. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. This is a strange way to start a genealogy. Sacred Scripture begins by saying: these are the generations of Noah; she excites our attention as if she were going to recount her genealogy, say who her father was, where her family came from, how he had come into the world, and finally all that is usually found in genealogies. ; but she leaves all this aside, and, putting herself above the accepted usages, she says: Noah was a just man, accomplished in his time; Noah pleased God. See what admirable genealogy! Noah was a man. Notice that the name that is common to us all is used here to glorify the righteous. For while the others, immersed in carnal voluptuousness, had lost the quality of men, Noah alone, in the midst of such a great people, kept the true condition of man. So he is a man because he cultivates virtue. Indeed, to have the appearance of a man, the eyes, the nose, the mouth; the cheeks and all the rest is not what makes the man, because all this belongs to the body. We call man one who keeps intact the type of man. But how to define it? It is said that he is a reasonable being. What ! Did not the wicked also have reason? If, but it is not enough: we must also seek good and flee evil, dominate the bad passions and obey the Lord's orders: here is the man!

To persuade you that it is the custom of Scripture not to give the name of men to men who indulge in vice and neglect virtue, listen to the words of God, which I quoted to you yesterday: Spirit will not stay with these men because they are only flesh. It means: I gave them a nature composed of flesh and soul, but the flesh has enveloped them so much that they think only of themselves and neglect the virtues of the soul. Do you see how, because of their perversity, He calls them flesh and not men? And another time, as you will see, the scripture says that they are only earth, because they are absorbed in the thoughts of the earth, for it says: The earth was corrupted before God. This is not the land itself; it is the inhabitants themselves whom she calls land. In another place she does not call them flesh or earth, but she does not look at them as alive because they lack virtue. Listen to the cries of the prophet in the midst of Jerusalem and of this innumerable multitude: I came, and there was not a man; I called and nobody heard me. (Is. L, 2.) It was not that there were many people present, but that they did not profit more from the words of the prophet than the absent ones. And elsewhere: Run and see if there is one that is just and equitable, and I will be propitious to it. (Jer. V, 1.)

You have seen that holy Scripture gives the name of man only to him who cultivates virtue: as for the others, they are nothing for her, but she sometimes calls them earth and sometimes flesh. This is why, after having announced the beginning of the genealogy of the just, the Holy Scripture tells us first of all: Noah was a man. In fact, he alone is a man: the others are no longer men, although they keep their appearance; they have been changed into animals without reason, and have lost through their perverse will the (147) nobility of their nature. When reasonable men fall into evil, and become enslaved to unreasonable passions, Scripture gives them names of animals; so she says: They have become like horses who neigh after the marches. (Jer. V, 8.) See how the excess of lubricity gives a name of beast. Elsewhere again: The venom of serpents is under their lips (Ps. XIII, 3 and 139, 4), for those who resemble this hidden and perfidious animal. Others are called dumb dogs. (Is. LVI, 10.) It is still written: Like a deaf serpent whose ears are closed (Ps. LVII, 5), to indicate those who close their ears to the teaching of virtue. It would be too long to recall all the names of beasts that Scripture imposes on those who indulge in unreasonable passions. It is not only in the old law that we can see it, but also in the news. Listen to St. John the Baptist saying to the Jews, "Breed of vipers, who taught you to flee the coming wrath? (Matt III, 7.) Do you see how here again the name of a beast symbolizes cunning? What could be more miserable than those sinners who have lost the name of man by deserving the most terrible punishments! for they have despised the motives of virtue offered them by their nature, and neglected them voluntarily to indulge in vice. As those who existed then showed themselves unworthy of the name of men, while in the midst of such a scarcity of virtue, the righteous has shown a great deal; Scripture, by telling its genealogy, begins by saying: Noah was a man. There is another righteous to whom this name has been given as the highest eulogy, to the point that it is called above all so to better show its virtue. Who is this? It is the blessed Job, the athlete of piety, the victor crowned with the applause of the whole world; who alone endured endurable evils and who, after having wiped the innumerable features of the devil, remained invulnerable: like the diamond which receives all the impunity with impunity, it was not submerged by this storm, it dominated it, and having collected on his body all the sufferings that were in the world, he saw his glory become more brilliant. Not only did the cruel pains with which he was overwhelmed did not frighten him, but they inspired him with new thanksgiving: by expressing his gratitude in the midst of so many trials he gave the demon a mortal wound, and proved to him that he was wrong to try the impossible and to kick under the spur. So the God of mercy praising and extolling this holy man even before he had undergone so many struggles and fights, said to the devil, "Have you not considered my servant Job, to whom no man is comparable on earth? , irreproachable man,, just, truthful, pious, and refraining from any bad action? (Job, I, 8.) Have you observed that God begins by designating him with the common name of our nature? Have you not considered my servant Job, to whom no man is comparable on earth? Yet we are all alike, not as to virtue, but as to form: well! it is not enough to be a man, one must abstain from evil and do good….

(Gen. 6:12-13) Thus, to make us understand how, in the midst of this delirium, this universal rage, this righteous man remained alone, preserving, with a firm soul, continence, with the other virtues, until he came to the age of five hundred years, the scripture, after saying, "Noah being five hundred years old," says, "He begot three sons. Do you see, my beloved, the perfect temperance of the just? Let us not be content here to go beyond without stopping; measure the length of time; Let us consider the perversity that has spread over the whole human race, because of the softness of souls; Let us consider all that there is virtue and piety to repress, for such a long time, the rage of concupiscence; to choose a road so far from that which the others follow; to forbid himself, not only an illicit trade, but to the legitimate and permitted trade; and he begot, says the Scripture, three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; but the earth was corrupt before God, and full of iniquity. It is, it seems to me, by a disposition of God, that this righteous man had no business with his wife until after such a long time, and waited so late to beg his sons. Indeed, as the greatness of iniquity, of perversity, made necessary the general destruction of the earth, the mercy of God wanted to preserve this right, to serve as root and ferment, to make him, after the destruction of others, the origin and the beginnings of the future. For this reason, this righteous man, five hundred years old, when he had his three sons, contented himself with that number, declaring that what he had done was to serve the purposes of divine goodness (152) in favor of the future human race. Do you want to be certain that our words are not a random guess? Consider the care taken here in Scripture: after saying that the righteous had three sons, she immediately adds: Now the earth was corrupt before God and full of iniquity. See, in the same nature, this great and inexpressible difference; About the righteous, Scripture said: Noah was a just and perfect man among the men of his day; but, concerning all the others, she said: Now the earth was corrupt before God and full of iniquity. This word earth designates the multitude of men; it is because all their actions related to the earth, that Scripture designates, by this word of earth, and their basesses, and the excess of their malignity: Just as she had said of the first man, he lost, by his disobedience, the glory with which he was clothed, and was subjected to death for his punishment: You are earth and you will return to the earth (Gen. III, 19); In the same way, here, because the vices had grown too much, she said: But the earth was corrupted. And it does not content itself with saying: Now the earth was corrupt, but it adds: Before God, and filled with iniquity. Indeed, these words, was corrupt, it is a hyperbole that manifests malignity in all its forms. It can not be said that these men were guilty of one or two sins only; they had committed every kind of iniquity, exceeding every measure; also the text adds, And the earth was filled with iniquity. It was not in passing, in a vulgar way that they did the harm; they committed all kinds of sins, by applying themselves with ardor. And see how the scripture does not deign to give them the slightest memory; it names them by the name of earth, indicating at the same time, by that, and the gravity of sins, and the indignation of God. Now the earth was corrupt, says the text, before God; that is to say, they did everything against the precepts of God; trampling on the commandments of God; losing, by their cowardice, that inner master whom nature has placed in the human soul; and the earth was filled, says the text, with iniquity: See, my beloved, all that sin has of evil; how is it that men no longer deserve to be called by name? Now listen to the following: And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupt. See how, for the second time, Scripture uses the word earth to designate men. And then, after once, twice; three times, uttered the word earth, that we should not imagine that it is the material earth, the text says: For all flesh had corrupted his way on earth. And here again, we do not deign to pronounce the word man; the text says, flesh, to teach us that he does not speak of the clean earth. but men clothed in flesh, and all, fully applied to the things of the earth. It is the habit of Scripture, as we have often told you, my dear brothers, to call men who see only the flesh, who have no thought raised, of the name of flesh; This is how Blessed Paul says: Those who live according to the flesh can not please God. (Rom. VIII, 8.) What then! Was he not a man of flesh who wrote these words? Paul did not mean that those who are clothed with flesh can not be pleasing to God; he speaks of those who take no account of virtue, who only see the flesh, pursue only the pleasures of the flesh, and have no concern for their incorporeal, spiritual soul. So, after the divine Scripture has shown us, by these words, the multitude of sins, the excess of malice, the greatness of the indignation of God; after having repudiated the three desires, called the name of the land, the men who lived then, it still calls them the name of flesh, stripping them of the name which nature has given them; and now, by what follows, she shows us the ineffable mercy of God, and the greatness of his clemency. Indeed, what does she say? And the Lord said to Noah.

See the excess of kindness! God converses with this just like a friend with his friend; he tells him of the punishment he will inflict on the human species, and he says: The time of every man has come before me; they have filled all the land with iniquity, and I will destroy them with the earth. What does it mean: the time of every man has come before me? I have shown, he says, a great patience, a great tolerance, by not inflicting the punishment that I hold in reserve; but since their sin, exceeding the number and the measure, made the time of the atonement come, it is necessary to put an end to them, to ruin their malignity, so that it does not extend farther. time, he says, of every man has come before me. See again here: just as he said above, Everyone thinks: so, now he says, Of every man. All conspire together, all left my cause to pass to iniquity; in such a great multitude we find no man who takes virtue into account: The time, he says, of every man has come before me; that is to say, the time has come to cut, to prevent the ulcer from gaining farther; the time of every man has come before me; as if there was no one to see them, to ask them for their crimes, they abandoned themselves to the blankets that the law condemns; they did not see that nothing was hidden from me, who gave them life, and body and soul, and so many goods in crowds; therefore, the time of every man has come before me. And then, as if he wanted to apologize to the righteous man, as if to show him that it is the excess of sins that alone provoked in him so much anger, he said: They filled the whole earth with 'iniquity. Have they neglected to commit, he says, anything that belongs to sin? The size of their malignancy is visible; it is a sea that overflows, the whole earth is flooded with it. That's why I destroy them and the earth with them; and behold, he says, that I will destroy them, and the earth with them. They were the first, by their actions against the law, to destroy themselves; that is why I bring about universal destruction; I operate the suppression that erases them and the earth, so that the earth can show that it is purified, that it is purged of so many crimes. Now try to understand what happened in the soul of this righteous man when he heard these words from the mouth of the Lord. No doubt he was conscious of his great virtue; but it was not without pain that he heard such words. Affection, love is proper to the just; for the salvation of others they willingly consent to suffer everything. What, then, must this admirable man have experienced when his thought represented to him the loss, the destruction of the whole creation; when perhaps he suspected something lugubrious for himself? For he was not yet sure of anything; therefore, to prevent the disturbance of his thoughts, to give him any consolation in the affliction which was to accompany such a great disaster, the Lord, after having told him how deeply rooted was the malignancy, how urgent it was to make a deep incision, to extirpate evil: a common loss, he says, will be their share. [Homilies on Genesis]

6:14-17 Make therefore for thyself an ark of square timber; thou shalt make the ark in compartments, and thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And thus shalt thou make the ark; three hundred cubits the length of the ark, and fifty cubits the breadth, and thirty cubits the height of it. 16 Thou shalt narrow the ark in making it, and in a cubit above thou shalt finish it, and the door of the ark thou shalt make on the side; with lower, second, and third stories thou shalt make it. 17 And behold I bring a flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven, and whatsoever things are upon the earth shall die.

ALCUIN OF YORK. (Gen. 6:14) ALCUIN OF YORK. WHAT ARE THE SMOOTHED PLANKS THAT GOD COMMANDS THE ARK TO BE MADE OF? — Answer. Strong and undestroyable planks, which another translation calls "squared", so that the ark might be destroyed neither by the violence of winds nor by the inundation of waters. [Alcuin of York, Questions and Answers on Genesis, PL 100 Question 103]

"AND THOU SHALT PITCH IT." WHAT IS THE NATURE OF PITCH? — Answer. Pitch is an extremely hot and potent paste, whose power is that planks smeared with pitch can neither be eaten up by worms nor be destroyed by the heat of the sun, the blasts of winds, or the inundation of waters. [Question 104]

(Gen. 6:15) A QUESTION THAT IS OFTEN ASKED IS WHETHER THE CAPACITY OF THE ARK AS DESCRIBED WAS SUFFICIENT FOR IT TO BE ABLE TO CARRY SO MANY GREAT ANIMALS ALONG WITH SUITABLE ROOMS FOR THEM AND THEIR FOOD? — Answer. Origen has solved this problem with the geometric cubit, affirming that a geometric cubit is equivalent to six of our cubits. [113]

SO WHAT SHOULD WE TAKE THE APPEARANCE OR SHAPE OF THE ARK TO HAVE BEEN LIKE? — Answer. It had, it seems, four corners rising from the bottom, which gradually drew more and more narrowly together as they approached the top, where the ark ended in the space of one cubit. For it is related that in the bottom there were three hundred cubits in length and fifty in breadth, and thirty in height, but ending in a narrow top, of one cubit in length and in breadth. And, truly, no other shape would have been as proper and suitable to be given to the ark as this was: with the narrow top, as if with a sort of roof, it scattered the rainfalls, while it stood in the bottom with the stability of the square so that neither the push of the winds nor the violence of the waves nor the agitation of the animals within could cause it to tilt or sink. [Question 105]

(Gen 6:16) HOW SHOULD WE UNDERSTAND IT TO HAVE BEEN TWO-CHAMBERED AND THREE-CHAMBERED? — Answer. Two-chambered in the lower parts and three-chambered in the upper parts, so that we perceive the dwellings in it were divided into five: its lowest parts were destined to ordure and refuse, so that the animals, and more especially the people, might not be troubled by the stench of excrements. The chamber above and contiguous to this was destined to keep the animals' food. These are the uses into which the lower parts, which are called two-chambered, are said to have been divided. As for the upper parts, which are called three-chambered, the first of them was destined as a dwelling for wild beasts, fiercer animals, or serpents. After this, higher, were suitable rooms for milder animals, and stables; and above it all, on high, was placed the dwelling of men, because it was only natural that, just as man surpasses all animals in honor and wisdom, he should be spatially placed above them too. And so it is understood that there were five sets of quarters in the ark: the first for ordure, the second for stores, the third for wild animals, the fourth for tame ones, and the fifth for men. (Bed. Hexm. II, PL 91, col. 98.) [Question 106]

HOW SHOULD WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IS SAID ABOUT THE DOOR BUILT IN THE SIDE OF THE ARK? — Answer. It is said that the door that was made in the side was placed in such a way that it had the lower parts, which he called two-chambered, below it; the parts which he called three-chambered were called upper because of their position relatively to the door. Then all the animals, having entered through the door, were led separately each to its own place, according to what we have said above, with the appropriate distinctions. [Question 107]

WHAT MYSTERY IS CONTAINED IN THE MEASURES OF THE ARK? — Answer. The perfect mystery of the body of Christ. For three hundred contain six times fifty, and ten times thirty, and so is it with the human body: if you measure a man lying down, the length is six times the breadth, and ten times the height. For the length of a man lying down is to be measured from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, his breadth from one side to the other, and his height from the back to the belly. This symbol is known to correspond fittingly to Christ because of the longanimity of all-suffering faith, the amplitude of love, and the height of eternal hope. [Question 108]

WHY IS IT COMMANDED THAT A WINDOW SHOULD BE MADE IN THE TOP OF THE ARK? — Answer. For it to have an aperture out of which to send birds to explore if the earth was dry. [Question 109]

HOW COULD THE DOOR BE SHUT AND PITCHED FROM WITHOUT AFTER IT WAS CLOSED AND NONE OF THE PEOPLE WAS LEFT OUTSIDE THE ARK? — Answer. This was doubtless the work of divine power, to prevent the waters from coming in through the entrance which no human hand had secured. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 116]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 6:15) THE CAPACITY OF NOAH’S ARK. —  It is also asked how, with its dimensions as described, the Ark of Noah could contain all the animals that entered it, and their food. This question was resolved by Origen (Hom. 2 in Gen.) by means of geometrical cubits; for he argued that Scripture does not say without reason that Moses was adorned with all the wisdom of the Egyptians, (Act 7:22) who had in great esteem in geometry. The geometrical cubit, according to Origen, is equal to six of our cubits. Now, taking this great measure as the basis of our calculation, there is no problem in admitting that the ark was of sufficient capacity to contain all this. [Question 4]

HOW COULD AN ARK OF SUCH CONSIDERABLE DIMENSIONS HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE SPACE OF A CENTURY BY FOUR MEN, THAT IS TO SAY, BY NOAH AND HIS THREE SONS. — But if they could not have built it alone, it is not difficult to believe that they could have employed other workers. Those workers, who, having received the wages of their labor, did not care whether Noah made the ark with some reasonable or foolish motive. So, therefore, they did not enter the Ark since they did not share what Noah had believed. [Question 5]

(Gen 6:16) WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURE MEAN ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ARK: AND THE DOOR OF THE ARK YOU SHALL MAKE ON THE SIDE; WITH LOWER, SECOND, AND THIRD STORIES SHALL YOU MAKE IT? — The lower floor was not to receive two and three rooms. Using this distinction, God wanted to make it clear that the entire Ark had to have a lower part. Then, above, a floor, which he calls a second rooms; Higher up finally, another floor, or a third vault. So in the first dwelling, I mean, in the lower part, the Ark had a first vault; In the second dwelling, which was above the first, it was also vaulted; So was she again and a third time in the third dwelling, which rose above the second. [Questions on Genesis, 6]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen 6:14) Most Latin versions presents Nidos facies in arcam (You will make small rooms in the ark), although the Latin presents in the ark, and not into the ark. But the Greek does not put either into the ark or in the ark; it says: Nidos facies arcam (You will make the ark small rooms), to make it understood that the ark will be only a compound of small rooms.

(Gen. 6:16) Instead of saying with most of the interpreters: Facies ostium arcae a latere (You shall make the door of the ark on the side), some preferred to say ex transverso (diagonally); thus wanting to reproduce the meaning of the Greek ex plagion. [Locutions]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 6:16 ASSEMBLING THEM, YOU WILL MAKE THE ARK, AND YOU WILL COMPLETE IT IN THE FORM OF AN ELBOW. Instead of assembling them, you will make the ark, the Hebrew reads "you will make a noonday for the ark," which Symmachus gives a very obvious meaning by διαφανες, that is to say, "you will make the clarity of the ark,” he thus indicates the window. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. But you, make yourself an ark. (Gen. VI, 14.) What to say? But you: as you have not shared their corruption, but you have spent all the days of your life in virtue, I command you to build an ark, squared pieces of wood, defying decay; you will make small rooms there and you will smear it with bitumen, outside and inside. Its length shall be three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty, and its height thirty. And the height of it shall be one cubit high, and the door of the ark to the side; you will make a floor all the way down, one in the middle, and one in the third. (Gen. VI, 14, 16, 16.) Consider divine mercy, ineffable power, goodness above all speech. God declares His providence to the righteous, commanding him to make an ark; at the same time, it regulates the manner in which the ark must be built, the length, the breadth, the height, and it gives it the greatest of consolations, by showing it the hope of salvation by the construction of the ark. As for those who had been guilty of such grave sins, he warned them, by the making of this ark, to reflect on their actions, to come to resipiscence, to escape anger. And, indeed, it was not a short time that the construction of the ark offered to repentance; the time, certainly, was considerable, sufficient, if they had not been plunged into ingratitude, into the stupid numbness which prevented them from correcting their errors. It was natural for each of them, seeing the righteous man who built the ark, that each of them, also warned of the wrath of God, repented of his sins; it was enough to want; but this delay was of no use to them; they did not repent; it's not because they could not repent, but because they did not want to. And now, after having given the righteous man the orders concerning the construction of the ark, God communicates to him, tells him the form of the punishment which he should inflict, and he says to him: You, prepare what I am doing ordered; for me, once you have filled the ark. I will take care to put in safety what looks at you. I will pour out the flood on the earth to destroy all flesh that breathes and is alive under heaven, and all things that are on the earth will end. See how the threat shows the greatness of the sins that have been committed. I will inflict, "he says," the same chastisement, and to those endowed with reason, and to those without reason; for the former betrayed the preeminence they possessed; corruption has reduced them to the state of beings without reason; punishment will not make any difference. I will pour out the deluge to destroy all flesh that breathes, that is alive under heaven, and the beasts of burden, and the birds, and the wild animals, and the quadrupeds, and all that is under the heaven shall be destroy. And so that you may know that nothing will be spared, he says: And all things that are on the earth will come to an end, for the earth must be cleansed; but do not be confused, do not confuse your thoughts; it is because I see, incurable ulcers that I want to stop the overflowing malignancy, so that the sinners do not expose themselves to more terrible punishments. [Homilies on Genesis]

6:18 And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt enter into the ark, and thy sons and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

DIDYMUS OF ALEXANDRIA. A covenant “on oath” does not seem to have been made by God with Noah, as Symmachus and Aquila render it. In case he should be at a loss for words, the future was revealed to Noah so that he should retain hope regarding what was due to happen and also teach his contemporaries that God imposed this because of sins, and you have been saved as a result of righteousness.”  The purpose was that the same of vice might be revealed as well as the desirability of virtue-not that virtue’s reward is pleasure, but that from this form of punishment there is no rest for zealous person, even if not subject to it.  Now, in the case establish suggests stability. [Commentary on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Do not be dejected, do not trouble yourself by listening to me; for if they are to suffer the punishment of their sins, listen now, I will establish my covenant with you. To this day, men have committed unworthy actions, they have misunderstood my commandments; it is with you now that I will establish my covenant. The first man, after so many benefits, allowed himself to be seduced; he violated my commandments; the child born of him has precipitated himself in the same abyss of mischief; he suffered a long chastisement with the curse. Well, his punishment did not correct his descendants, they accumulated the crimes, and forced me to reprove their generation. Later, when I found Enoch, who had faithfully preserved the image of virtue, as it was quite dear to me, I took it alive, showing to all those who practice virtue what precious reward they get; and I also wanted other men, jealous of imitating him, to enter the path he had followed. Now, since all the men who have followed one another since have practiced evil; since in the midst of so great a multitude I have found only you who are able to repair the sin of the first father, it is with you that I will establish my covenant. The good works of your life show your faithfulness to my commandments. Lastly, so that the man, who hitherto had been just, should not grieve, on hearing these words, at the thought that he alone will be freed from so great a misfortune, God, so to speak, the And comforting him a second time, he said to him, Go into the ark, you and your sons, and your wife, and the wives of your sons. For although they were far from equaling the virtue of this just man, yet they had not taken part in the crimes of other men. There are, moreover, two causes for which they were saved: one is that God wanted to honor the just man; it is in fact the habit of a God full of clemency, to give to his servants, by consideration for them, that others are saved. This favor was made to the blessed Paul, to this master who taught the earth, illuminating it from all sides with the rays of the science which he bore in him. He was crossing the sea going to Rome, a great storm arose; all the passengers trembled for their safety; they had no hope, so great was the violence of the storm. Paul assembled them all, and said to them, Have courage, no man shall perish; there will only be the ship of the lost; for that very night an angel of God, to whom I am, and whom I serve, appeared to me, saying, Do not be afraid, Paul; God has given you all who are sailing with you. (Act XXVII, 22, 24.) Do you see how the virtue of this man has saved them; Let's say better, it is not this virtue alone, but the goodness of the Lord: it was the same here, and this was the first cause. But there is another: God wanted to leave a ferment, a root, for the restoration of the human race. It was not impossible for God to create man a second time, to shoot a multitude a second time from a single man, but it was because he felt it was a good thing to act. as he did, following in this his ordinary kindness. [Homilies on Genesis]

6:19-22 And of all cattle and of all reptiles and of all wild beasts, even of all flesh, thou shalt bring by pairs of all, into the ark, that thou mayest feed them with thyself: male and female they shall be. 20 Of all winged birds after their kind, and of all cattle after their kind, and of all reptiles creeping upon the earth after their kind, pairs of all shall come in to thee, male and female to be fed with thee. 21 And thou shalt take to thyself of all kinds of food which ye eat, and thou shalt gather them to thyself, and it shall be for thee and them to eat. 22 And Noah did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him, so did he.

ALCUIN OF YORK.  (Gen 6:19-21) HOW COULD LIONS OR EAGLES, WHICH USUALLY LIVE ON FLESH, BE FED IN THE ARK? — Answer. Maybe other animals [, in addition to the determinate number,] were sent into the ark for the others' food, or some foods other than flesh but also suitable to feed such animals were found by the wise man or indicated by God. The latter explanation is more likely. [Question 117]

WHAT SHOULD OUR OPINION BE CONCERNING THE ANIMALS' DRINK, WHICH THE SCRIPTURE SAYS NOTHING ABOUT? — Answer. There are those who think that in the ark one day's food or drink sufficed the animals for many days or perhaps a whole year. But let us cease from uncertain conjectures and allow the divine power to make what it wants of its creatures. [Question 121]

(Gen. 6:19-7:2) WHAT IS MEANT BY "TWO AND TWO" AND "SEVEN AND SEVEN"? ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND THAT FOUR OUT OF EACH SPECIES OF UNCLEAN ANIMALS AND FOURTEEN OUT OF EACH SPECIES OF CLEAN ONES MUST BE TAKEN IN? — Answer. Not two and two as in four, but as in male and female. So only two out of each species of unclean ones, and only seven out of each species of clean ones. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 110]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen 6:19-21) ABOUT THE EATING OF ANIMALS THAT ENTERED INTO THE ARK. — God said that animals shall not only live on the Ark, but still feed in the Ark, so God ordered Noah to take all kinds of food for him and all the animals that had to accompany him. There arises the question of how he could feed the lions or eagles, which often eat meat, and whether Noah brought in the Ark other animals besides those listed there to serve as food to the others; or if he introduced some other things besides meat that seems more acceptable, that would also serve as suitable for such animal food, or whether this measure was taken by him as a man of foresight or by divine inspiration. [Questions on Genesis, 7]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. (Gen. 6:19-21) Be attentive, see again the goodness of God in what follows: for just as his threatening words announced the death of the human species, and at the same time the destruction of the beasts of burden, reptiles, birds, wild animals; so here, for the sake of the righteous man, he commands the introduction into the ark of a couple of each species of these animals, to be used for the reproduction of future animals. Of all the animals, he says, beasts of burden, all the wild animals, all flesh, you will bring in a couple, that they may live with you; and they will be male and female. From every species of birds, from every species of terrestrial animals, from every kind of reptiles crawling on the earth, two will come with you, to live with you, and they will be male and female. (Gen. VI, 19, 20.) Do not stop without stopping, my beloved; consider what worry, what a disturbance of thoughts must have given this man just the care to take of all these animals. Indeed, it was not enough for him to take care of his wife and his sons, and his daughters-in-law, he still had to worry about so many animals for no reason, that he had to feed . But patience, wait; you will see the goodness of God, as God relieves the care he imposes on the just man: you will take, he says, with you, all that can be eaten, and you will carry it in the ark, for serve your food and that of all animals. (Ibid, 21.) Do not think, says God, that my providence abandons you; See, I command you to carry in the ark all that is necessary for your food and for the food of the animals, so that you do not suffer from the hunger, that nothing you miss, and that the animals do not perish for want of the food that suits them. And Noah, says the text, fulfills all that the Lord God had commanded him, he fulfilled it thus. See now, here, the most beautiful praise: Noah accomplishes all that the Lord God had commanded him. He did not accomplish such a thing, he did not neglect such a thing, but all that had been commanded he did. And he did it as he had been commanded. He does not omit anything; he accomplishes everything, and he proves, by his works, that it was with reason that God had judged him worthy of his benevolence. What crowns do not deserve the testimony that divine Scripture decently decreed? What man could be happier than the one who did all the works that God had commanded him, who showed so much obedience to his orders?

THEODORET OF CYRUS. What did the animals eat while aboard the ark? Fodder and seeds, of course. God said to him, “You will take for yourself of all the foods you eat and store it up for yourself, and it will serve as food for you and them.” In the beginning, God’s law did not countenance the human consumption of flesh: “Lo, I have given you every plant upon all the earth bearing seed fit for sowing and every tree containing fruit with seed fit for sowing; these will be your food. And to all the beasts of the earth, all the birds of heaven, and every reptile creeping on the earth, which has the spirit of life in it, I have given every green plant for food.” (Gen. 9:2) So we may infer that humans as well as animals abstained from eating meat and got their nourishment from the produce of the earth. Aquila renders “bearing seed” as “procreating seed.” [Question 51 on Genesis]