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1When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. 3Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.” 4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

5Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. 6Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. 7Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.

9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. 10Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

13God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth. 14Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch. 15This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels. 17I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die. 18But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive. 21Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.” 22Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.

The Family Histories (Generations) of Genesis

The Family Histories (Generations) of Genesis

Topical Study | Gen 6:9 | Hershel Wayne House

Meaning of the "Generations" (toledot)

Article on the historical nature of the Genesis account by a historian

Genesis 2:4

In the book of Genesis, we are presented by Moses with a number of family histories (Heb ”תוֹלְד֧וֹת, ṯôlᵉḏôṯ; Grk βίβλος γενέσεως, biblos geneseōs LXX)[1], a term found in several passages (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2) that detail the lives of the patriarchs discussed in this initial book of the Bible, and serve to mark the different sections of the book. The KJV translates the Hebrew expression by simply the term "generations." It is likely that Moses relied on family histories written on a number of cuneiform tablets passed down through the patriarchs to construct the information he writes throughout the book of Genesis. The approach changed with the account of Joseph, beginning in chapter 38. Apparently, The Joseph story was based on oral tradition passed down in the family of Isaac and their descendants in Egypt. 

[1]The Hebrew and Greek words and transliteration were copied from Accordance Bible Software.

Cuneiform Tablet (Istanbul Musuem)

Moses probably wrote this portion of Scripture about the family histories of Adam (Gen 2:4), relying on tablets similar to that depicted in this photograph, as well as the other family histories (תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת, tôlᵉḏōṯ) found in other texts in Genesis, such as Gen 5:1, et al. See the discussion of the family histories found throughout Genesis in Gen 5:1.