Genesis 6:7 · Bible study
Genesis 6:7 Commentary: The Unchanging God Who Regrets
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Study Genesis 6:7: how can an unchanging God regret creating humanity? Analysis of Hebrew 'nacham', divine immutability, and the flood judgment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God announces judgment on corrupted humanity, using anthropomorphic language of regret to show His holy grief and the seriousness of sin.
- Key words: “Wipe” (emcheh H4229), to blot out; “regret” (nichamti H5162), be sorry, have compassion; “from the face of the ground” (me’al penei ha’adamah).
- Main debate: How to reconcile God’s immutability with language of repentance? Most see it as anthropomorphic accommodation; some emphasize a real relational change in God’s stance toward sinners.
- Theological theme: Divine judgment and grief over sin; the entanglement of creation with human rebellion; the tension between God’s unchanging nature and His personal response to human actions.
- Best use: Teaching the depth of God’s holiness and the seriousness of sin; exploring the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility; introducing the flood narrative.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
Yahweh 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.”
KJV King James Version 1769
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 them.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And Jehovah saith, `I wipe away man whom I have prepared from off the face of the ground, from man unto beast, unto creeping thing, and unto fowl of the heavens, for I have repented that I have made them.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And Jehovah said, I will destroy Man, whom I have created, from the earth — from man to cattle, to creeping things, and to fowl of the heavens; for I repent that I have made them.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y dijo Jehová: Raeré los hombres que he criado de sobre la faz de la tierra, desde el hombre hasta la bestia, y hasta el reptil y las aves del cielo: porque me arrepiento de haberlos hecho.
E disse o SENHOR: Apagarei os seres humanos que criei de sobre a face da terra, desde o ser humano até o animal, e até o réptil e as aves do céu: porque me arrependo de havê-los feito.
Et l’ Éternel dit: J’ exterminerai de la face de la terre l’ homme que j’ ai créé, depuis l’ homme jusqu’ au bétail, aux reptiles, et aux oiseaux du ciel; car je me repens de les avoir faits.
und er sprach: Ich will die Menschen, die ich gemacht habe, vertilgen von der Erde, vom Menschen an bis auf das Vieh und bis auf das Gewürm und bis auf die Vögel unter dem Himmel; denn es reut mich, daß ich sie gemacht habe.
En de HEERE zeide: Ik zal den mens, die Ik geschapen heb, verdelgen van den aardbodem, van den mens tot het vee, tot het kruipend gedierte, en tot het gevogelte des hemels toe; want het berouwt Mij, dat Ik hen gemaakt heb.
E l’Eterno disse: “Io sterminerò di sulla faccia della terra l’uomo che ho creato: dall’uomo al bestiame, ai rettili, agli uccelli dei cieli; perché mi pento d’averli fatti”.
I rzekł Pan: Wygładzę człowieka, któregom stworzył, z oblicza ziemi, od człowieka aż do bydlęcia, aż do gadziny, i aż do ptastwa niebieskiego; bo mi żal, żem je uczynił.
И сказал Господь: истреблю с лица земли человеков, которых Я сотворил, от человека до скотов, и гадов и птиц небесных истреблю, ибо Я раскаялся, что создал их.
耶和華 說：「我要將 所 造的 人 和 走獸，並 昆蟲，以及 空中的 飛鳥，都從 地上 除滅，因為 我造他們 後悔了。」
And the Lord said, I will take away man, whom I have made, from the face of the earth, even man and beast and that which goes on the earth and every bird of the air; for I have sorrow for having made them.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 6:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree the language of God repenting in Genesis 6:7 is anthropomorphic, a way of speaking adapted to human understanding. The Hebrew verb nichamti (H5162) carries a range from “be sorry” to “have compassion,” but here it unmistakably conveys grief over human sin. Calvin notes that when God “said,” He decreed; there is no new counsel, no change in the eternal will. Matthew Henry writes that the expressions “do not imply any passion or uneasiness in God” but express His holy displeasure. Gill stresses the verb “destroy” (emcheh, H4229) means to wipe off or blot out, like dust from a surface. The consensus is that God’s immutability stands; the language accommodates our finitude while underscoring the reality of divine grief and the severity of sin. This lets believers hold together an unchanging God and a God who genuinely sorrows over rebellion.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Anthropomorphic accommodation: Majority view: language suited to human understanding; God’s essential nature does not change (Calvin, Matthew Henry, Gill).
- Real divine grief: God genuinely experiences sorrow, though not as a changeable emotion; related to His holiness and justice (Lange, some modern readings).
- Relational change: God alters His stance toward humanity in response to sin, without altering His character; seen in process-oriented theologies.
What is clear: God judges human sin decisively and is not indifferent to rebellion, and His actions are grounded in both holiness and grief.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropomorphism of divine regret | The language is accommodated to human understanding; God does not change in His essential being or eternal decrees. | Whether this reflects a real relational change in God’s stance toward humanity (some see genuine grief that is not mere appearance) or is purely figurative accommodation that has no counterpart in God’s inner life. |
| Destruction of animals | Animals perish because of human sin, not their own wrongdoing. | Whether this is primarily a consequence of human headship over creation (Calvin, Gill) or a judgment on creation that has been made subject to futility (Paul’s language in Romans 8). |
| Scope of 'regret' | God is genuinely grieved by the wickedness of humanity. | Whether the regret focuses exclusively on humans or includes the animals as well (Gill argues it takes in all creatures mentioned; others restrict it to humanity). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Genesis 6:7 sits at the hinge of the Flood narrative. In the preceding verses (6:1, 4), the “sons of God” intermarry with “daughters of men,” and the Nephilim appear. Verse 5 reports that every inclination of human thought is only evil continually. This sets the stage for divine judgment. The flood account itself draws on ancient Near Eastern flood stories, most famously the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the biblical version is distinctive: the cause is moral corruption, not divine whim. God’s decision to destroy extends beyond humanity to animals, creeping things, and birds. As Calvin explains, animals were created for man’s sake and shared his dominion; when man fell, they were drawn into his ruin. Gill and Wesley add that because creation’s purpose through humanity was frustrated, the animals perished with him. The phrase “from the face of the ground” (me’al penei ha’adamah) echoes the creation of man from the dust in Genesis 2:7, forming an inclusio: from dust they came, to dust they return. The judgment is total, yet hope glimmers, Noah will find favor (v. 8). This context shows that God’s grief is not abstract; it arises from real covenant relationship and the frustration of His creative purposes.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentaries and lexical sources note no significant textual variants for Genesis 6:7. The Hebrew text is stable across traditions. The main interpretive challenge is lexical and theological, not textual.
Reception History
Early church fathers such as Irenaeus and Augustine wrestled with this verse, using it to argue that God’s repentance is a metaphor that does not conflict with His immutability. Medieval interpreters often read the flood allegorically, seeing it as a type of baptism. Reformation commentators like Calvin stressed the decree of God and the accommodative nature of the language. The Wesleyan tradition emphasized the grief as a revelation of God’s heart against sin. Modern scholarship focuses on the literary structure of the Genesis narrative and the tension between anthropomorphism and theological precision.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s Decree: “I will wipe away man”, the certainty of judgment from the Creator.
- The Scope: “from man to beast”, sin’s contamination affects all creation.
- The Reason: “for I regret that I have made them”, divine grief over rebellion.
Five-point outline
- The Observation: God sees universal wickedness (v. 5).
- The Grief: “it grieved him to his heart” (v. 6).
- The Determination: “I will destroy man”, judgment announced.
- The Extent: animals included because creation is bound to humanity.
- The Hope: “but Noah found favor” (v. 8), grace interrupts wrath.
Illustration hooks
- A potter who shapes a beautiful vessel, only to find it marred, and chooses to crush it and begin again (based on Gill’s imagery from Jer 18).
- A judge who passes a death sentence not with cold detachment but with visible sorrow, knowing the prisoner was once a child with promise.
- The process of erasing a chalkboard: the chalk marks are wiped clean, leaving the board ready for a new message.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God is unchanging, how can He “repent”? What does this say about His emotions?
- Why does God include animals in the judgment? Were they sinful too?
- How can I trust a God who destroyed so many people, even children?
Leading a Discussion
Genesis 6:7 shows a side of God that can disturb us: He regrets making humanity. Yet this verse invites us to see the depth of His holiness and the reality of His sorrow over sin. The following questions will help your group wrestle with what divine grief means for our view of God and our own lives.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What phrases in verse 7 stand out to you? How does God describe His own actions and feelings?
- Interpretation: Why do you think God includes animals, birds, and creeping things in the judgment? What does that tell us about creation’s connection to humanity?
- Interpretation: The Hebrew word nichamti is translated “I regret” or “it repenteth me.” How is this different from human regret? How do Calvin and Matthew Henry help us understand it?
- Connection: Read Proverbs 16:4. How does God’s sovereignty over wickedness relate to His grief and judgment here?
- Application: If God grieves over sin, how should that shape the way we view our own sin and the sin around us?
- Application: Noah found favor (v. 8). How does grace break into this picture of judgment? Where do you see hope?
- Application: This passage shows God’s emotions in human language. How does knowing God can be grieved change your relationship with Him?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 24:1 | A Psalm by David. The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. |
| Psalms 24:2 | For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. |
| Psalms 37:20 | But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke. |
| Proverbs 10:27 | The fear of Yahweh prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. |
| Proverbs 16:4 | Yahweh has made everything for its own end— yes, even the wicked for the day of evil. |
| Jeremiah 4:22 | “For my people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.” |
| Jeremiah 4:27 | For Yahweh says, “The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. |
| Jeremiah 12:3 | But you, Yahweh, know me. You see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies the sons of God as the godly line of Seth, not angels, and the daughters of men as women from both Cainite and Sethite families. The sin is intermarriage based on physical attraction rather than spiritual character. He also notes that the 120 years refers to the remaining time for the human race, not an individual lifespan.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that God's "saying" here means a settled decree, not a spoken word. The language of deliberation is God's accommodation to human weakness, helping us see His justice. Animals are included because they were created for humanity's use and, when humanity fell, they were unavoidably swept into the same destruction.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This verse belongs to the J (Yahwist) tradition, which uses the divine name Jehovah and the Hebrew verb machah for "destroy." The Cambridge Bible notes that J presents God's decision to annihilate the race as a direct response to human sinfulness, contrasting with the P source's different vocabulary and framing.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes frame God’s declaration as a sorrowful reversal rather than simple anger. The repetition of "from man" emphasizes the total scope of judgment, extending even to animals and birds that shared in human corruption. This reading highlights the tragic cost of sin: when humanity falls, all creation suffers the consequences of that broken relationship.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that God's words are spoken within himself, not to anyone else. He pictures the destruction as wiping or blotting out sinful humanity like dust washed away by a flood. Gill also rejects the idea that God's repentance refers to Noah's grief, insisting it describes God's own sorrow over creation's corruption.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch argue that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 refers to the godly line of Seth, not to angels. They reject the angel view because the expression "sons of God" applies to pious men who bear God's image, and the preceding context already mentions godly individuals like Enoch. The antithesis with "daughters of men" describes two distinct groups within humanity, not angels and mortals.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange strongly defends the Sethite interpretation of the "sons of God" as pious descendants of Seth, not angels. He argues their intermarriage with Cainite women was driven by sensual lust, breaking the spiritual separation between the two lines and unleashing universal corruption that made the flood inevitable.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses that God's repentance and grief are figures of speech, not signs of change or distress in the eternal God. They express His holy displeasure against sin, like a father grieved by a rebellious child he had treated kindly.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley focuses on the original Hebrew word for "destroy" and finds it means to wipe off like dirt or erase a name from a roll. He also explains that the animals are included because they were created for humanity's use, and now humanity has corrupted their purpose.