But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God's promise to Noah isn't just about survival; it's about God initiating a covenant relationship, meaning He's establishing a new way of interacting with humanity based on His faithfulness, not their merit. This means Noah and his family are not just passengers on a ship, but the foundation of a renewed world under God's solemn commitment.
But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
English Standard Version (ESV)
In the face of overwhelming human wickedness and violence, God reveals His intention to destroy all life on Earth with a great flood. However, God singles out Noah, a righteous man, to spare and preserve. To reassure Noah amidst this catastrophic judgment, God establishes a covenant with him, promising preservation and a future for his lineage.
Why does God call His promise to Noah a 'covenant'? It's not just a casual guarantee, but a profound commitment.
In Genesis 6:18, God declares, 'But with you I will establish my covenant.' This isn't simply a promise of protection; it's a formal establishment of a binding agreement.
A Covenant of Providence and Grace
The verse lists specific people entering the ark. Who are they, and why is this detail so crucial to God's plan?
The verse explicitly states, '...you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.' This isn't just about Noah; it's about his entire household.
A Collective Preservation
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Understand the original words
berit · Hebrew Noun
A formal, solemn, and binding agreement between God and human beings, often involving promises and obligations. In this context, it refers to God's gracious commitment to preserve Noah and his family despite the coming judgment.
This verse marks a pivotal moment where God's judgment on a thoroughly corrupt world pivots to a promise of preservation and a new beginning, anchored in a covenant with one faithful family.
c. 10000 BC - 4000 BC
Pre-Flood Era of Extreme Wickedness
Humanity, despite its creation in God's image, falls into profound corruption, violence, and wickedness, leading God to regret creating humankind.
c. 10000 BC - 4000 BC
Noah Found Favor with God
Amidst widespread corruption, Noah is described as righteous and blameless, walking with God. This sets the stage for God's intervention through Noah.
c. 10000 BC - 4000 BC
God Commands Noah to Build the Ark
God instructs Noah to construct a massive ark, detailing its dimensions and purpose as a vessel of preservation.
c. 10000 BC - 4000 BC— this verse
God Establishes Covenant with Noah
God promises to establish His covenant with Noah, ensuring his safety and that of his family within the ark during the coming destruction.
c. 10000 BC - 4000 BC
Noah and Family Enter the Ark
Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives enter the ark as instructed by God.
c. 10000 BC - 4000 BC
The Great Flood Begins
The destructive floodwaters are unleashed upon the earth, beginning the cataclysmic event that purges the world of its wickedness.
This passage directly follows the flood narrative and details God's reaffirmation of His covenant with Noah and all living creatures, symbolized by the rainbow, which explicitly extends the promise made in Genesis 6:18.
Isaiah 54:9-10This prophetic passage uses the language of Noah's covenant to describe God's enduring faithfulness and steadfast love, assuring His people that such overwhelming judgment will not come again, echoing the protective nature of the covenant established in Genesis 6:18.
1 Peter 3:20-21The Apostle Peter explicitly connects the salvation of Noah's family through the ark to baptism, highlighting the ark as a symbol of spiritual rescue and the covenant God made with Noah as a foreshadowing of God's saving grace.
Hebrews 11:7This verse emphasizes Noah's faith in acting upon God's word concerning the ark and the coming flood, directly linking his obedience in entering the ark with his inheritance of righteousness, which stems from the covenant God made with him.
calvinGenesis 6:1-22: "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,"
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Gigantes fuerunt in terra in diebus illis: et etiam postquam ingressi sunt filii Dei ad filias hominum, genuerunt eis: isti sunt potentes, qui a saec…
gillGenesis 6:18: "But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."
But with thee will I establish my covenant,.... Made with Noah at this time, though not expressed, that on his making an ark, as God directed him, and going into it at his command, he would preserve him while building it from the rage of wicked men, and save him in it and his family, when the flood should come; and that they should come s…
God's promise to Noah isn't just about survival; it's about God initiating a covenant relationship, meaning He's establishing a new way of interacting with humanity based on His faithfulness, not their merit. This means Noah and his family are not just passengers on a ship, but the foundation of a renewed world under God's solemn commitment.
In the face of overwhelming human wickedness and violence, God reveals His intention to destroy all life on Earth with a great flood. However, God singles out Noah, a righteous man, to spare and preserve. To reassure Noah amidst this catastrophic judgment, God establishes a covenant with him, promising preservation and a future for his lineage.
In the face of overwhelming human wickedness and violence, God reveals His intention to destroy all life on Earth with a great flood. However, God singles out Noah, a righteous man, to spare and preserve. To reassure Noah amidst this catastrophic judgment, God establishes a covenant with him, promising preservation and a future for his lineage.
"But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you." — God's promise to Noah isn't just about survival; it's about God initiating a covenant relationship, meaning He's establishing a new way of interacting with humanity based on His faithfulness, not the…
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Last reviewed October 2026