Who Was Noah in the Bible? The Righteous Man Who Built the Ark

Noah was a righteous man who lived before the flood and who, at God's command, built an ark that saved his family and the animals when God judged the earth (Genesis 6:9-22). He entered the ark at 600 years old with his wife, his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives (Genesis 7:6-7). After the flood God made a covenant with Noah and every living creature, with the rainbow as its sign (Genesis 9:8-17). Every nation listed in Genesis 10 descends from his sons (Genesis 9:19; 10:32).

Quick Facts About Noah

Fact	Details
Name meaning	Often understood as related to "rest" or "comfort"; his father said he would comfort them in their toil (Genesis 5:29)
Testament	Old Testament
Key books	Genesis 5-10; also Ezekiel 14, Matthew 24, Hebrews 11, 1 and 2 Peter
Time period	Before the patriarchs; the Bible gives ages and genealogies, not calendar dates (Genesis 5; 11)
Family	Son of Lamech; father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 5:28-32)
Known for	Building the ark, surviving the flood, the rainbow covenant
Age at death	950 years (Genesis 9:29)

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Noah's Family Line

Noah was the son of Lamech, who was the son of Methuselah (Genesis 5:25-29). Methuselah lived 969 years, the highest age recorded in Scripture, which makes him the oldest person in the Bible (Genesis 5:27). Methuselah's father was Enoch, who walked faithfully with God and was taken by God without dying (Genesis 5:21-24; Hebrews 11:5).

When Noah was born, Lamech named him and said he would comfort them in the labor and painful toil caused by the ground the LORD had cursed (Genesis 5:29). After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 5:32).

Who Was Noah in the Bible? A Righteous Man in a Corrupt World

By Noah's time, the LORD saw that human wickedness had become great and that every inclination of the human heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). The earth was corrupt and full of violence (Genesis 6:11). The LORD regretted that He had made human beings and said He would wipe them from the face of the earth (Genesis 6:6-7). But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8).

The text describes Noah this way:

"This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." (Genesis 6:9)

The same phrase, walking faithfully with God, is used of his great-grandfather Enoch (Genesis 5:24).

Building the Ark

God told Noah that He was going to put an end to all people because of the violence on the earth (Genesis 6:13). He gave Noah instructions for an ark of cypress wood, coated with pitch inside and out, with rooms, a door in the side, and three decks (Genesis 6:14-16). It was to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high (Genesis 6:15). Using a cubit of about 18 inches, that is roughly 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

God promised to establish His covenant with Noah. Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons' wives would enter the ark, along with two of every kind of living creature, male and female, to keep them alive (Genesis 6:18-20). Noah was also to store food for his family and the animals (Genesis 6:21). His response is summarized in one sentence: "Noah did everything just as God commanded him" (Genesis 6:22).

Before the flood, the LORD gave further instructions. Noah was to take seven pairs of every kind of clean animal and every kind of bird, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal (Genesis 7:2-3). The common picture of every animal going in as a single pair leaves out these seven pairs.

The New Testament adds that Noah was "a preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5) and that God waited patiently while the ark was being built (1 Peter 3:20).

The Flood

Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came (Genesis 7:6). On the seventeenth day of the second month, the springs of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens opened. Rain fell for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:11-12). Noah, his family, and the animals entered the ark, and the LORD shut him in (Genesis 7:13-16).

The waters rose above the mountains, and every living thing on land outside the ark died (Genesis 7:19-23). Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left (Genesis 7:23). The waters flooded the earth for 150 days (Genesis 7:24).

The Waters Recede

God remembered Noah and the animals with him and sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded (Genesis 8:1). On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4).

After forty more days, Noah opened a window and sent out a raven, which flew back and forth until the water dried up (Genesis 8:6-7). He then sent out a dove, which found nowhere to land and returned. Seven days later he sent the dove again, and it came back in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf. Seven days after that, the dove did not return (Genesis 8:8-12).

The ground was completely dry by the twenty-seventh day of the second month of Noah's 601st year, a little over a year after the flood began (Genesis 7:11; 8:13-14). God then told Noah to come out with his family and every living creature (Genesis 8:15-19).

The Altar and the Covenant

Noah's first recorded act after leaving the ark was to build an altar and sacrifice burnt offerings of clean animals and birds (Genesis 8:20). The LORD said He would never again destroy all living creatures as He had done, and that seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night would not cease while the earth endures (Genesis 8:21-22).

God blessed Noah and his sons and told them to be fruitful and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). He gave them animals for food but forbade eating meat with its lifeblood still in it (Genesis 9:3-4). He also required an accounting for human life, because God made mankind in His image (Genesis 9:5-6).

God then established a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature: never again would a flood destroy all life on the earth. The sign of this covenant was the rainbow in the clouds (Genesis 9:9-16).

Noah's Vineyard and His Sons

Noah, described as a man of the soil, planted a vineyard. He drank some of its wine, became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent (Genesis 9:20-21). Ham saw his father naked and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth walked in backward with a garment and covered their father without looking (Genesis 9:22-23).

When Noah woke up and learned what had happened, he pronounced a curse on Canaan, Ham's son, and blessings related to Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:24-27). The text records the event and Noah's words without explaining every detail.

Noah lived 350 years after the flood and died at 950 (Genesis 9:28-29). The genealogy of his son Shem leads to Abraham (Genesis 11:10-26).

Noah in the Rest of Scripture

Through the prophet Ezekiel, God named Noah alongside Daniel and Job as examples of righteous men who could save only themselves (Ezekiel 14:14, 14:20). Isaiah compares God's promise of lasting kindness to His oath that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth (Isaiah 54:9).

Jesus spoke of the days of Noah as a picture of His return:

"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:37)

He said people were eating, drinking, and marrying until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came (Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27). Luke includes Noah in the genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:36). Hebrews says Noah built the ark by faith, in holy fear, when warned about things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:7). Peter writes that eight people were saved through water and connects the flood with baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21).

Key Lessons From Noah's Life

• God sees righteousness in a corrupt age. Noah found favor with the LORD when the world around him was full of violence (Genesis 6:8-11).
• Faith shows itself in obedience. Noah did everything God commanded, over a long building project (Genesis 6:22; Hebrews 11:7).
• God judges sin and also provides a way of rescue. The same flood that judged the earth carried the ark (Genesis 7:17-23).
• God keeps His covenant. The rainbow is the sign of His promise never again to destroy all life by flood (Genesis 9:11-16).
• Faithful people still fail. Noah's drunkenness is recorded plainly after the flood (Genesis 9:20-21).

Where Noah Appears in the Bible

• Genesis 5:28-32: Birth and family
• Genesis 6-8: The ark and the flood
• Genesis 9: The covenant, the vineyard, and his death
• Genesis 10:1, 10:32 and 1 Chronicles 1:4: His sons and their descendants
• Isaiah 54:9 and Ezekiel 14:14, 14:20
• Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:26-27: Jesus' teaching on the days of Noah
• Luke 3:36: The genealogy of Jesus
• Hebrews 11:7, 1 Peter 3:20 and 2 Peter 2:5

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Noah in the Bible?

Noah was a righteous man who walked faithfully with God and built the ark at God's command (Genesis 6:9, 6:22). He, his wife, his three sons, and their wives survived the flood, and God made a covenant with him afterward (Genesis 7:7; 9:9-11).

How old was Noah when the flood came?

Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came on the earth (Genesis 7:6). He lived 350 more years and died at 950 (Genesis 9:28-29).

How many people were on Noah's ark?

Eight people were on the ark: Noah, his wife, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their three wives (Genesis 7:13; 1 Peter 3:20).

How long was Noah in the ark?

The flood began in the second month of Noah's 600th year, and the earth was dry on the twenty-seventh day of the second month of his 601st year, a little over one year (Genesis 7:11; 8:14).

Where did Noah's ark land?

The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Genesis 8:4). The Bible names the mountain range but does not identify a specific peak.