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Easter Season · A Third Reading Easter Vigil · Year A

Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13

The Flood

April 5, 2026

Noah's Ark, Edward Hicks
Noah's Ark, Edward Hicks, 1846Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Hicks, the Quaker sign painter, lines the animals up two by two in a procession that reads left to right like a lettered board, with the ark waiting at the end.It is the reading, painted by a man who spent his life painting the peace that was supposed to follow.Edward HicksAn American Quaker minister and sign painter who painted the same prophecy more than sixty times, each version a little darker than the last.Philadelphia Museum of Art, PhiladelphiaOne of the largest American museums, with a notable holding of Tanner, who trained in the city under Thomas Eakins.Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Revised Common Lectionary
Old TestamentGen. 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13Gn 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13
PsalterPs. 46Ps 46

Overview & Insights

“And the waters prevailed on the earth… but God remembered Noah.” (Genesis 7:24-8:1)

This passage explains why God had to judge the inhabited earth with a deluge (6:9–8:22). It has two distinct sections: a description of the rapid increase in population, when the sons of God married daughters of men (vv. 1–4), and God’s response to human violence (vv. 5–8).

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Take it further: Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13

Commentary

Commentary on Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13Commentary on Gn 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13 Working Preacher

Working Preacher's own Vigil of Easter commentary on the Flood reading, by Old Testament scholar Patricia Tull, reading the covenant after the waters recede.

Genesis 7 Commentary: God Destroys the World with a FloodGn 7 Commentary: God Destroys the World with a Flood Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse evangelical commentary walking through Noah entering the ark and the rising floodwaters.

Genesis 7 CommentaryGn 7 Commentary Precept Austin

A deep collection of cross-referenced notes and quotations from many expositors on the Flood narrative.

Genesis 7:1 CommentariesGn 7:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentators (Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, and others) on the opening of the Flood account.

Background & Word Study

Book of Genesis Summary (Part 1)Book of Gn Summary (Part 1) BibleProject

An animated overview of Genesis 1 to 11, placing the Flood within the primeval history and its arc from creation to covenant.

Genesis 7:1 InterlinearGn 7:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Word-by-word Hebrew with parsing and Strong's numbers for close study of the Flood text.

Genesis 7Gn 7 Sefaria

The Hebrew text with Jewish commentary layers for the original-language reading of the Flood.

The Church Fathers

Genesis 7Gn 7 Catena

Patristic and early-church comments gathered verse by verse, reading the ark and flood as figures of salvation and baptism.

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