Genesis 6:3

Genesis 6:3

And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty.

a. NLT: Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.] 

b. ASV: And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: And Jehovah saith, 'My Spirit doth not strive in man -- to the age; in their erring they are flesh:' and his days have been an hundred and twenty years. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Classic: Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not forever dwell and strive with man, for he also is flesh; but his days shall yet be 120 years. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Stone Edition of the Chumash: And HASHEM said, “My spirit shall not contend evermore concerning Man since he is but flesh; his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

1. “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man…”

a. [And the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

b. said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

c. [My] spirit [Strong: 7307 ruwach roo'-akh from 7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions):--air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit((-ual)), tempest, X vain, ((whirl-))wind(-y).]

d. [shall] not [Strong: 3808 lo' lo or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

e. always [Strong: 5769 `owlam o-lawm' or lolam {o-lawm'}; from 5956; properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always:--alway(-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, (n-))ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end).]

f. strive [Strong: 1777 diyn deen or (Gen. 6:3) duwn {doon}; a primitive roy a straight course, i.e. sail direct:--(come) with a straight course.][Gesenius: to subdue, subjugate, to judge, condemn, to punish, to contend with, to contend together.]

g. [with] man [Strong: 120 'adam aw-dawm' from 119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):--X another, + hypocrite, + common sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person.]

1).I think it is significant this was said by God immediately after the the beginning of the the horrible infraction of angels fornicating with human women. The context of where this verse is placed is critical, inbetween two verses describing fornication between angels and women (Genesis 6:2), and the result of that fornication, giants, (Genesis 6:4). In the following two commentaries we find two completely different interpretations of the phrase, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.”

2). Gill’s Exposition of the Bible: “…God himself is meant, and that the sense is, my Spirit shall not always contend within myself; or there shall not always be contention within me concerning man, whether I shall destroy him, or have mercy on him; I am at a point to punish him, since he is wholly carnal: or rather this is to be understood of the Holy Spirit of God, as the Targum of Jonathan, which agrees with 1 Peter 3:18 and to be thus interpreted; that the Spirit of God, which had been litigating and reasoning the point, as men do in a court of judicature, as the word signifies, with these men in the court, and at the bar of their own consciences, by one providence or by one minister or another, particularly by Noah, a preacher of righteousness, in vain, and to no purpose; therefore, he determines to proceed no longer in this way, but pass and execute the sentence of condemnation on them.”

3). Barne’s Notes: “From this passage we learn that the Lord by his Spirit strives with man up to a certain point. In this little negative sentence streams out the bright light of God's free and tender mercy to the apostate race of man. He sends his Spirit to irradiate the darkened mind, to expostulate with the conscience, to prompt and strengthen holy resolve, and to bring back the heart, the confidence, the affection to God. He effects the blessed result of repentance toward God in some, who are thus proved to be born of God. But it is a solemn thought that with others he will not strive perpetually. There is a certain point beyond which he will not go, for sufficient reasons known fully to himself, partly to us.”

2. “…for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty.”

a. for [that ] [Strong: 1571 gam gam by contraction from an unused root meaning to gather; properly, assemblage; used only adverbially also, even, yea, though; often repeated as correl. both...and:--again, alike, also, (so much) as (soon), both (so)...and , but, either...or, even, for all, (in) likewise (manner), moreover, nay...neither, one, then(-refore), though, what, with, yea.]

b. he [also is] [Strong: 1931 huw' hoo of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is hiyw {he}; a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular, he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are:--he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.

c. flesh [Strong: 1320 basar baw-sawr' from 1319; flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphem.) the pudenda of a man:--body, (fat, lean) flesh(-ed), kin, (man-)kind, + nakedness, self, skin.]

d. yet his [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.

e. days [Strong: 3117 yowm yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.]

f. [Strong: 7683 shagag shaw-gag' a primitive root; to stray, i.e. (figuratively) sin (with more or less apology):--X also for that, deceived, err, go astray, sin ignorantly.]

g. [shall be an] hundred and twenty [Strong: 3967 me'ah may-aw' or metyah {may-yaw'}; properly, a primitive numeral; a hundred; also as a multiplicative and a fraction:--hundred((-fold), -th), + sixscore.]

h. [Strong: 6242 `esriym es-reem' from 6235; twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth:--(six-)score, twenty(-ieth).]

i. years [Strong: 8141 shaneh shaw-neh' (in plura or (feminine) shanah {shaw-naw'}; from 8138; a year (as a revolution of time):--+ whole age, X long, + old, year(X -ly).]

1). Rabbinic Commentary, Chumash, notes under Genesis 6:3: God would wait 120 years before bringing the Flood, so that mankind would have ample time to repent (Rashi, Ramban)’ Others interpret that the human life span would gradually decrease until it would be a maximum of 120 years (Ibn Ezra).

2). I believe what is probably being said here is the LORD was saying, because of this incident man has 120 years before I send a flood to destroy them. Many in the church have mistakenly taught and believed that this verse implies it took Noah 120 years to build the ark, but this is not so. Before God ever gave Noah instructions to build the ark, Noah already had his three sons.

a). Genesis 6:9, 10 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

3). In fact in Genesis 6:14-20 when the LORD gave the instructions for the building of the ark, Noah’s sons were already married (Genesis 6:18).

a). Genesis 6:14-18 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

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.

4). Shem, the oldest of Noah’s sons was 100 years old, two years after the flood.

). Genesis 11:10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 

5). If Shem was grown and married before Noah was told to build the ark and 2 years after the flood Shem was 100 years old, it is impossible that it took 120 years to build the ark. What I believe the actual meaning of this verse is that from the beginning of the intermingling of “the sons of God”, i.e., angels with the daughters of men, till the flood was 120 years. If I am correct on this point then the sexual intermingling of angels and human women occurred 20 years before Noah began having children. Noah did not begin having children until he was 500 years old, and the flood began when he was 600.

a). Genesis 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

b). Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

6). My personal opinion of what this verse means is, and it is not original with me, i had heard it from someone else.: The eventual result of the horrible situation of angels fornicating with women would have contaminate human DNA, and thus jeopardizing the plan of redemption, because the Messiah must come through the seed of the woman and if all the DNA pool of women and men were contaminated through this intermingling, it would stop the plan of redemption. Or so this theory goes. God also being omniscient, knows it will take 120 years for the total irreversible effect of the contamination to be complete, giving man 120 years until he will destroy all who have been contaminated. During those years, Noah preached righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), and God was longsuffering (1 Peter 3:20), not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:8). The message of righteousness that Noah preached would result in a lifestyle that would prevent the contamination. When it was known by God that all flesh had been contaminated except for Noah and his family, the flood came.