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Genesis 6

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1 It happened, when men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,

2 that God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took for themselves wives of all that they chose.

3 Yahweh said, "My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; yet will his days be one hundred twenty years."

4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters. They bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

5 Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.

7 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."

8 But Noah found favor in Yahweh's eyes.

9 This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.

10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

13 God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.

15 This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship will be three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

16 You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels.

17 I, even I, do bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die.

18 But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

19 Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.

20 Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come to you, to keep them alive.

21 Take with you of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them."

22 Thus Noah did. According to all that God commanded him, so he did.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 598

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598. 'He found grace in Jehovah's eyes' means that the Lord foresaw that the human race could in that way be saved. The mercy of the Lord entails and looks to the salvation of the whole human race; and so does His grace. Consequently, the salvation of the human race is meant. 'Noah' means not only a new Church but also the faith of that Church, which was a faith that inhered in charity. The Lord accordingly foresaw that it would be possible for the human race to be saved by means of faith that inhered in charity. Such faith will be dealt with later on.

[2] In the Word however a distinction is made between mercy and grace, a distinction which depends in fact on differences in those who are their recipients. Mercy applies to those who are celestial, but grace to those who are spiritual, for celestial people acknowledge nothing other than mercy, while spiritual acknowledge hardly anything other than grace. Celestial people do not know what grace is, while the spiritual scarcely know what mercy is, for they make mercy and grace to be one and the same. The reason for the difference springs from each one's humility. People in whom there is humility of heart plead for the Lord's mercy, but those in whom there is humility of mind (cogitatio) seek His grace. Or if the latter do plead for mercy they do so in a state of temptation or with the lips only and not with the heart. Since the new Church called Noah was not celestial but spiritual, it is not said to have found mercy but to have found grace in Jehovah's eyes.

[3] The distinction made in the Word between mercy and grace is clear from very many places where Jehovah is said to be merciful and gracious, as in Psalms 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; Joel 2:13. The same distinction is made elsewhere, as in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, when He went to give rest to Israel. From afar Jehovah appeared to me. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with mercy. Jeremiah 31:2-3.

Here 'grace' has reference to what is spiritual and 'mercy' to what is celestial. In Isaiah,

Therefore Jehovah will wait to grant you grace, and therefore He will exalt Himself to be merciful to you. Isaiah 30:18.

Here similarly 'grace' has regard to what is spiritual and 'mercy' to what is celestial. And further on [in Genesis] where Lot is addressing the angels,

Behold now, Your servant has found grace in Your eyes, and You have magnified Your mercy which You have shown to me in causing my soul to live. Genesis 19:19.

Here also it is clear that since he is spoken of as 'having found grace in Your eyes' grace has regard to spiritual things which are matters of faith or of the understanding. And since the expressions 'to have magnified mercy' and 'to have caused my soul to live' are used, it is equally clear that mercy has regard to celestial things, which are matters of love or of the will.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.