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Genesis 6

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1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose.

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

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them: the same became mighty men, who were of old, men of renown.

5 And GOD 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 And the LORD repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping animal, and the fowls of the air; for I repent that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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

12 And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

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

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

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 its side: with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

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

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.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female.

20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping animal of the earth after its kind, two of every sort shall come to thee, to keep them alive.

21 And take thou to thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

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

   

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Arcana Coelestia #10441

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10441. 'And repent [of the evil] against Your people' means having mercy on them. This is clear from the meaning of 'repenting', when it has reference to Jehovah, as having mercy. The reason why 'repenting' means having mercy is that Jehovah does not ever repent, since He foresees and makes provision for all things from eternity. Repentance is a reaction that can take place only in someone who has no knowledge of the future and who sees, as events unfold, that he has made a mistake. Nevertheless the Word speaks of Jehovah's reacting in that kind of way because the sense of the letter consists of ideas of things as man sees them. For it is intended for very simple people and for young children, who at first go no further than that sense. Also young children and very simple people's interests lie in the most external things, from which they start out and in which after this their inner thoughts and feelings terminate. For this reason the Word in the letter must be understood differently by those who have become wiser.

[2] The situation with the Word is similar to that with the human being. Everything within him terminates in flesh and bones; these are the container of everything there. Unless they existed in place of a foundation or support a person could not remain in being; for he would have no final level in which all things within him could terminate and on which they could rest. The situation is similar with the Word. This must have a final level in which everything within it terminates; that final level is the sense of the letter, and the inner things are the heavenly matters belonging to the internal sense. From all this it is now evident that the way things appear to man is the reason why Jehovah is said to repent, when in fact He does not repent.

[3] The fact that Jehovah is said to repent is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as the following: In Jeremiah,

If [a nation] does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, I will repent of the good with which I said I would benefit it. Jeremiah 18:10.

In the same prophet,

It may be that they will listen and every man turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil which I am thinking to do to them on account of the wickedness of their doings. Jeremiah 26:3.

In Ezekiel,

When My anger is accomplished and I make My wrath rest on them, I will repent. Ezekiel 5:13.

In Amos,

Jehovah repented. It shall not happen, He said. Amos 7:3, 6.

In Moses,

Jehovah will judge His people, and repent over 1 His servants. Deuteronomy 32:36.

In Jonah,

The king of Nineveh said, Who knows, God may turn and be moved to repentance 2 , and turn from the heat of His anger, and we may not perish! And they turned from their evil way; therefore God repented of the evil which He had said He would do to them, so that He did not do it. Jonah 3:9-10.

In the Book of Genesis,

Jehovah repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Genesis 6:6.

In the first Book of Samuel,

I have repented that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me. 1 Samuel 15:11, 35.

[4] From these places which speak of Jehovah's having repented, when in fact He cannot repent since He knows all things before He does them, it is evident that 'repenting' means having mercy. The fact that Jehovah never repents is also clear from the Word, as in Moses,

Jehovah 3 is not a man (vir), that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will not act? Or has He spoken, and will not carry it out? Numbers 23:19.

And in the first Book of Samuel,

The Invincible One of Israel does not lie, nor does He repent, for He is not a man (homo), that He should repent. 1 Samuel 15:29.

The fact that when Jehovah is said to repent His mercy is meant is clear in Joel,

Jehovah is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and great in compassion, and One who is accustomed to repent of evil. Joel 2:13.

And in Jonah,

God is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and great in kindness, and One who repents of evil. Jonah 4:2.

Fußnoten:

1. i.e. has compassion on

2. literally, be led by repentance

3. The Hebrew at this point uses the word meaning God.

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