What is the meaning of Genesis 6:1? Now when men began to multiply • God’s first mandate to humanity was, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Genesis 6:1 shows that this command was being fulfilled literally as generations followed Adam’s line (Genesis 5). • Rapid population growth marks the period just before the Flood; Jesus later linked that busy, thriving society with the time immediately prior to His return (Matthew 24:37-38). • The multiplication of people emphasizes both human blessing and human sin: more image-bearers on earth (Genesis 9:6), yet also more hearts “only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). on the face of the earth • The phrase underscores the global scope of humanity’s spread—people were no longer clustered in one region but scattered “over all the earth” (cf. Genesis 11:4, 8-9). • This wide distribution highlights God’s patience; He let sin grow to a worldwide scale before judging it with a worldwide Flood (Genesis 6:11-13). • “Face of the earth” also reminds us that God sees everything done under heaven (Psalm 33:13-15; Proverbs 15:3) and holds all accountable. and daughters were born to them • Mentioning daughters sets up the next verse, where “the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful” (Genesis 6:2). • Genealogies in Genesis often note unnamed daughters alongside sons (Genesis 5:4); here the focus on daughters points to intermarriage that would compromise godly lines (cf. Exodus 34:16; 2 Corinthians 6:14). • The verse reminds us that every child, son or daughter, expands the reach of either righteousness or rebellion, influencing entire generations (Proverbs 20:7). summary Genesis 6:1 records a literal, explosive growth of humanity across the whole earth, fulfilling God’s creation mandate but also multiplying sin. The spotlight on daughters anticipates the moral crisis of intermarriage that precipitated God’s judgment through the Flood. |
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