Genesis 6:5

My Notes

What Does Genesis 6:5 Mean?

The narrator describes the condition of humanity before the flood with devastating completeness: 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.

GOD saw — the divine perspective is the authoritative assessment. This is not a prophet's opinion or a historian's summary. God himself surveyed the human condition and rendered the verdict.

The wickedness of man was great in the earth — great (rabbah) means much, abundant, extensive. Wickedness was not isolated or occasional. It was pervasive — covering the earth, dominating human experience, present everywhere God looked.

Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart — the assessment goes internal. Not just actions but intentions. Not just behavior but the imagination (yetser — the formation, the shaping of thought). The very faculty that produces ideas was corrupted. Every formation of every thought of the heart — the most comprehensive interior description possible.

Was only evil — only (raq) excludes any admixture of good. Not mostly evil. Not predominantly evil. Only evil. The assessment is absolute: the interior life of humanity produced nothing but evil. The word only eliminates any qualifying exception.

Continually (kol hayom) — literally 'all the day.' Not occasionally. Not in weak moments. All day, every day, without interruption. The evil was constant — a continuous stream with no break, no pause, no intermission of goodness.

The verse is the most comprehensive description of total depravity in the Old Testament: every imagination, of the thoughts, of the heart, only evil, continually. Every level of the interior life — imagination, thought, heart — is corrupted. Every qualifier pushes toward totality. The human condition before the flood was comprehensively, uninterruptedly, exclusively evil.

Verse 6 follows: and it repented the LORD that he had made man. The condition described in v.5 is what provoked the flood.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does the phrase 'every imagination of the thoughts of his heart' reveal about how deeply corruption reaches?
• 2.How do the words 'only' and 'continually' eliminate any optimistic reading of the human condition apart from God?
• 3.Why is this verse the necessary backdrop for understanding grace — and how does the depth of corruption measure the depth of redemption?
• 4.Where do you see evidence of this verse's diagnosis in the world — and in yourself — and how does the gospel respond to it?

Devotional

GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. God saw. Not rumors. Not reports. God looked at the human race and saw wickedness — not in a corner, not in a few individuals. Great wickedness. Everywhere. Covering the earth like a flood before the flood.

Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Read it slowly. Every imagination. Not some. Every. Of the thoughts — the ideas, the plans, the internal formations. Of his heart — the deepest center of human identity. Only evil — nothing else. No mixture. No exception. Continually — all day, every day, without pause.

This is the most complete description of human corruption in the Bible. It goes as deep as language can go: every level of the interior life — imagination, thought, heart — and at every level the verdict is the same: only evil. Always. Without interruption.

The verse is not comfortable. It was not meant to be. It is the diagnosis that explains the flood. It is the backdrop against which grace becomes astonishing. Because if this is what humanity is capable of — only evil continually — then every moment of goodness, every act of redemption, every breath of grace is a miracle. The human heart, left to itself, produces only evil. Everything else is God's intervention.

This is why the gospel is good news. Not because humans are basically good and just need encouragement. But because humans are capable of only evil continually — and God chose to save them anyway. The depth of the corruption is the measure of the grace. And the grace is greater.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture