Genesis 6:18

6:18 but I will confirm ¹  my covenant with you. You will enter ²  the ark – you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

Genesis 7:1

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ³ 

Genesis 7:23

7:23 So the Lord ⁴  destroyed ⁵  every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. ⁶  They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. ⁷ 

Genesis 8:16

8:16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you.

Ezekiel 14:14

14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, ⁸  and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.

Ezekiel 14:20

14:20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.

Ezekiel 14:1

Well-Deserved Judgment

14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me.

Ezekiel 3:20

3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle ⁹  before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

¹ tn The Hebrew verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive (picking up the future sense from the participles) from קוּם (qum, “to rise up”). This may refer to the confirmation or fulfillment of an earlier promise, but it is more likely that it anticipates the unconditional promise made to humankind following the flood (see Gen 9:9, 11, 17).

² tn The perfect verb form with vav (ו) consecutive is best understood as specific future, continuing God’s description of what will happen (see vv. 17-18a).

³ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).

⁶ tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (sha’ar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root só’r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.

⁸ sn Traditionally this has been understood as a reference to the biblical Daniel, though he was still quite young when Ezekiel prophesied. One wonders if he had developed a reputation as an intercessor by this point. For this reason some prefer to see a reference to a ruler named Danel, known in Canaanite legend for his justice and wisdom. In this case all three of the individuals named would be non-Israelites, however the Ugaritic Danel is not known to have qualities of faith in the Lord that would place him in the company of the other men. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:447-50.

⁹ tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.