Genesis 6:9

Noah was a just man. A new subtitle introduces Noah’s history and that of the Flood. The author presents, first, the reasons why Noah had found grace in God’s sight and was spared during the coming destruction. It was not some divine whim that made him the recipient of God’s favor, but a life that was in harmony with God’s will. Noah is characterized by three expressions, each one placing him in a most favorable light in contrast with his contemporaries. He was a “just man.” The word “just” does not imply spotless innocence, but uprightness, honesty, virtue. It is noteworthy that he is not merely called “just,” but a “just man.” To live an exemplary life in Noah’s time required a man who could stand fearlessly and steadfastly against evil inducements, subtle temptations, and vile mockery. He was no weakling, void of judgment or will power; he was a “man,” strong of conviction, straight in thinking and action.

Perfect in his generations. The second attribute points to Noah as being “blameless in his generation,” RSV. This does not mean that he lived in a state of sinlessness, but rather of moral integrity. It refers not only to Noah’s lifetime of piety but also to the constancy of his religion amid the miasma of iniquity in which he lived. To be sure, he was of pure descent, and in that respect also distinct from his contemporaries, many of whom were the offspring of promiscuous marriages between the godly and the ungodly.

Noah walked with God. Third, Noah’s life resembled that of his pious ancestor Enoch (see ch. 5:22, 24), who had been translated to eternal glory only 69 years before Noah’s birth. During his own childhood, when Enoch’s translation was still vivid in the memory of the older generation, Noah must have heard much of that godly man’s life.

But the fact that Noah is thus described does not imply that by his own efforts he had attained unto righteousness. Like all others who are true children of God, he was saved by faith in God (see Heb. 11:7).