Genesis 6:21

And take thou unto 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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:12-21 God told Noah his purpose to destroy the wicked world by water. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, Ps 25:14. It is with all believers, enabling them to understand and apply the declarations and warnings of the written word. God chose to do it by a flood of waters, which should drown the world. As he chooses the rod with which he corrects his children, so he chooses the sword with which he cuts off his enemies. God established his covenant with Noah. This is the first place in the Bible where the word 'covenant' is found; it seems to mean, 1. The covenant of providence; that the course of nature shall be continued to the end of time. 2. The covenant of grace; that God would be a God to Noah, and that out of his seed God would take to himself a people. God directed Noah to make an ark. This ark was like the hulk of a ship, fitted to float upon the waters. It was very large, half the size of St. Paul's cathedral, and would hold more than eighteen of the largest ships now used. God could have secured Noah without putting him to any care, or pains, or trouble; but employed him in making that which was to be the means to preserve him, for the trial of his faith and obedience. Both the providence of God, and the grace of God, own and crown the obedient and diligent. God gave Noah particular orders how to make the ark, which could not therefore but be well fitted for the purpose. God promised Noah that he and his family should be kept alive in the ark. What we do in obedience to God, we and our families are likely to have the benefit of. The piety of parents gets their children good in this life, and furthers them in the way to eternal life, if they improve it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And of all the living. - For the sake of Noah, the animal species also shall be preserved, "two of each, male and female." They are to come in pairs for propagation. The fowl, the cattle, the creeping thing or smaller animals, are to come. From this it appears that the wild animals are not included among the inmates of the ark. (See Genesis 7:2-3, Genesis 7:8.) The word "all" is not to be pressed beyond the specification of the writer. As the deluge was universal only in respect to the human race, it was not necessary to include any animals but those that were near man, and within the range of the overwhelming waters. Fodder and other provisions for a year have to be laid in.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18. But with thee will I establish my covenant—a special promise of deliverance, called a covenant, to convince him of the confidence to be reposed in it. The substance and terms of this covenant are related at Ge 6:19-21.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Genesis 1:29-30.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten,.... By man and beast; of which see Genesis 1:29.

and thou shall gather it to thee; to lay up in the ark:

and it shall be for food for thee, and for them: during the flood, a quantity sufficient for them: and according to the calculation of learned men (n), well versed in mathematics, there was room enough in the ark, and to spare, to put food for them all during the time the flood was on the earth.

(n) Buteo de Area Noe, Wilkins's Essay towards a real Character, Bedford's Chronology, &c.

Geneva Study Bible

And take thou unto 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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

21. of all food that is eaten] Presumably vegetables, cereals, and fruit. Cf. Genesis 1:29.

Genesis 6:21

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Noah was to build this ark, because God was about to bring a flood upon the earth, and would save him, with his family, and one pair of every kind of animal. מבּוּל, (the flood), is an archaic word, coined expressly for the waters of Noah (Isaiah 54:9), and is used nowhere else except Psalm 29:10. הארץ על מים is in apposition to mabbul: "I bring the flood, waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is a living breath" (i.e., man and beast). With Noah, God made a covenant. On בּרית see Genesis 15:18. As not only the human race, but the animal world also was to be preserved through Noah, he was to take with him into the ark his wife, his sons and their wives, and of every living thing, of all flesh, two of every sort, a male and a female, to keep them alive; also all kinds of food for himself and family, and for the sustenance of the beasts.