Noah, the Ark, and the Promise of Zion

"And Noah was four hundred and fifty years old, and begat Japheth, and forty-two years afterwards, he begat Shem of her who was the mother of Japheth, and when he was five hundred years old, he begat Ham. And Noah and his sons hearkened unto the Lord, and gave heed; and they were called the sons of God.

"And when these men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, the sons of men saw that their daughters were fair, and they took them wives even as they chose. And the Lord said unto Noah, The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves, for behold, mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not hearken to my voice.

"And it came to pass, that Noah prophesied, and taught the things of God, even as it was in the beginning. And the Lord said unto Noah, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for he shall know that all flesh shall die, yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years; and if men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them.

"And in those days there were giants on the earth and they sought Noah to take away his life; but the Lord was with Noah, and the power of the Lord was upon him; and the Lord ordained Noah after his own order, and commanded him that he should go forth and declare his gospel unto the children of men even as it was given unto Enoch. And it came to pass that Noah called upon the children of men, that they should repent, but they hearkened not unto his words. And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him, saying, Behold, we are the sons of God, have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? and are we not eating and drinking, and marrying and given in marriage? and our wives bear unto us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto them of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah.

"And God saw that the wickedness of man had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart; being only evil continually. And it came to pass, that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying, Hearken and give heed unto my words, believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers did and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if you do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless, they hearkened not. And it repented Noah, and his heart was pained, that the Lord had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

"And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air. For it repenteth Noah that I have created them, and that I have made them; and he hath called upon me, for they have sought his life. And thus Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord; for Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and he walked with God, and also his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

"The earth was corrupt before God; and it was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence, and behold, I will destroy all flesh from off the earth. Make thee therefore, an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch; and the length of the ark thou shalt make three hundred cubits; the breadth of it fifty cubits; and the height of it thirty cubits. And windows shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; lower, second, and third chambers shalt thou make in it.

"And behold, I, even I will bring in a flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; every thing that liveth on the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant, even as I have sworn unto thy father, Enoch, that of thy posterity shall come all nations. And thou shalt come into the ark thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with them. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every kind shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind and of cattle after their kind, 0f every creeping thing of the earth after his kind; two of every kind shalt thou take into the ark to keep alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather fruit of every kind unto thee in the ark, and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him.

"And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house, into the ark; for thee only have I seen righteous before me, in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female; of fowls also of the air, by sevens, the male and his female; to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days, and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

"And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that were not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth there went in two and two, unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

"And it came to pass, after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, and the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened and the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark; they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth, after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, and every bird of every sort; and they went unto Noah, into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life; and they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in.

"And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the face of the earth, and all the high hills, under the whole heavens were covered. Fifteen cubits and upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the face of the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beasts, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils the Lord had breathed the breath of life, of all that were on the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed, which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; and they were destroyed from the earth; And Noah only remained, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

"And God remembered Noah, and all that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged. The fountains also of the deep, and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth. And after the end of the hundred and fifty days, the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountain of Ararat. And the waters decreased until the tenth month; and in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

"And it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made, and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. He also sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters had not receded from off the face of the whole earth; then he put forth his hand and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

"And he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark, and the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

"And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth a dove, which returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass, in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

"And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth out of the ark, thou and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth up on the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him. And every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar; and gave thanks unto the Lord, and rejoiced in his heart. And the Lord spake unto Noah, and he blessed him. And Noah smelled a sweet savor, and he said in his heart; I will call on the name of the Lord, that he will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and that he will not again smite any more every thing living, as he hath done, while the earth remaineth; and, that seed-time and harvest and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, may not cease with man.

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you, and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But, the blood of all flesh which I have given you for meat, shall be shed upon the ground, which taketh life thereof, and the blood ye shall not eat. And surely, blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives; and the blood of every beast will I require at your hands. And whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for man shall not shed the blood of man. For a commandment I give, that every man's brother shall preserve the life of man, for in mine own image have I made man. And a commandment I give unto you, Be ye fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly on the earth, and multiply therein.

"And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I behold, I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto your father Enoch, concerning your seed after you. And it shall come to pass, that every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, and of the cattle, and of the beast of the earth that is with you, which shall go out of the ark, shall not altogether perish; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto Enoch, concerning the remnants of your posterity.

"And God made a covenant with Noah, and said, This shall be the token of the covenant I make between me and you, and for every living creature with you, for perpetual generations; I will set my bow in the cloud; and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, which I have made between me and you, for every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.

"And this is mine everlasting covenant that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy; and the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch.

"And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will establish my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and thee, for every living creature of all flesh that shall be upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and thee; for all flesh that shall be upon the earth.

"And the sons of Noah that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. These were the three sons of Noah, and of them was the whole earth overspread" (Genesis 7:85; Genesis 8:1–9:26) .