Genesis 7:13-16

"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 its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in 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 commanded him; and Jehovah shut him in."

There is repetition here, of course, but much more; there is important supplemental information. Note the following:

"And they went in unto Noah ..." This emphasizes and makes definite the truth that Noah did not seek out and drive all of those creatures into the ark; they went in unto him. This is clearly an act of God, having nothing whatever to do with Noah's independent activity.

"And the three wives of his sons ..." This is restrictive regarding the number of people entering the ark. Genesis 7:7 revealed that his "sons' wives" entered, leaving out of sight how many wives his sons had. There were only three, one for each son.

"Every creeping thing that creepeth ..." This is also more definite and extended information about which creatures were included.

"And Jehovah shut him in ..." Schaeffer described this as a "hard verse,"[11] and so it is. There may have been some of those souls to whom he preached so long and so faithfully for whom Noah still had hope that they would enter and be spared; and he would have found it difficult indeed to close the door of hope; but God spared him that act of sorrow by himself sealing the gate of life. The day of grace was then over. The long deserved destruction of rebellious mankind would appear at once. So it is today. Man can neither open nor close the way of salvation, either for themselves or for others. "Behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which no man can shut" (Revelation 3:24). Our Lord Jesus Christ is described as, "He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and shutteth and none openeth" (Revelation 3:7b).

"In the selfsame day ..." The Hebrew text here is somewhat ambiguous, this expression being capable of two meanings. It might mean all of the beings in the ark entered on a single day, or it might just as well mean that the "day" here was that upon which their entry into the ark "was completed."[12] Keil understood the passage to mean that the rain began on the very day that final entry was achieved for all on board.[13] Whitelaw also pointed out this is not at all inconsistent with Genesis 7:4,5, which do not require the understanding that the total entry into the ark was achieved a full week ahead of the Deluge, but that seven days prior to the onset of it, "Noah then began to carry out the Divine instructions."[14]

Of special significance in this chapter is that the discriminatory use of the various names for God is evident. Thus, it is Jehovah who commanded Noah to enter the ark (Genesis 7:1), but Noah did as [~Elohiym] commanded him (Genesis 7:4). A similar use of both names occurs in Genesis 7:16, and the reason for this has nothing whatever to do with diverse documentary sources. Jehovah is the covenant name of God, and it is used in connection with actions and events that are particularly related to covenant. [~Elohiym] signifies the eternal power and authority of God; and it is used where such attributes of God appear. Many, many examples of this same selective use of God's titles are evident in Genesis, and we agree with Keil that the, "Variations in the name of God furnish no criterion by which to detect different documents."[15]