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Genesis 6:18

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

But I’ll make a promise with you, and you’re to get on the boat— with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “with you” (Hebrew: ‘ittak) after “my covenant,” which is reflected in most LXX manuscripts but the emphasis differs slightly in word order. The MT reads literally “I will establish my covenant with you” while the LXX word order places “with you” in a slightly different syntactical position, though the meaning remains equivalent. No DSS manuscript witness exists for this verse.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

WEB (World English Bible):

“But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall enter into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“But I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

“But I have established My covenant with you, and you will come into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

But with you I will make an agreement; and you will come into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

The Covenant with Noah as Type of Baptism and the Church

Genesis 6:18 marks the first occurrence of the word “covenant” (Hebrew: berit) in Scripture, establishing a foundational pattern that reaches its fulfillment in Christ. God’s establishment of covenant with Noah before the flood waters came prefigures the new and eternal covenant sealed in the blood of Christ, into which believers enter through the waters of baptism.

Typological Significance for Baptism

The Apostle Peter explicitly connects Noah’s ark and the flood waters to Christian baptism: “baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you” (1 Peter 3:20-21). The covenant promise given to Noah before entering the ark finds its antitype in the baptismal covenant, wherein the catechumen enters into saving relationship with God through water. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Catechetical Lectures, draws upon this Noahic imagery when instructing those preparing for baptism, emphasizing that just as Noah was preserved through water unto new life, so the baptized pass through water into resurrection life.

The Ark as Type of the Church

The Fathers consistently interpret the ark as a type of the Church. Saint John Chrysostom teaches that just as salvation was found only within the ark, so salvation is found within the one Church of Christ. The covenant established with Noah and his household prefigures the ecclesial nature of salvation—God saves not merely individuals but a family, a community, those gathered into the ark of the Church.

Liturgical Connections

The blessing of waters at Theophany recalls the cosmic significance of water in salvation history, beginning with creation, continuing through the flood, and culminating in Christ’s baptism in the Jordan. The prayers of the Great Blessing of Waters mention Noah and the ark, situating the faithful within this continuous narrative of God’s saving work through water.

In the Orthodox funeral service, we pray that the departed may be delivered “as Noah from the flood,” invoking this ancient covenant promise as assurance of God’s faithfulness beyond death. The covenant with Noah thus becomes a lens through which the Church views both entry into the Christian life and departure from this world.

Christ as the True Ark

Orthodox hymnography celebrates Christ Himself as the ark of salvation. The Theotokos is also hymned as the “spiritual ark” who bore within herself the Savior of the world. The covenant promise to Noah finds its ultimate meaning in the incarnate Word, who establishes the new and everlasting covenant, gathering into Himself all who would be saved from the flood of sin and death.

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