1 AND the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house [ Posterity. ] into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me [ Recognition by God that he has done what he has been asked, in that he has kept his commandments. ] in this generation.

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, [ So we find the distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the Mosaic law. This distinction seems to have been originally designed to mark those animals which were proper for sacrifice and food, from those that were not. Since the law was not given that we know of until much later See Leviticus 11 How did Noah know what was clean and what was unclean - or was the knowledge given to Adam? One idea is promoted by Jewish tradition which is that the clean animals bowed before Noah and that is how he knew - "The "Sefer haYashar" describes another method for distinguishing them: the clean animals and fowls crouched before Noah, while the unclean ones remained standing." http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=318&letter=N#ixzz0es7sm1PD . This is also referenced in the Book Of Jasher. ] the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4 For yet seven days, [ The time span given before all hell will break loose on the earth. It is the last days on earth before they have to realize that they made a grave mistake by not following Noah and repenting. ] and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; [ In Hebrew numerology means “the amount of time needed to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.” It may be an actual forty days and forty nights, but it is not meant to be taken literally. Examples: It rains for forty days and forty nights; Moses is upon the Mount for forty days and forty nights; Jesus is in the wilderness communing with God for forty days and forty nights; Jonah has to teach the people of Nineveh for forty days and forty nights—each signifying the length of time needed to accomplish what needed to be accomplished. This period became afterwards sacred, and was considered a proper space for humiliation. Moses fasted forty days, Deut. ix. 9, 11; So did Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 8; So did our Lord, Matt. iv. 2. Forty days' respite were given to the Ninevites that they might repent, Jon iii. 4; and thrice forty (one hundred and twenty) years were given to the old world for the same gracious purpose, chap. vi. 3. The forty days of Lent, in commemoration of our Lord's fasting, have a reference to the same thing; as each of these seems to be deduced from this primitive judgment. ] and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7 ¶ 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.

8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

9 There went in two and two [ Two pairs of each? - so really at least four of each. ] unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. [ Implying that some sort of unusual circumstance existed with the animals under the command of God. Gods authority brought them together without the normal competition of predator-prey, instead they all existed in peace. ]

10 And it came to pass after seven days, [ The exact period defined by the Lord in verse 4. ] that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

11 ¶ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, [ This must have been in the beginning of the six hundredth year of his life; for he was a year in the ark, chap. viii. 13; and lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and died nine hundred and fifty years old, chap. ix. 29; so it is evident that, when the flood commenced, he had just entered on his six hundredth year. Adam Clarke. ] in the second month, [ The first month was Tisri, which answers to the latter half of September, and first half of October; and the second was Mareheshvan, which answers to part of October and part of November. ] the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great [ Great - translated from the Hebrew "rabbah" which is the identical term used in Gen 6:5 when describing the wickedness of man, suggesting that the flood poured out matched equally the nature of man - Jewish Publication society Torah Commentary. ] deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.[ By the opening of the windows of heaven is probably meant the precipitating all the aqueous vapours which were suspended in the whole atmosphere, so that, as Moses expresses it, chap. i. 7, the waters that were above the firmament were again united to the waters which were below the firmament, from which on the second day of creation they had been separated. Adam Clarke. ]

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. [ The length of time would suggest that it was a divine nature and might also indicate that there was so much wickedness that it took some time to cleanse it. This was a baptismal period for the earth suggesting that it was completely immersed in water John Taylor Journal Of Discourses Vol 26 pg 74-75. ]

13 In the selfsame day [ Suggesting that the animals came and entered into the ark all in the same day vs 7-10. ] 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;

14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. [ Or those that breathe air ]

16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. [ It was he the Lord tyat shut the door of the Ark This seems to imply that God took him under his special protection, and as he shut HIM in (the Lords seal's it) , so he shut the OTHERS out. The Lord was the one who closed the door. It would have been pretty heavy right. Shut him in is also symbolic of the fact that the Lord blessed him and was protecting him in this special environment. ]

17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, [ After it had stopped raining the water continued to swell and get deeper. ] and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon [ Hebrew interupetation would be "it had no steering gear - so it simply floated about until the flood subsided. ] the face of the waters. [ The phrase “upon the face of the waters” is used twice in the Bible, once here and again during the creation. Suggesting to me that they are designed to help us understand that in the presence of the Ark there has been a return of the same Spirit of God that had hovered over the waters at the Creation. We learned in the previous verse that the ark was without steering so it floating confidently above the chaos of the great deep. The direction of the Ark “upon the face of the waters” paralleled the movement of the Spirit of God “upon the face of the waters” at the original creation of heaven and earth (see Gen 1:2; Moses 2:2 ). ]

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits [ Approximately 23 feet. ] upward did the waters prevail; [ On top off suggesting that the water was some 23 feet over the top of the greatest mountain. ] and the mountains were covered.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: [ In otherwords every thing that breathed air was destroyed. ]

22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23  And every living substance was destroyed [ sometimes we look at this and wonder why God would do such a thing. If he is a God of mercy then that does not look like it, but as I have thought about it maybe God was showing mercy to Noah and his family who was trying to do the right things. Noah told the people what was going to happen, that a flood was coming, the same as he has told us that he will return again in his power this time and will judge the earth. The people had a chance to be saved, they could have repented and God would have saved them as well, so it is in our day. God will prevail and he will find a way to provide for the righteous. Another thing to think about, see the story from God's eyes. They are not destroyed but rather moved. In other words God moved them from life on the earth to life in the post-mortal existence. After all in God's eyes there were no longer learning and growing, trying to be like him so he gave them a new life/chance. President John Taylor said, "He destroyed them for their benefit. It was an act of love actually. They got to move on to something else, and now the earth gets to kind of restart again." ] which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. [ This verse brings to light the fact that man has dominion over the earth, the the creation was for him, that all living things are for him and that it is by his actions that the earth is punished or blessed, man's actions take a precedence over the other living things. ]

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. [ Water remained for a period of 150 days about 6 months before ground started to appear. Think of all of the tasks that Noah and his family had during this period. It would not have been easy. ]