Was only Noah righteous or was his family righteous also?
Question:
In Bible class this morning the teacher made the comment that during Noah's day Noah was the only person that was righteous. I disagreed stating that the other seven family members had to be righteous as well because God saw fit to save them. What is your response to this matter?
Answer:
"Then the LORD said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time"" (Genesis 7:1).
The word "alone" does not actually appear in the Hebrew text, but it was inserted by the New American Standard translators because the "you" in this verse is second person, masculine, singular. It was because Noah was found righteous that his family was saved. Unfortunately, in trying to clarify the verse, it also introduces another misunderstanding. There isn't anything in this verse that actually says the others were not also righteous to some extent. Noah was an unusually outstanding righteous man. "This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God" (Genesis 6:9). What is being emphasized is that because of Noah's righteousness, he and his family were to be saved.
