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1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 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 thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window 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; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 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. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
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[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:1
"And it came to pass when there began to be many men upon the earth, that daughters also were born to Them." [Genesis 6:1] I think it here worth while to raise the question why, after the birth of Noah and his sons, our race increased to a degree of great populousness. But, perhaps, it is not difficult to explain the cause of this; for it always happens if anything appears to be rare that its contrary is found exceedingly numerous. (2) Therefore, the good disposition of one displays the evil disposition of myriads, and the fact of those things which are done in accordance with art, and science, and virtue, and beauty, being few, shows how incalculable a number of things devoid of art, and of science, and of justice, and, in short, utterly worthless, lie concealed beneath. (3) Do you not see that in the universe, also, the sun, being one body, by his shining forth dissipates the thick and dense darkness which is shed over earth and sea? With great propriety, therefore, the generation of the just Noah and his sons is represented as bringing into existence a great number of unjust persons; for it is by the contrary that it is especially the nature of contraries to be known. (4) And no unjust man at any time implants a masculine generation in the soul, but such, being unmanly, and broken, and effeminate in their minds, do naturally become the parents of female children; having planted no tree of virtue, the fruit of which must of necessity have been beautiful and salutary, but only trees of wickedness and of the passions, the shoots of which are womanlike. (5) On account of which fact these men are said to have become the fathers of daughters, and that no one of them is said to have begotten a son; for since the just Noah had male children, as being a man who followed reason, perfect, and upright, and masculine, so by this very fact the injustice of the multitude is proved to be altogether the parent of female children. For it is impossible that the same things should be born of opposite parents; but they must necessarily have an opposite offspring.

Source: ON THE GIANTS
[AD 100] Josephus on Genesis 6:1-4
For many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants. But Noah was very uneasy at what they did; and being displeased at their conduct, persuaded them to change their dispositions and their acts for the better: but seeing they did not yield to him, but were slaves to their wicked pleasures, he was afraid they would kill him, together with his wife and children, and those they had married; so he departed out of that land.

Source: Antiquities of the Jews - Book I, Chapter 3, Section 1
[AD 165] Justin Martyr on Genesis 6:1-4
God, when He had made the whole world, and subjected things earthly to man, and arranged the heavenly elements for the increase of fruits and rotation of the seasons, and appointed this divine law — for these things also He evidently made for man — committed the care of men and of all things under heaven to angels whom He appointed over them. But the angels transgressed this appointment, and were captivated by love of women, and begot children who are those that are called demons; and besides, they afterwards subdued the human race to themselves, partly by magical writings, and partly by fears and the punishments they occasioned, and partly by teaching them to offer sacrifices, and incense, and libations, of which things they stood in need after they were enslaved by lustful passions; and among men they sowed murders, wars, adulteries, intemperate deeds, and all wickedness. Whence also the poets and mythologists, not knowing that it was the angels and those demons who had been begotten by them that did these things to men, and women, and cities, and nations, which they related, ascribed them to god himself, and to those who were accounted to be his very offspring, and to the offspring of those who were called his brothers, Neptune and Pluto, and to the children again of these their offspring. For whatever name each of the angels had given to himself and his children, by that name they called them.

Source: The Second Apology, Chapter 5
[AD 202] Irenaeus on Genesis 6:1-8
And for a very long while wickedness extended and spread, and reached and laid hold upon the whole race of mankind, until a very small seed of righteousness remained among them and illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind; and they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants. And the angels brought as presents to their wives teachings of wickedness, in that they brought them the virtues of roots and herbs, dyeing in colors and cosmetics, the discovery of rare substances, love-potions, aversions, amours, concupiscence, constraints of love, spells of bewitchment, and all sorcery and idolatry hateful to God; by the entry of which things into the world evil extended and spread, while righteousness was diminished and enfeebled. Until judgment came upon the world from God by means of a flood, in the tenth generation from the first-formed (man); Noah alone being found righteous.

Source: The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, Sections 18-19
[AD 202] Irenaeus on Genesis 6:1-8
Since the Son of God is always one and the same, He gives to those who believe on Him a well of water [springing up] to eternal life, but He causes the unfruitful fig-tree immediately to dry up; and in the days of Noah He justly brought on the deluge for the purpose of extinguishing that most infamous race of men then existent, who could not bring forth fruit to God, since the angels that sinned had commingled with them, and [acted as He did] in order that He might put a check upon the sins of these men, but [that at the same time] He might preserve the archetype, the formation of Adam. And it was He who rained fire and brimstone from heaven, in the days of Lot, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, “an example of the righteous judgment of God,” that all may know, “that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.”

Source: Heresies Book IV, Chapter XXXVI
[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Genesis 6:1-4
To which also we shall add, that the angels who had obtained the superior rank, having sunk into pleasures, told to the women the secrets which had come to their knowledge; while the rest of the angels concealed them, or rather, kept them against the coming of the Lord.

Source: The Stromata (Book V), Chapter 1
[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Genesis 6:1-2
The mind is led astray by pleasure, and the virgin center of the mind, if not disciplined by the Word, degenerates into licentiousness and reaps disintegration as reward for its transgressions. An example of this for you is the angels who forsook the beauty of God for perishable beauty and fell as far as heaven is from the earth.

Source: CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 3.2.14
[AD 220] Tertullian on Genesis 6:1-4
For they, withal, who instituted them are assigned, under condemnation, to the penalty of death — those angels, to wit, who rushed from heaven on the daughters of men; so that this ignominy also attaches to woman. For when to an age much more ignorant (than ours) they had disclosed certain well-concealed material substances, and several not well-revealed scientific arts — if it is true that they had laid bare the operations of metallurgy, and had divulged the natural properties of herbs, and had promulgated the powers of enchantments, and had traced out every curious art, even to the interpretation of the stars — they conferred properly and as it were peculiarly upon women that instrumental mean of womanly ostentation, the radiances of jewels wherewith necklaces are variegated, and the circlets of gold wherewith the arms are compressed, and the medicaments of orchil with which wools are colored, and that black powder itself wherewith the eyelids and eyelashes are made prominent. What is the quality of these things may be declared meantime, even at this point, from the quality and condition of their teachers: in that sinners could never have either shown or supplied anything conducive to integrity, unlawful lovers anything conducive to chastity, renegade spirits anything conducive to the fear of God. If (these things) are to be called teachings, ill masters must of necessity have taught ill; if as wages of lust, there is nothing base of which the wages are honourable. But why was it of so much importance to show these things as well as to confer them? Was it that women, without material causes of splendour, and without ingenious contrivances of grace, could not please men, who, while still unadorned, and uncouth and — so to say — crude and rude, had moved (the mind of) angels? Or was it that the lovers would appear sordid and — through gratuitous use — contumelious, if they had conferred no (compensating) gift on the women who had been enticed into connubial connection with them? But these questions admit of no calculation. Women who possessed angels (as husbands) could desire nothing more; they had, forsooth, made a grand match! Assuredly they who, of course, did sometimes think whence they had fallen, and, after the heated impulses of their lusts, looked up toward heaven, thus requited that very excellence of women, natural beauty, as (having proved) a cause of evil, in order that their good fortune might profit them nothing; but that, being turned from simplicity and sincerity, they, together with (the angels) themselves, might become offensive to God. Sure they were that all ostentation, and ambition, and love of pleasing by carnal means, was displeasing to God. And these are the angels whom we are destined to judge: these are the angels whom in baptism we renounce: these, of course, are the reasons why they have deserved to be judged by man. What business, then, have their things with their judges? What commerce have they who are to condemn with them who are to be condemned? The same, I take it, as Christ has with Belial. With what consistency do we mount that (future) judgment-seat to pronounce sentence against those whose gifts we (now) seek after? For you too, (women as you are,) have the self-same angelic nature promised as your reward, the self-same sex as men: the self-same advancement to the dignity of judging, does (the Lord) promise you. Unless, then, we begin even here to pre-judge, by pre-condemning their things, which we are hereafter to condemn in themselves, they will rather judge and condemn us.

Source: On the Apparel of Women, Chapter 2
[AD 220] Tertullian on Genesis 6:1-4
What is "every woman, but woman of every age, of every rank, of every condition? By saying" every" he excepts nought of womanhood, just as he excepts nought of manhood either from not being covered; for just so he says, "Every man." As, then, in the masculine sex, under the name of" man" even the" youth" is forbidden to be veiled; so, too, in the feminine, under the name of "woman," even the "virgin" is bidden to be veiled. Equally in each sex let the younger age follow the discipline of the elder; or else let the male "virgins," too, be veiled, if the female virgins withal are not veiled, because they are not mentioned by name. Let "man" and "youth" be different, if "woman" and "virgin" are different. For indeed it is "on account of the angels" that he saith women must be veiled, because on account of "the daughters of men" angels revolted from God.

Source: On Prayer
[AD 240] Julius Africanus on Genesis 6:1-4
When men multiplied on the earth, the angels of heaven came together with the daughters of men. In some copies I found "the sons of God." What is meant by the Spirit, in my opinion, is that the descendants of Seth are called the sons of God on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Saviour Himself; but that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people, and having stirred the indignation of God. But if it is thought that these refer to angels, we must take them to be those who deal with magic and jugglery, who taught the women the motions of the stars and the knowledge of things celestial, by whose power they conceived the giants as their children, by whom wickedness came to its height on the earth, until God decreed that the whole race of the living should perish in their impiety by the deluge.

Source: Fragment 2
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Genesis 6:1-4
But not only did man fall from perfection to imperfection, but so too did "the sons of God," "when they saw that the daughters of men were fair, and took for themselves whomever they chose." And, in general, all those fell who forsook "their own habitation" and "kept not their own beginning."

Source: Commentary on the Gospel According to John, Books 13-32, Section 243
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Genesis 6:1-4
But when they did nothing of this kind, but tried to make supplication to the evil daemons by a foul and licentious life and unseemly words, and by feeding on raw flesh, and rending victims asunder, and by human sacrifices, how was it even possible that doing such deeds, and pursuing practices pleasing to the wicked, they should be received as friends by the Supreme God, or by the divine Powers subject to Him, or by any good beings at all?

But in fact it is manifest to all that he who practises the things that are dear to the wicked can never be a friend of the good. So then it was not to gods, nor yet to good daemons, but only to the wicked, that those of whom I have spoken paid worship.

And this argument is still further confirmed by Plutarch, in the passage where he says that the mythical narratives told as concerning gods are certain tales about daemons, and the deeds of Giants and Titans celebrated in song among the Greeks are also stories about daemons, intended to suggest a new phase of thought.

Of this kind then perhaps were the statements in the Sacred Scripture concerning the giants before the flood, and those concerning their progenitors, of whom it is said, 'And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, they took unto them wives of all that they chose,' and of these were born 'the giants the men of renown which were of old.'

For one might say that these daemons are those giants, and that their spirits have been deified by the subsequent generations of men, and that their battles, and their quarrels among themselves, and their wars are the subjects of these legends that are told as of gods.

Source: Preparation for the Gospel, BOOK V, CHAPTER IV
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Genesis 6:1-4
Again after these a third appeared: Noah who has received testimony as 'a righteous man in his generation.' And the following will be proofs of his righteousness. A great foulness and darkness of indescribable wickedness had overtaken the whole human race, and the giants talked of by every mouth were carrying on with ungodly and impious efforts their wars with God which are still so celebrated: and already the fathers of this their brood, whether they had sprung from some condition mightier than man's nature, or in whatever way endowed, are said to have begun the teaching of curious arts among men, and to have introduced devices of witchcraft and other mischievous sorcery into their life, so that the whole human race had fallen under one sentence of judgement with God.

Source: Preparation for the Gospel, BOOK VII, CHAPTER VIII
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:1-4
He called the sons of Seth sons of God, those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called "the righteous people of God." The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to the eyes of the sons of Seth. Then Moses said, they took them wives of all which they chose.

Source: Commentary on Genesis, pages 134-135
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:1-2
[Moses] called the sons of Seth “sons of God,” those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called “the righteous people of God.” The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to eyes of the sons of Seth. Then Moses said “they took to wife such of them as they chose,” because when “they took” them, they acted very haughtily over those whom they chose. A poor one would exalt himself over the wife of a rich man, and an old man would sin with one who was young. The ugliest of all would act arrogantly over the most beautiful.

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.3.1
[AD 390] Nemesius of Emesa on Genesis 6:1-2
Of the incorporeal beings, only angels fell away, and not all of them, but some only, that inclined to things below and set their desire on things of earth, withdrawing themselves from their relations with things above, even from God.

Source: ON THE NATURE OF MAN 58
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Genesis 6:1-4
The author of divine Scripture does not wish these giants to be understood, according to the custom of poets, as children of the earth, but rather it asserts that they were begotten of angels and women, and calls them by this name to express the size of their bodies.

Source: Noah and the Ark 4.8 (Treatises on Noah and David, page 34)
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 6:1-4
"Now, when the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, they took wives for themselves from them all just as they were inclined." Let us study each expression of this statement closely so that nothing of what is hidden below the surface may pass us by. You see, there is need to make a careful study of this passage and confute the fanciful interpretations of those people whose every remark is made rashly - firstly, to repeat what they presume to say, and by demonstrating the absurdity of what is said by them to teach your good selves the true sense of Scripture so that you will not lend your ears idly to people uttering those blasphemies and presuming to speak in a way that brings their own persons into jeopardy. I mean, they claim that this remark is made not about human being but about angels; these (they say) he called sons of God. Let them demonstrate firstly where angels are called sons of God; they would not, however, be able to show this anywhere. While human beings are called sons of God, angels are nowhere so called. On the contrary, it speaks about angels in these terms: "He makes the winds his angels, fire and flame his ministers," whereas about human beings, "I said, You are gods," and again, "Sons have I begotten and raised," and again, "Israel my firstborn son" - but an angel is nowhere called son, or son of God. What in fact do they claim? To be sure, they really were angels, but because they fell into this lawless way, they lost their status...

Is it not a particular hallmark of folly to claim that angels descended to have intercourse with women, and that incorporeal nature of theirs was reduced to association with corporeal creatures? Or do you not hear the words of Christ about the being of angels, "At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God"? After all, it is not for that kind of incorporeal creature to ever feel the onset of desire. In response to these people we have to reach the same conclusion, that to admit this notion into one's mind is the height of absurdity.

We made the point before in teaching you that it is customary with Scripture to call human beings sons of God. So since these people took their origin from Seth and from his son named Enosh (the text, remember, saying, "He it was who hoped to invoke the name of the Lord God"), those descended from him in the future were called sons of God by Sacred Scripture for the reason of their imitation of the virtue of their ancestors up to his time. On the other hand, he gave the name sons of men to those born after Seth, the descendants of Cain and those taking their descent from him.

Source: Homily 22 on Genesis
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:1-4
In the third book of this work we made a passing reference to this question, but did not decide whether angels, inasmuch as they are spirits, could have bodily intercourse with women. For it is written, "Who makes His angels spirits," that is, He makes those who are by nature spirits His angels by appointing them to the duty of bearing His messages. For the Greek word ἄγγελος, which in Latin appears as "angelus," means a messenger. But whether the Psalmist speaks of their bodies when he adds, "and His ministers a flaming fire," or means that God's ministers ought to blaze with love as with a spiritual fire, is doubtful. However, the same trustworthy Scripture testifies that angels have appeared to men in such bodies as could not only be seen, but also touched. There is, too, a very general rumor, which many have verified by their own experience, or which trustworthy persons who have heard the experience of others corroborate, that sylvans and fauns, who are commonly called "incubi," had often made wicked assaults upon women, and satisfied their lust upon them; and that certain devils, called Duses by the Gauls, are constantly attempting and effecting this impurity is so generally affirmed, that it were impudent to deny it. From these assertions, indeed, I dare not determine whether there be some spirits embodied in an aerial substance (for this element, even when agitated by a fan, is sensibly felt by the body), and who are capable of lust and of mingling sensibly with women; but certainly I could by no means believe that God's holy angels could at that time have so fallen, nor can I think that it is of them the Apostle Peter said, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." [2 Peter 2:4] I think he rather speaks of these who first apostatized from God, along with their chief the devil, who enviously deceived the first man under the form of a serpent. But the same holy Scripture affords the most ample testimony that even godly men have been called angels; for of John it is written: "Behold, I send my messenger (angel) before Your face, who shall prepare Your way." [Mark 1:2] And the prophet Malachi, by a peculiar grace specially communicated to him, was called an angel. [Malachi 2:7]

But some are moved by the fact that we have read that the fruit of the connection between those who are called angels of God and the women they loved were not men like our own breed, but giants; just as if there were not born even in our own time (as I have mentioned above) men of much greater size than the ordinary stature. Was there not at Rome a few years ago, when the destruction of the city now accomplished by the Goths was drawing near, a woman, with her father and mother, who by her gigantic size over-topped all others? Surprising crowds from all quarters came to see her, and that which struck them most was the circumstance that neither of her parents were quite up to the tallest ordinary stature. Giants therefore might well be born, even before the sons of God, who are also called angels of God, formed a connection with the daughters of men, or of those living according to men, that is to say, before the sons of Seth formed a connection with the daughters of Cain. For thus speaks even the canonical Scripture itself in the book in which we read of this; its words are: "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair [good]; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became the giants, men of renown." These words of the divine book sufficiently indicate that already there were giants in the earth in those days, in which the sons of God took wives of the children of men, when they loved them because they were good, that is, fair. For it is the custom of this Scripture to call those who are beautiful in appearance "good." But after this connection had been formed, then too were giants born. For the words are: "There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men." Therefore there were giants both before, "in those days," and "also after that." And the words, "they bare children to them," show plainly enough that before the sons of God fell in this fashion they begot children to God, not to themselves — that is to say, not moved by the lust of sexual intercourse, but discharging the duty of propagation, intending to produce not a family to gratify their own pride, but citizens to people the city of God; and to these they as God's angels would bear the message, that they should place their hope in God, like him who was born of Seth, the son of resurrection, and who hoped to call on the name of the Lord God, in which hope they and their offspring would be co-heirs of eternal blessings, and brethren in the family of which God is the Father.

But that those angels were not angels in the sense of not being men, as some suppose, Scripture itself decides, which unambiguously declares that they were men. For when it had first been stated that "the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose," it was immediately added, "And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall not always strive with these men, for that they also are flesh." For by the Spirit of God they had been made angels of God, and sons of God; but declining towards lower things, they are called men, a name of nature, not of grace; and they are called flesh, as deserters of the Spirit, and by their desertion deserted [by Him]. The Septuagint indeed calls them both angels of God and sons of God, though all the copies do not show this, some having only the name sons of God. And Aquila, whom the Jews prefer to the other interpreters, has translated neither angels of God nor sons of God, but sons of gods. But both are correct. For they were both sons of God, and thus brothers of their own fathers, who were children of the same God; and they were sons of gods, because begotten by gods, together with whom they themselves also were gods, according to that expression of the psalm: "I have said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High." For the Septuagint translators are justly believed to have received the Spirit of prophecy; so that, if they made any alterations under His authority, and did not adhere to a strict translation, we could not doubt that this was divinely dictated. However, the Hebrew word may be said to be ambiguous, and to be susceptible of either translation, "sons of God," or "sons of gods."

Let us omit, then, the fables of those scriptures which are called apocryphal, because their obscure origin was unknown to the fathers from whom the authority of the true Scriptures has been transmitted to us by a most certain and well-ascertained succession. For though there is some truth in these apocryphal writings, yet they contain so many false statements, that they have no canonical authority. We cannot deny that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, left some divine writings, for this is asserted by the Apostle Jude in his canonical epistle. But it is not without reason that these writings have no place in that canon of Scripture which was preserved in the temple of the Hebrew people by the diligence of successive priests; for their antiquity brought them under suspicion, and it was impossible to ascertain whether these were his genuine writings, and they were not brought forward as genuine by the persons who were found to have carefully preserved the canonical books by a successive transmission. So that the writings which are produced under his name, and which contain these fables about the giants, saying that their fathers were not men, are properly judged by prudent men to be not genuine; just as many writings are produced by heretics under the names both of other prophets, and more recently, under the names of the apostles, all of which, after careful examination, have been set apart from canonical authority under the title of Apocrypha. There is therefore no doubt that, according to the Hebrew and Christian canonical Scriptures, there were many giants before the deluge, and that these were citizens of the earthly society of men, and that the sons of God, who were according to the flesh the sons of Seth, sunk into this community when they forsook righteousness. Nor need we wonder that giants should be born even from these. For all of their children were not giants; but there were more then than in the remaining periods since the deluge. And it pleased the Creator to produce them, that it might thus be demonstrated that neither beauty, nor yet size and strength, are of much moment to the wise man, whose blessedness lies in spiritual and immortal blessings, in far better and more enduring gifts, in the good things that are the peculiar property of the good, and are not shared by good and bad alike. It is this which another prophet confirms when he says, "These were the giants, famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war. Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave He the way of knowledge unto them; but they were destroyed because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness."

Source: The City of God (Book XV), Chapter 23
[AD 435] John Cassian on Genesis 6:1-4
As long then as there continued that separation of the lines between them, the seed of Seth, as it sprang from an excellent root, was by reason of its sanctity termed "angels of God," or as some copies have it "sons of God;" and on the contrary the others by reason of their own and their fathers' wickedness and their earthly deeds were termed "children of men." Though then there was up to this time that holy and salutary separation between them, yet after this the sons of Seth who were the sons of God saw the daughters of those who were born of the line of Cain, and inflamed with the desire for their beauty took to themselves from them wives who taught their husbands the wickedness of their fathers, and at once led them astray from their innate holiness and the single-mindedness of their forefathers...From these sons of Seth then and daughters of Cain, as we have said, there were I born still worse children who became mighty hunters, violent and most fierce men who were termed giants by reason of the size of their bodies and their cruelty and wickedness. For these first began to harass their neighbours and to practise pillaging among men, getting their living rather by rapine than by being contented with the sweat and labour of toil, and their wickedness increased to such a pitch that the world could only be purified by the flood and deluge.

Source: Conference 8, CHAPTER XXI
[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Genesis 6:1-4
That we rightly understand this passage is also very much confirmed by the interpretation of the other translators. Aquila says: 'When the sons of the gods saw the daughters of men'. On the other hand, instead of 'sons of the gods', Symmachus rendered the expression as 'sons of the rulers'. They called the descendants of Seth and of Enosh sons of the gods, or better, sons of the rulers, because of the piety and godliness which was in them, and because they could defeat all adversaries: while God, I suppose, in all likelihood came to their aid, and made known all around this pious and holy generation, which was not mixed with that other one, that is to say, with the descendants from Cain and, what is more, from Lamech.

Source: Glaphyra on the Penteteuch, page 84
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:1-2
And when men began to multiply on the earth and had daughters, the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. "Men" means the offspring of Cain, who, turned away from the view of divine will, subjected their mind solely to human affairs: "sons of God", however, refers to those who were born from the lineage of Seth, who, following the example of their father's devotion, preserved with an inviolate mind the service they owed to God. By this distinction, the Lord in the Gospel also separated His disciples from the rest, saying, "Whom do men say that the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13). And having received their answer, He said, "But who do you say that I am?" evidently wanting them to be understood as superior to men and to be counted among those of whom He Himself said: "I have said, You are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High" (Psalm 82:6). Some manuscripts have "angels of God" instead of "sons of God," which is obviously taken in the same sense. For the angels of God are rightly called righteous men, who according to the measure of their capacity strive to live an angelic life on earth: to such the Apostle says, "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit" (Romans 8:9). And again: "For our conversation is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). Therefore, it seems that the generation of the lineage of Seth, as long as it was not mingled with the offspring of Cain, preserved the norm of its chastity untainted; but after it fell into concupiscence and joined the cursed offspring of wicked women, it also began to share in the curse with the corrupted decency of its sober mind. Hence, in the law it is diligently and carefully commanded to the sons of Israel, not to intermarry with foreigners, because, it says, “his daughter will seduce your son to follow their gods” (Deuteronomy 7:4).

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:2
II. (6) "And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, they took unto themselves wives of all of them whom they Chose." [Genesis 6:2] Those beings, whom other philosophers call demons, Moses usually calls angels; and they are souls hovering in the air. (7) And let no one suppose, that what is here stated is a fable, for it is necessarily true that the universe must be filled with living things in all its parts, since every one of its primary and elementary portions contains its appropriate animals and such as are consistent with its nature; --the earth containing terrestrial animals, the sea and the rivers containing aquatic animals, and the fire such as are born in the fire (but it is said, that such as these last are found chiefly in Macedonia), and the heaven containing the stars: (8) for these also are entire souls pervading the universe, being unadulterated and divine, inasmuch as they move in a circle, which is the kind of motion most akin to the mind, for every one of them is the parent mind. It is therefore necessary that the air also should be full of living beings. And these beings are invisible to us, inasmuch as the air itself is not visible to mortal sight. (9) But it does not follow, because our sight is incapable of perceiving the forms of souls, that for that reason there are no souls in the air; but it follows of necessity that they must be comprehended by the mind, in order that like may be contemplated by like. (10) Since what shall we say? Must we not say that these animals which are terrestrial or aquatic live in air and spirit? What? Are not pestilential afflictions accustomed to exist when the air is tainted or corrupted, as if that were the cause of all such assuming vitality? Again, when the air is free from all taint and innocent, such as it is especially wont to be when the north wind prevails, does not the imbibing of a purer air tend to a more vigorous and more lasting duration of life? (11) It is then natural that that medium by which all other animals, whether aquatic of terrestrial, are vivified should itself be empty and destitute of souls? On the contrary, even if all other animals were barren, the air by itself would be bound to be productive of life, having received from the great Creator the seeds of vitality by his especial favour.

III. (12) Some souls, therefore, have descended into bodies, and others have not thought worthy to approach any one of the portions of the earth; and these, when hallowed and surrounded by the ministrations of the father, the Creator has been accustomed to employ, as hand-maidens and servants in the administration of mortal affairs. (13) And they having descended into the body as into a river, at one time are carried away and swallowed up by the voracity of a most violent whirlpool; and, at another time, striving with all their power to resist its impetuosity, they at first swim on the top of it, and afterwards fly back to the place from which they started. (14) These, then, are the souls of those who have been taught some kind of sublime philosophy, meditating, from beginning to end, on dying as to the life of the body, in order to obtain an inheritance of the incorporeal and imperishable life, which is to be enjoyed in the presence of the uncreate and everlasting God. (15) But those, which are swallowed up in the whirlpool, are the souls of those other men who have disregarded wisdom, giving themselves up to the pursuit of unstable things regulated by fortune alone, not one of which is referred to the most excellent portion of us, the soul or the mind; but all rather to the dead corpse connected with us, that is to the body, or to things which are even more lifeless than that, such as glory, and money, and offices, and honours, and all other things which, by those who do not keep their eyes fixed on what is really beautiful, are fashioned and endowed with apparent vitality by the deceit of vain opinion.

IV. (16) If, therefore, you consider that souls, and demons, and angels are things differing indeed in name, but not identical in reality, you will then be able to discard that most heavy burden, superstition. But as men in general speak of good and evil demons, and in like manner of good and evil souls, so also do they speak of angels, looking upon some as worthy of a good appellation, and calling them ambassadors of man to God, and of God to man, and sacred and holy on account of this blameless and most excellent office; others, again, you will not err if you look upon as unholy and unworthy of any address. (17) And the expression used by the writer of the psalm, in the following verse, testifies to the truth of my assertion, for he says, "He sent upon them the fury of His wrath, anger, and rage, and affliction, and he sent evil angels among Them." [Ps 77:49] These are the wicked who, assuming the name of angels, not being acquainted with the daughters of right reason, that is with the sciences and the virtues, but which pursue the mortal descendants of mortal men, that is the pleasures, which can confer no genuine beauty, which is perceived by the intellect alone, but only a bastard sort of elegance of form, by means of which the outward sense is beguiled; (18) and they do not all take all the daughters in marriage, but some of them have selected some of that innumerable company to be their wives; some choosing them by the sight, and others by the ear, others again being influenced by the sense of taste, or by the belly, and some even by the pleasures below the belly; many also have laid hold of those the abode of which is fixed at a great distance, putting in action various desires among one another. For, of necessity, the choices of all the various pleasures are various, since different pleasures are established in different places.

Source: ON THE GIANTS
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:2
(Chapter VI - Verse 2) But the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. The Hebrew word Elohim (), is of common gender: and both God and gods are called by this name. Hence, Aquila, in the plural number, dared to call them Sons of gods, understanding them to mean the Holy Ones or Angels. For God stands in the assembly of gods: but in the midst of them He judgeth gods. (Alternate reading: judgeth). (Psalm LXXXI, 1). Therefore, Symmachus, following a similar interpretation, says: The sons of the powerful saw the daughters of men, and so on.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:3
V. (19) And, in all such matters, it is impossible for the spirit of God to remain and to pass all its time, as the law-giver himself shows. "For," says Moses, "the Lord said, My spirit shall not remain among men for ever, because they are Flesh." [Genesis 6:3] (20) For, at times, it does remain; but it does not remain for ever and ever among the greater part of us; for who is so destitute of reason or so lifeless as never, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to conceive a notion of the all good God. For, very often, even over the most polluted and accursed beings, there hovers a sudden appearance of the good, but they are unable to take firm hold of it and to keep it among them; (21) for, almost immediately, it quits its former place and departs, rejecting those inhabitants who come over to it, and who live in defiance of law and justice, to whom it never would have come if it had not been for the sake of convicting those who choose what is disgraceful instead of what is good. (22) But the spirit of God is spoken of in one manner as being air flowing upon the earth, bringing a third element in addition to water. In reference to which, Moses says, in his account of the creation of the world, "The spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters." [Genesis 1:2] Since the air, as it is very light, is raised and borne aloft, having water, as it were, for its foundation; and, in another manner, unalloyed knowledge is said to be so, which every wise man naturally partakes of. (23) And Moses shows us this, when speaking of the creator and maker of the holy work of the creation, in these words: "And God summoned Bezaleel, and filled him with his Holy Spirit, and with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to be able to devise every Work." [Ex 31:1] So that, what the spirit of God is, is very definitively described in these words.

VI. (24) Such also is the spirit of Moses, which came upon the seventy elders, for the sake of making them differ from, and be superior to the rest of the Israelites, who could not possibly be elders in real truth, unless they had partaken of that allwise spirit. For it is said, "I will take of my spirit which is upon thee, and I will pour it upon the seventy Elders." [Num 11:17] (25) But think not that thus this taking away, could be by means of cutting off or separation; but it is here, as is the case in an operation effected by fire, which can light ten thousand torches, without itself being diminished the least atom, or ceasing to remain as it was before. Something like this also is the nature of knowledge. For though it has made all its pupils, and all who have become acquainted with it, learned, still it is in no degree diminished itself, but very often it even becomes improved, just as, they say, that fountains sometimes are by being drained dry; for, it is said, that they sometimes become sweeter by such a process. (26) For continual association with others, engendering diligence and practice, gradually works out entire perfection. If, then, the individual spirit of Moses, or of any other creature, was about to be distributed to so great a multitude of pupils, then, if it were divided into such a number of small portions, it would be diminished. (27) But now, the spirit which is upon him is the wise, the divine, the indivisible, the undistributable, the good spirit, the spirit which is everywhere diffused, so as to fill the universe, which, while it benefits others, it not injured by having a participation in it given to another, and if added to something else, either as to its understanding, or its knowledge, or its wisdom.

VII. (28) On which account, it is possible that the spirit of God may remain in the soul, but that it should remain for ever is impossible, as we have said. And why need we wonder? since there is no other thing whatever, the possession of which, is stable and lasting; but mortal affairs are continually wavering in the scale, and inclining first to one side, and then to the other, and liable at different times to different changes. (29) And the greatest cause of our ignorance is the flesh, and our inseparable connection with the flesh. And this, Moses represents God as admitting, where he says that, "Because they are flesh," the spirit of God cannot abide in them. And yet marriage and the rearing of children, and the furnishing of necessary things, and ingloriousness conjoined with a want of money and business, both private and public, and a countless number of other things cause wisdom to waste away, before it begins to flourish vigorously. (30) But there is nothing which is so great a hindrance to its growth as the fleshly nature. For that, as if it were the principal and most solid foundation of folly and ignorance, is laid down firmly, and then each of the aforenamed evils is built up upon it. (31) For those souls which are devoid of flesh and of the body, remaining undisturbed in the theatre of the universe, occupied in seeing and hearing divine things, of which an insatiable desire has seized them, enjoy a pleasure to which no one offers any interruption. But those which bear the heavy burden of the flesh, being weighed down and oppressed by it, are unable to look upwards to the revolutions of the heaven, but being dragged downwards, have their necks forcibly pressed to the ground like so many quadrupeds.

VIII. (32) In reference to which fact, the lawgiver having determined to put an end to all illegal and illegitimate associations and unions, begins his denunciations in the following manner: "Man shall not come near to any one who is akin to his own flesh, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord." [Lev 18:6] How could any one more forcibly exhort man to despise the flesh and what is akin to the flesh than in this way? (33) And indeed he does not only exhort us to abandon such things, but he shows positively that he who is really a man will never come of his own accord to those pleasures which are dear to and connected with the body, but will always be meditating to alienate himself from them entirely. (34) For the saying, "Man, man," not once but twice, is a sign that what is here meant is not the man composed of body and soul, but him only who is possessed of virtue. For such an one is really a true man, whom some one of the ancient philosophers having lighted a lantern at midday, went in search of, and told those who asked him that he was seeking a man. And as for the prohibition against every man coming near to any one who is akin to his own flesh, this is induced by necessary reasons. For there are some things which we should admit, such for instance as those useful things, by the employment of which we may be able to live in freedom from disease and in good health; and there are other things which should be rejected, by which, when the appetites become inflamed, they burn up all goodness in one vast conflagration. (35) Let not then our appetites rush eagerly in pursuit of all the things that are pleasant to the flesh, for the pleasures are often untameable, when like dogs they fawn upon us, and all of a sudden, change and bite us, inflicting incurable sounds. So that by cleaving to frugality, which is a friend to virtue, in preference to the pleasures akin to the body, we shall defeat the numerous and infinite multitude of irreconcilable enemies. And if any occasion should seek to compel us to take more than what is moderate or sufficient, let us not yield; for the scripture saith, "He shall come near to him to uncover his nakedness."

IX. (36) And what is meant by this, it is worth while to explain. It has often happened, that some who have not been themselves providers of wealth, have nevertheless had unlimited abundance. And others, who have not been eager in the pursuit of glory have been thought worthy of public praises and honours. Others again, who have not expected to acquire even a little strength, have arrived at the greatest vigour and activity. (37) Now, let all these men learn not to cleave in their minds to any one of these qualities; that is to say, not to admire them and grasp at them in an immoderate degree, looking upon them all, that is to say on riches, on glory, and on bodily strength, not only not as intrinsically good, but as the greatest of evils. For to misers, the pursuit of money is appropriate, and the pursuit of glory is so to ambitious men, and the acquisition of bodily strength is so to men fond of athletic and of gymnastic exercises. For that which is the better part of them, namely, the soul, they have abandoned as a slave to those things which are inferior to themselves, namely, to inanimate things. (38) But as many as are masters of themselves show that all that brilliant prosperity, which is an object of so much contention, is in subordination to the mind, which is the principal part of them, receiving it when it comes, so as to make a good use of it, but not pursuing it if it keeps aloof, as being able to be happy even without it. (39) But he who pursues it eagerly and follows upon its track, fills philosophy with base opinions; on which account he is said to uncover its nakedness, for how can there be any concealment or ignorance of the reproaches to which those men are justly exposed, who profess indeed to be wise men, but who make a traffic of wisdom, and bargain for the sale of it, as they say men do in the market, who put up their wares for sale, sometimes for a slight gain, sometimes for sweet and caressing speeches, and sometimes for insecure hopes, founded on no sure ground, and sometimes even for promises which are in no respect better than dreams.

X. (40) And the sentence which follows, "I am the Lord," is uttered with great beauty and with most excessive propriety, "for," says the Lord, "oppose, my good man, the good of the flesh to that of the soul, and of the whole man;" therefore the pleasure of the flesh is irrational, but the pleasure of the soul and of the whole man is the mind of the universe, namely God; (41) and the comparison is an admirable one, and one difficult to be instituted, so as for any one to be deceived by the close similitude, unless any one will say that living things are in reality the same as lifeless things, rational things the same as irrational things; well adapted the same as those ill adapted; odd numbers identical with even ones; light with darkness, and day with night; and in short every thing that is contrary the same as its contrary. (42) And yet even although these things have some kind of union and connection together by reason of their being created, still God is not in any respect like the very best of created beings, inasmuch as these have been born, and are liable to suffering; but he is uncreated, and always acting not suffering. (43) Now it is well not to desert the ranks of God, in which it follows inevitably that all who are arrayed must be most excellent, and it would be shameful to quit those ranks, to fly to unmanly and effeminate pleasure, which injures its friends and benefits its enemies, for its nature is a very singular one; for all those to whom it chooses to give a share of its special advantages, it at once chastises and injures; and those whom it thinks fit to deprive of its good things, it benefits in the greatest possible degree, for it injures them when it gives, but it benefits them when it takes away. (44) If therefore, O my soul, any one of the temptations of pleasure invites you, turn yourself away, and directing your views towards another point, look at the genuine beauty of virtue, and having surveyed it, remain, until a desire for it has sunk into you, and draws you to it, like a magnet, and immediately leads you and attaches you to that which has become the object of your desire.

XI. (45) And the expression, "I am the Lord," must be listened to, not only as if it were equivalent to, "I am the perfect, and incorruptible, and true good," with which if any one is surrounded he will reject all that is imperfect, and corruptible, and attached to the flesh; but also as equivalent to, "I am the ruler, and the king, and the master." (46) And it is not safe for subjects to do wrong in the presence of their rulers, nor for slaves to err before their masters; for when the punishers are near, those whose nature is not quick at submitting to admonitions are held in restraint and order by fear; (47) for God, having filled everything with himself, is near at hand, so that he is looking over everything and standing by, we being filled with a great and holy reverence, or if not with that, at all events, having a prudent fear of the might of his authority, and of the fearful nature of his punishment, which cannot be avoided, whenever he determines to exert his punishing power, shall desist from doing wrong. In order that the divine spirit of wisdom may not be inclined to quit our neighbourhood and depart, but that it may remain a very long time with us, as it did also with the wise Moses; (48) for Moses is a being of the most tranquil habits, either standing still or sitting still, and not at all disposed by nature to subject himself to turns and changes; for the scripture says, "Moses and the ark did not Move," [Num 14:44.} inasmuch as the wise man cannot depart from virtue, or inasmuch as virtue is not liable to move, nor is the virtuous man inclined to changes, but each of these things is established on the sure foundation of right reason. (49) And again, the scripture saith in another passage, "But stand thou here with Me." [Deut 5:31] For this is an oracle of God, which was given to the prophet, and his station was to be one of unmoved tranquillity by God, who always stands immovably; for it is indispensable, that all things which are placed by the side of him must be kept straight by such an undeviating rule. (50) On this account it is, as it seems to me, that excessive pride, named Jethro, marvelling at his unvarying and always equal choice of what was wise, a choice which always looked at the same things in the same way, was perplexed, and put a question to him in this form, "Why dost thou sit by Thyself?" [Exodus 18:14] (51) For any one who considers the continual war raging among men in the middle of peace, and existing, not merely among nations, and countries, and cities, but also among private houses, or I might rather say, between every individual man and the inexpressible and heavy storms which agitate the souls of men, which, by their evident impetuosity, throw into confusion all the affairs of life, may very naturally wonder, if in such a storm, any one can enjoy tranquillity, and can feel a calm in such a billowy state of the stormy sea. (52) You see that even the high priest, that is to say, reason, who might at all times remain and reside in the holy dwelling of God, has not free permission to approach them at all times, but only once in each year; for whatever is associated with reason by utterance is not firm, because it is of a twofold nature. But the safest conduct is to contemplate the living God by the soul alone, without utterance of any voice, because he exists according to the indivisible unit.

XII. (53) As, therefore, among men in general, that is to say, among those who propose to themselves many objects in life, the divine spirit does not remain, even though it may abide among them for a very short time, but it remains among one species of men alone, namely, among those who, having put off all the things of creation, and the inmost veil and covering of false opinion, come to God in their unconcealed and naked minds. (54) Thus also Moses, having fixed his tent outside of the tabernacle and outside of all the corporeal army, [Ex 33:7] that is to say, having established his mind so that it should not move, begins to worship God, and having entered into the darkness, that invisible country, remains there, performing the most sacred mysteries; and he becomes, not merely an initiated man, but also an hierophant of mysteries and a teacher of divine things, which he will explain to those whose ears are purified; (55) therefore the divine spirit is always standing by him, conducting him in every right way: but from other men, as I have said before, it very soon separates itself, and completes their life in the number of a hundred and twenty years. For God says, "their days shall be an hundred and twenty Years;" [Deut 24:7] (56) but Moses, when he had arrived at that number of years, departed from mortal life to another. How, then, can it be natural for men who are guilty to live an equal length of time with the all-wise prophet? for the present, it will be sufficient to say this, that things which bear the same name are not in all cases alike, but very often they are distinct in their whole genus; and also that which is bad may have equal numbers and times with what is good, since they are represented as twofold, but still they have their respective powers, distinct from one another, and as remote and different as possible. (57) And we shall hereafter institute a more exact discussion of this period of a hundred and twenty years, which we will however postpone, till we come to an examination of the whole life of the prophet, when we have become fit to be initiated in it, but at present we will discuss what comes next in order.

Source: ON THE GIANTS
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:3
This generation will not live nine hundred years like the previous generations, for it is flesh and its days are filled with the deeds of flesh. Therefore, their days will be one hundred and twenty years. If they repent during this time, they will be saved from the wrath that is about to come upon them. But if they do not repent, by their deeds they will call down wrath upon themselves. Grace granted one hundred and twenty years for repentance to a generation that, according to justice, was not worthy of repentance.

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.4.1
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:3
[Daniel 9:2] "I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Jeremiah, that seventy years would be accomplished for the desolation of Jerusalem." Jeremiah had predicted seventy years for the desolation of the Temple (Jeremiah 29:1-10), at the end of which the people would again return to Judaea and build the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. But this fact did not render Daniel careless, but rather encouraged him to pray that God might through his supplications fulfil that which He had graciously promised. Thus he avoided the danger that carelessness might result in pride, and pride cause offense to the Lord. Accordingly we read in Genesis that prior to the Deluge one hundred and twenty years were appointed for men to come to repentance (Genesis 6:3); and inasmuch as they refused to repent even within so long an interval of time as a hundred years, God did not wait for the remaining twenty years to be fulfilled, but brought on the punishment earlier which He had threatened for a later time. So also Jeremiah is told, on account of the hardness of the heart of the Jewish people: "Pray not for this people, for I will not hearken unto thee" (Jeremiah 7:16). Samuel also was told: "How long wilt thou mourn over Saul? I also have rejected him" (1 Samuel 16:1). And so it was with sackcloth and ashes that Daniel besought the Lord to fulfil what He had promised, not that Daniel lacked faith concerning the future, but rather he would avoid the danger that a feeling of security might produce carelessness, and carelessness produce an offense to God.

Source: St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER NINE
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:3
Furthermore, lest [God] may seem to be cruel in that he had not given to sinners a place for repentance, he added, “But their days will be 120 years,” that is, they will have 120 years to do repentance. It is not therefore that human life was contracted to 120 years, as many wrongly assert, but that 120 years were given to that generation for repentance, since indeed we find that after the flood Abraham lived 175 years and others more than 200 and 300 years. Since indeed they despised to do repentance, God was unwilling for his decree to await its time, but cutting off the space of twenty years he brought on the flood in the one hundredth year that had been destined for doing repentance.

Source: HEBREW QUESTIONS ON GENESIS 6.3
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:3
(Version 3.) And the Lord God said: My spirit will not dwell in these men forever, because they are flesh. In Hebrew, it is written, My spirit will not judge these men forever, because they are flesh: that is, because the condition of man is fragile, I will not subject them to eternal torment; but here I will restore to them what they deserve. Therefore, it signifies not severity, as it is read in our codices, but rather the mercy of God, while the sinner is visited here for his crime. And an angry God speaks to some: I will not visit their daughters, when they have fornicated, and their wives, when they have committed adultery (Hosea IV, 14). And in another place: I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with scourges: nevertheless, I will not take away my mercy from them (Ps. LXXXVIII, 33). Furthermore, so that it does not appear cruel on His part for not giving a place of repentance to sinners, He added: But their days shall be one hundred and twenty years. This is, they will have 120 years to do penance. Therefore, human life, as many err, is not condensed into 120 years: but to that generation, 120 years were given for penance. For we find that after the flood, Abraham lived for 175 years, and others for over 200 and 300 years. But because they refused to do penance, God did not want to wait for the appointed time: but with 20 years cut off, He brought about the flood in the 100th year designated for doing penance.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:3
By the justice of God the whole human race was delivered into the power of the devil, the sin of the first man passing originally into all persons of both sexes, who were born through conjugal union, the debt of our first parents binding all their posterity. This delivering was first indicated in Genesis, where, when it was said to the serpent, “Earth shall you eat,” it was said to the man, “Earth you are, and into earth shall you return.” The death of the body was foretold by “into earth shall you return,” because he would not have experienced it if he had remained upright as he had been created. But what he says to the living man, “earth you are,” shows that the whole man has been changed into something worse, for “earth you are” is just the same as saying “My spirit shall not remain in those men, because they are flesh.” Hence God showed that he had then delivered man to the devil, to whom he had said, “Earth shall you eat.”

Source: ON THE TRINITY 13.12.16
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:3
And God said, "My Spirit shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh; and his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." Saint Jerome, explaining these verses, says, "It is written in Hebrew: My Spirit shall not judge these men forever, because they are flesh; that is, because human nature is fragile, I will not condemn them to eternal torment; but here I will render to them what they deserve. Therefore, it denotes not the severity, as it is read in our texts, but the clemency of God, while a sinner is punished here for his crime: hence also an angry God speaks to some: I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery (Hos. IV). And in another place: I will punish their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes; nevertheless, I will not take my mercy away from them (Ps. LXXXIX)." Moreover, lest He seem to be cruel in not giving sinners a place for repentance, He added: "And his days shall be one hundred and twenty years" (Gen. VI), that is, they will have one hundred and twenty years to repent; but because they despised repentance, God did not want to wait for the appointed time, but cutting short the span of twenty years, He brought the flood in the hundredth year appointed for repentance.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:4
XIII. (58) "And there were giants on the earth in those Days." [Genesis 6:4] Perhaps some one may here think, that the lawgiver is speaking enigmatically and alluding to the fables handed down by the poets about giants, though he is a man as far removed as possible from any invention of fables, and one who thinks fit only to walk in the paths of truth itself; (59) in consequence of which principle, he has banished from the constitution, which he has established, those celebrated and beautiful arts of statuary and painting, because they, falsely imitating the nature of the truth, contrive deceits and snares, in order, through the medium of the eyes, to beguile the souls which are liable to be easily won over. (60) Therefore he utters no fable whatever respecting the giants; but he wishes to set this fact before your eyes, that some men are born of the earth, and some are born of heaven, and some are born of God: those are born of the earth, who are hunters after the pleasures of the body, devoting themselves to the enjoyment and fruition of them, and being eager to provide themselves with all things that tend to each of them. Those again are born of heaven who are men of skill and science and devoted to learning; for the heavenly portion of us is our mind, and the mind of every one of those persons who are born of heaven studies the encyclical branches of education and every other art of every description, sharpening, and exercising, and practising itself, and rendering itself acute in all those matters which are the objects of intellect. (61) Lastly, those who are born of God are priests and prophets, who have not thought fit to mix themselves up in the constitutions of this world, and to become cosmopolites, but who having raised themselves above all the objects of the mere outward senses, have departed and fixed their views on that world which is perceptible only by the intellect, and have settled there, being inscribed in the state of incorruptible incorporeal ideas.

XIV. (62) Accordingly, Abraham, as long as he was abiding in the land of the Chaldaeans, that is to say, in opinion, before he received his new name, and while he was still called Abram, was a man born of heaven, investigating the sublime nature of things on high, and all that took place in these regions, and the causes of them, and studying everything of that kind in the true spirit of philosophy; on which account he received an appellation corresponding to the pursuits to which he devoted himself: for the name Abram, being interpreted, signifies the sublime father, and is a name very fitting for the paternal mind, which in every direction contemplates sublime and heavenly things: for the mind is the father of our composite being, reaching as high as the sky and even farther. (63) But when he became improved, and was about to have his name changed, he then became a man born of God, according to the oracle which was delivered to him, "I am thy God, take care that thou art approved before me, and be thou Blameless." [Gen 17:1] (64) But if the God of the world, being the only God, is also by especial favour the peculiar God of this individual man, then of necessity the man must also be a man of God; for the name Abraham, being interpreted, signifies, "the elect father of sound," the reason of the good man: for he is chosen out of all, and purified, and the father of the voice by which we speak; and being such a character as this, he is assigned to the one only God, whose minister he becomes, and so makes the path of his whole life straight, using in real truth the royal road, the road of the only king who governs all things, turning aside and deviating neither to the left hand nor to the right.

XV. (65) But the sons of earth removing their minds from contemplation, and becoming deserters so as to fly to the lifeless and immovable nature of the flesh, "for they two became one Flesh," [Gen 2:24] as the lawgiver says, adulterated the excellent coinage, and abandoned the better rank which had been allotted to them as their own, and deserted to the worse rank, which was contrary to their original nature, Nimrod being the first to set the example of this desertion; (66) for the lawgiver says, "that this man began to be a giant upon the Earth:" [Gen 10:29] is the passage supposed to be alluded to; but as translated in the Bible it only says "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord."} and the name Nimrod, being interpreted, means, desertion; for it was not enough for the thoroughly miserable soul to stand on neither side, but having gone over to its enemies, it took up arms against its friends, and resisted them, and made open war upon them; in reference to which fact it is that, Moses calls the seat of Nimrod's kingdom Babylon, and the interpretation of the word Babylon is "change;" a thing nearly akin to desertion, the name, too, being akin to the name, and the one action to the other; for the first step of every deserter is a change and alteration of mind, (67) and it would be consistent in the truth to say that, according to the most holy Moses, the bad man, as being one destitute of a home and of a city, without any settled habitation, and a fugitive, is naturally a deserter also; but the good man is the firmest of allies. Having said thus much at present, and dwelt sufficiently on the subject of the giants, we will now proceed to what comes next in our subject, which is this.

Source: ON THE GIANTS
[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:4
(91) Why it is said that the days of man shall be a hundred and twenty years? (#Ge 6:4). God appears here to fix the limit of human life by this number, indicating by it the manifold prerogative of honour; for in the first place this number proceeds from the units, according to combination, from the number fifteen; but the principle of the number fifteen is that of a more transparent appearance, since it is on the fifteenth day that the moon is rendered full of light, borrowing its light of the sun at the approach of evening, and restoring it to him again in the morning; so that during the night of the full moon the darkness is scarcely visible, but it is all light. In the second place, the number a hundred and twenty is a triangular number, and is the fifteenth number consisting of triangles. Thirdly, it is so because it consists of a combination of odd and even numbers, being contained by the power of the faculty of the concurring numbers, sixty-four and fifty-six; for the equal number of sixty-four is compounded of the uniting of these eight odd numbers, one, three, five, seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, fifteen; the reduction of which, by their parts into squares, makes a sum total of sixty-four, and that is a cube, and at the same time a square number. But again from the seven double units there arises the unequal number of fifty-six, being compounded of seven double pairs, which generate other productions of them, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen; the sum total of which is fifty-six. In the fourth place, it is compounded of four numbers, of one triangle, namely fifteen; and of another square, namely twenty-five; and of a third quinquangular figure, thirty-five; and of a fourth a sexangular figure forty-five, by the same analogy: for the fifth is always received according to each appearance; for from the unity of the triangles the fifth number becomes fifteen; again the fifth of the quadrangular number from the unit makes twenty-five; and the fifth of the quinquangular number from the unit makes thirty-five; and the fifth of the sexangular number from the unit makes forty-five. But every one of these numbers is a divine and sacred number, consisting of fifteens as has been already shown; and the number twenty-five belongs to the tribe of Levi.{10}{see #Nu 8:24.} And the number thirty-five comes from the double diagram of arithmetic, geometry, and harmony; but sixteen, and eighteen, and nineteen, and twenty-one, the combination of which numbers amounts to seventy-four, is that according to which seven months' children are born. And forty-five consists of a triple diagram; but to this number, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-two, and twenty-eight, belong: the combination of which makes eighty-five, according to which nine months' children are produced. Fifthly, this diagram has fifteen parts, and a twofold composition, peculiarly belonging to itself; forsooth when divided by two it gives sixty, the measure of the age of all mankind; when divided by three it gives forty, the idea of prophecy; when divided by four it gives thirty, a nation; when divided by five, it makes twenty-four, the measure of day and night; when divided by six, it gives twenty, a beginning; when divided by eight, we have fifteen, the moon in the fulness of brilliancy; when divided by ten, it makes twelve, the zodiac embellished with living animals; when divided by twelve, it makes ten, holy; when divided by fifteen, it gives eight, the first ark; when divided by twenty, it leaves six, the number of creation; when divided by twenty-four, it makes five, the emblem of the outward sense; when divided by thirty it makes four, the beginning of solid measure; when divided by forty, it gives three, the symbol of fulness, the beginning, the middle, and the end; when divided by sixty, it makes two, which is woman; and when divided by the whole number of a hundred and twenty, the product is one, or man. And every one of all these numbers is more natural, as is proved in each of them, but the composition of them is twofold, for the product is two hundred and forty, which is a sign that it is worthy of a twofold life; for as the number of years is doubled, so also we may imagine that the life is doubled too; one being in connection with the body, the other being detached from the body, according to which every holy and perfect man may receive the gift of prophecy. Sixthly, because the fifth and sixth figures arise, the three numbers being multiplied together, three times four times five, since three times four times five make sixty; so in like manner the next following numbers four times five times six make a hundred and twenty, for four times five times six make a hundred and twenty. Seventhly, when the number twenty has been taken in, which is the beginning of the reduction of mankind, I mean twenty, and being added to itself two or three times, so as to make twenty, forty, and sixty, these added together make a hundred and twenty. But perhaps the number a hundred and twenty is not the general term of human life, but only of the life of those men who existed at that time, and who were to perish by the deluge after an interval of so many years, which their kind Benefactor prolonged, giving them space for repentance; when, after the aforesaid term, they lived a longer time in the subsequent ages.

Source: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I
[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:4
(92) On what principle it was that giants were born of angels and women? (#Ge 6:4). The poets call those men who were born out of the earth giants, that is to say, sons of the Earth.{11}{the Greek name Gigas is said to be derived from geµ and gennaoµ, "to bring forth."} But Moses here uses this appellation improperly, and he uses it too very often merely to denote the vast personal size of the principal men, equal to that of Hajk{12}{hajk is an addition of the Armenian translator; it is the name of a fabulous patriarch of the Armenian nation.} or Hercules. But he relates that these giants were sprung from a combined procreation of two natures, namely, from angels and mortal women; for the substance of angels is spiritual; but it occurs every now and then that on emergencies occurring they have imitated the appearance of men, and transformed themselves so as to assume the human shape; as they did on this occasion, when forming connexions with women for the production of giants. But if the children turn out imitators of the wickedness of their mothers, departing from the virtue of their fathers, let them depart, according to the determination of the will of a depraved race, and because of their proud contempt for the supreme Deity, and so be condemned as guilty of voluntary and deliberate wickedness. But sometimes Moses styles the angels the sons of God, inasmuch as they were not produced by any mortal, but are incorporeal, as being spirits destitute of any body; or rather that exhorter and teacher of virtue, namely Moses, calls those men who are very excellent and endowed with great virtue the sons of God; and the wicked and depraved men he calls bodies, or flesh.

Source: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:4
The house of Cain, because the earth had been cursed so as not to give them its strength, produced small harvests, deprived of its strength, just as it is today that some seeds, fruits and grasses give strength and some do not. Because at that time they were cursed and sons of the cursed and were dwelling in the land of curses, they would gather and eat produce that lacked nutrition, and those who ate these were without strength just like the food that they ate. As for the Sethites, on the other hand, because they were the descendants of the blessed [Seth] and were dwelling in the land along the boundary of the fence of paradise, their produce was abundant and full of strength. So too were the bodies of those who ate that produce strong and powerful.

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.5.1
[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on Genesis 6:4
Strength of arm, swiftness of foot and comeliness of body—the spoils of sickness and the plunder of time—also awaken pride in man, unaware as he is that “All flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the field. The grass is withered and the flower is fallen.” Such was the arrogance of the giants because of their strength. Such also was the God-defying pride of the witless Goliath.

Source: HOMILY 20, Of Humility
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Genesis 6:4
“The giants (Nephilim) were on the earth in those days.” The author of the divine Scripture does not mean that those giants must be considered, according to the tradition of poets, as sons of the earth but asserts that those whom he defines with such a name because of the extraordinary size of their body were generated by angels and women. And let us see whether by any chance the men who only take care of their body and not of their soul are similar to the Nephilim and at the same time to those giants who were born from the earth according to the tales of the poets and despised the authority of the gods by confiding in the hugeness of their body. Must we really consider as different from giants those men who, even though they are composed of body and soul, despise the most precious good of the soul, that is, the activity of the mind, and show themselves to be imitators of this flesh, as if confirming that they were heirs of their own mother’s foolishness. They only struggle in vain when they believe that they will conquer the heaven with their bold desires and their earthly activities. On the contrary, by choosing a lower way of life and despising the higher life, they are condemned with greater severity since they are guilty of voluntary sins.

Source: ON NOAH 4.8
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:4
(Version 4.) Now there were giants upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown. For falling ones, or giants, Symmachus interpreted them as violent ones. And it is fitting for the name of falling ones to apply to angels and the children of the saints.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:4
All that we indubitably know, from the authentic Scripture in the Hebrew and Christian traditions, is the fact that in the period before the flood there were many giants, all of whom belonged to the earthly city in human society, and that there were sons of God descended from Seth who abandoned their holiness and sank down into this city of men. There is nothing surprising in the fact that giants could be born from men like that. In any case, they were not all giants, even though there were more giants before the flood than in all subsequent ages. They served a divine purpose in that they reveal to anyone who is wise that mere bodily magnitude and might have no more value than bodily beauty.

Source: City of God 15.23
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:4
There were giants on the earth in those days. Giants are called men with immense bodies and excessive power, of which there were also many after the flood, that is, in the times of Moses or David, who have the name in Greek because, according to the poets’ fables, the earth bore them. They seem, however, to have been begotten when the descendants of Seth chose wives from the lineage of Cain because of their beauty against the law of their dignity. For it follows:

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:4
After the sons of God entered the daughters of men, and they bore children, these were the mighty men of old, men of renown. It should be noted that in this place, for giants, the Hebrew reads 'fallen ones', that is, 'annasilim'; and the sense is easy and clear because they were 'fallen' men on the earth in those days, that is, adhering to earthly desires, having lost the state of uprightness devoted to God. The giants, however, are properly named 'Rafaim' in their language. But sometimes a giant is taken in a good sense, as it is said of the Lord: 'He rejoiced as a giant to run his course' (Psalm 19:5); but this is for the unique power by which He transcends the rest of humanity, and accomplished the mystery of the Incarnation with wondrous power, just as a lion sometimes signifies the Lord, sometimes the devil; but the devil for pride and ferocity, the Lord for power: although in the Hebrew truth, the aforementioned verse of the psalm is written thus: 'He rejoiced as a strong man to run his course.'

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:5
After Moses spoke about the mighty men who were born into the tribe of Cain, whose women, even though beautiful, were nevertheless smaller than the sons of Seth, he then said, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always evil,” for in the years given to them for repentance2 they had increased their sins. “The wickedness of mankind was great in the earth,” that is, evil extended and spread throughout both those tribes. “The inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was always evil,” for their sins were not committed only occasionally, but their sins were incessant. Night and day they would not desist from their wicked thoughts.

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.6.1
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:5
But God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that every thought of their hearts was only evil continually, regretted that He had made man on the earth. He is said to have regretted, not because God, like man, truly regrets any of His actions, whose judgment on all things is as fixed as His foreknowledge is certain; but Scripture uses such words in order to insinuate itself to us more familiarly, we who are accustomed to change anything we undertake and transfer it into something else only by repenting: even though divine providence, for those perceiving with a serene mind, appears to administer all things with the most certain order. Nevertheless, Scripture fits and adapts itself to the humble understanding of the slower minds, of whom the far greater number is, so that it says as if by the repentance of God, those things taken away which begin to exist, and do not continue as long as they were hoped to last: similar to which is what follows.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Genesis 6:6-7
“I will blot out man and beasts and creeping things and birds of the air.” What transgression could the irrational creatures have ever committed? But since they had been created for the sake of man, after that for whom they had been created was wiped out, it was logical that they were destroyed too, because there was no one who could profit from them. This is also clear in a deeper sense. Man is a mind endowed with reason. Man is defined as a living, mortal and rational being. When he, who is the principal element, disappears, every aspect of sensible life also disappears.

Source: ON NOAH 4.10
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:6-7
God’s “anger” implies no perturbation of the divine mind. It is simply the divine judgment passing sentence on sin. And when God “thinks and then has second thoughts,” this merely means that changeable realities come into relation with his immutable reason. For God cannot “repent,” as human beings repent, of what he has done, since in regard to everything his judgment is as fixed as his foreknowledge is clear. But it is only by the use of such human expressions that Scripture can make its many kinds of readers whom it wants to help to feel, as it were, at home. Only thus can Scripture frighten the proud and arouse the slothful, provoke inquiries and provide food for the convinced. This is possible only when Scripture gets right down to the level of the lowliest readers.

Source: City of God 15.25
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:6-7
When God announces the death of all animals on the earth and in the air, the intention is to declare the magnitude of the coming disaster. There is no question here of punishing with death irrational animals as though they were guilty of sin.

Source: City of God 15.25
[AD 500] Salvian the Presbyter on Genesis 6:6-7
Let us consider how both the solicitude and severity of the Lord are shown equally in all these words. First, he said, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great.” Second, he said, “He was touched inwardly with sorrow of heart.” Third, “I will destroy man whom I have created.” In the first statement, wherein it is said that God sees all things, his providential care is shown. In the statement that he has sorrow is shown his solicitude amid the dread of his wrath. The statement about his punishment shows his severity as a judge. Holy Scripture says, “God repented that he had made man on earth.” This does not mean that God is affected by emotion or is subject to any passion. Rather, the Divine Word, to impart more fully to us a true understanding of the Scriptures, speaks “as if” in terms of human emotions. By using the term “repentant God,” it shows the force of God’s rejection. God’s anger is simply the punishment of the sinner.

Source: GOVERNANCE OF GOD 1.7
[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 6:7
(94) Why God, after having threatened to destroy mankind, says that he will also destroy all the beasts likewise; using the expression, "from man to beast, and from creeping things to flying creatures;" for how could irrational animals have committed sin? (#Ge 6:7). This is the literal statement of the holy scripture, and it informs us that animals were not necessarily and in their primary cause created for their own sake, but for the sake of mankind and to act as the servants of men; and when the men were destroyed, it followed necessarily and naturally that they also should be destroyed with them, as soon as the men, for whose sake they had been made, had ceased to exist. But as to the hidden meaning conveyed by the statement, since man is a symbol for the intellect which exists in us, and animals for the outward sense, when the chief creature has first been depraved and corrupted by wickedness, all the outward sense also perishes with him, because he had no relics whatever of virtue, which is the cause of salvation.

Source: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:7
And touched by inner sorrow of the heart, He said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth, from man to animals, from creeping things to the birds of the sky; for I regret that I have made them." For God is said to grieve in a human manner when He considers that the men whom He created cling to a malicious enemy through sin rather than to Him by living piously, according to Solomon's statement: "A foolish son is a grief to his father" (Prov. 19:13). And again: "A foolish son is the anger of his father, and the grief of the mother who bore him" (Prov. 17:25). But that He also announces the destruction of all earthly and flying creatures expresses the magnitude of the coming disaster: for He threatens destruction to the irrational creatures as if they, too, had sinned.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 6:8-9
The Scriptures have shown us the gravity of human wickedness and the severity of the punishment that had to be inflicted on it. They then point out to us the one who amid such a multitude had been able to keep a sincere virtue. Virtue in fact is admirable even for itself. If someone cultivates virtue among those who refuse it, he makes it much more worthy of admiration. Therefore the Scriptures, as though in admiration of this just man, point out the contrast: that only one man who was living among those who soon would experience the wrath of God, this Noah, “found favor in the eyes of the Lord God.” He “found favor,” but “in the eyes of God”; not simply “he found favor” but “in the eyes of the Lord God.” This is said in order to show us that he had a single purpose, that is, to be praised by that eye that never sleeps or rests. He had no care for human glory or scorn or irreverence.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 23.4
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 6:8-9
Do you see how the Lord created our nature to enjoy free will? I mean, how did it happen, tell me, that while those people showed enthusiasm for wickedness and rendered themselves liable to punishment, this man opted for virtue, shunned association with them and thus felt no effect of punishment? Is it not crystal clear that each person chose wickedness or virtue of his own volition? You see, if that were not the case and freedom did not have its roots in our nature, those people would not have been punished, nor would others receive reward for their virtue. Since, however, everything has been allowed to remain with our choice owing to grace from on high, punishment duly awaits the sinners, and reward and recompense those who practice virtue.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 22.5
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 6:8-9
Therefore, in praise of Noah, Scripture not merely called him “blameless” but added “among the men of his day” to make it clear that he was so at that time when the obstacles to virtue were many. Besides, other men were illustrious after him, yet he will have no less praise than they. For he was blameless in his own time.

Source: HOMILIES ON JOHN 71
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:8-9
Speaking of Noah, our unerring Scriptures tell us that he “was a just and perfect man in his generation,” meaning that he was perfect as far as citizens of the city of God can be perfect during the pilgrimage of this present life, not, of course, as perfect as they are to be in that immortal life in which they will be as perfect as the angels of God.

Source: City of God 15.26
[AD 99] Clement of Rome on Genesis 6:9
Let us steadfastly contemplate those who have perfectly ministered to his excellent glory... Noah, being found faithful, preached regeneration to the world through his ministry; and the Lord saved by him the animals which, with one accord, entered into the ark.

Source: Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 9
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:9
(Verse 9) Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation, pleasing to God. Specifically, it says 'in his generation' to show that his righteousness was not according to the perfected righteousness, but according to the righteousness of his generation. And this is what is said in Hebrew: Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generations, he walked with God; that is, he followed in his footsteps.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:9
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just and perfect man in his generations; he walked with God. Noah is praised with the same commendation as Enoch, namely that he followed the footsteps of the divine command with upright steps of good works, and thus, while the world perished, he was saved in the ark. Noah was just and perfect, not as the saints are to be perfected in that immortality in which they will be equal to the angels of God, but as perfect as one can be in this pilgrimage; and therefore it is added, in his generations, to signify that he was just according to the righteousness of his generations, namely, those generations in which Seth, Enos, Enoch, and the other holy and perfect men of that time lived. To these generations, the following text of Holy Scripture indicates, also belonged his sons Shem and Japheth.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:11-13
Because the sons of Seth were going into the daughters of Cain, they turned away from their first wives whom they had previously taken. Then these wives, too, disdained their own continence and now, because of their husbands, quickly began to abandon their modesty, which up until that time they had preserved for their husbands’ sake. It is because of this wantonness that assailed both the men and the women that Scripture says, “All flesh corrupted its path.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.3.3
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:11-13
Somebody may say to me, “Was Adam, created by God as the first man in the original state of the world, condemned for lack of faith or for sin?” It was not incredulity but disobedience that was the cause for his condemnation and the reason why all his posterity are punished. Cain too was condemned, not for lack of faith but because he killed his brother. Why need I seek further proof when I read that this whole world was destroyed not for incredulity but for wickedness.

Source: CHRISTIAN LIFE 13
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:12
And when God saw that the earth was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted its way. All flesh means all humans, according to the prophet's statement: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:6). For neither birds nor quadrupeds had corrupted their way by sinning, just as they will not see the Salvation of our God, that is Christ, but all humans will see.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:13
He said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before me; the earth is filled with iniquity because of them, and I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of smoothed wood, etc. The diverse form in the construction of the ark and the imminent flood contains a mystery. First, as the Lord himself showed by the sudden inundation of the flood, the unexpected hour of the last judgment is signified: "And as it was, he says, in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all" (Matthew 24:38). For the construction of the ark, which took a hundred years, signifies the entire period of this age, during which the holy church is also built and brought to its perfect end. There is no doubt that the hundred-year number signifies perfection, either because it is filled by ten decades, or because it moves from the left to the right, expressing an action which takes place in this life as though on the left, but will be consummated in the future life as on the right. But as the ark was made, and with everything that was to be saved brought into it, the flood came and took away all that was outside it; so, when all those who are predestined to eternal life have entered the church, the end of the world will come and all those found outside the church will perish; and according to this understanding, the ark clearly signifies the church, Noah signifies the Lord who builds the church with his saints, and the flood signifies the end of the age or the final judgment. However, aside from the construction of the ark, even in Noah, because his name means rest, and he was to give rest or comfort to men, it was prefigured that men would rest from the works and labors of their hands on the earth, which the Lord cursed, holding the image of the Lord Savior. For he consoles us through the illumination of his Spirit, who is therefore called the Paraclete, that is, the comforter. He has rescued us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us. He calls the weary to rest: "Come to me, he says, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28). He truly was the just and perfect man through all generations, that is, in every congregation of saints, as he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. According to another equally pious and catholic interpretation, the ark signifies the church, the flood signifies the water of baptism, by which the church itself is washed and sanctified in all its members, as the apostle Peter explains, saying: "When the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water, which also saves you now, a baptism of similar fashion, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:20). That he says we are saved in baptism through the resurrection of Jesus Christ briefly explains what the number of eight souls saved through water mystically signifies. For the day of the Lord's resurrection is indeed the third day from his passion, but the eighth from the day of the first creation. Some Fathers often interpret the waves of the flood as the trials of this age, by which the holy church is daily struck but not overcome; rather, by being tested through these trials, it is more elevated from earthly desires to seek heavenly things. Whatever is outside it is killed by the same temptations of the world, just as it is said that multiplying and mightily flooding waters on the surface of the earth lifted the ark above the land; whatever was outside the ark perished. This exposition aligns with the parable of the two houses from the Lord, one built on rock, the other on sand; when equally struck by rain, winds, and floods, the one founded on the rock of faith was tested by temptations; the one that placed its hope in the fleeting pleasures of this life, like on sands, was shaken. For what the builder Noah is to the ark, the foundation rock is to the house of faith; and what the corrupt mind of giants bent to earth is outside the ark, this is expressed by the sand gathered in the house of unbelief. Therefore, let the ark signify the church, the flood the font of baptism by which it is washed, the waves the temptations of the world by which it is tested, the end in which it is crowned. Moreover, the builder of the ark Noah typically denotes either the Lord and Savior himself or any devoted ruler of the same holy church.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:14
We read in Genesis that the ark that Noah built was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Notice the mystical significance of the numbers. In the number fifty, penance is symbolized because the fiftieth psalm of King David is the prayer of his repentance. Three hundred contains the symbol of crucifixion. The letter T is the sign for three hundred, whence Ezekiel says, “Mark THAV on the forehead of those who moan; and do not kill any marked with THAV.” No one marked with the sign of the cross on his forehead can be struck by the devil; he is not able to efface this sign, only sin can. We have spoken of the ark, of the number fifty, of the number three hundred. Let us comment on the number thirty because the ark was thirty cubits high and finished above in one cubit. First, we repent in the number fifty; then, through penance, we arrive at the mystery of the cross; we reach the mystery of the cross through the perfect Word that is Christ. As a matter of fact, when Jesus was baptized, according to Luke, “he was thirty years of age.” These same thirty cubits were finished off one cubit above. Fifty, and three hundred, and thirty were finished above in one cubit, that is, in one6 faith of God.

Source: HOMILIES 84
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:14
(Verse 14) Make for yourself an ark of square wooden planks. For the square planks, we read it is coated with pitch in Hebrew.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:14
Undoubtedly the ark is a symbol of the city of God on its pilgrimage in history. It is a figure of the church that was saved by the wood on which there hung the “Mediator between God and men, himself man, Jesus Christ.” Even the very measurements of length, height and breadth of the ark are meant to point to the reality of the human body into which he came as it was foretold that he would come. It will be recalled that the length of a normal body from head to foot is six times the breadth from one side to the other and ten times the thickness from back to front. Measure a man who is lying on the ground, either prone or supine. He is six times as long from head to foot as he is wide from left to right or right to left, and he is ten times as long as he is high from the ground up. That is why the ark was made three hundred cubits in length, fifty in breadth and thirty in height. As for the door in the side, that surely, symbolizes the open wound made by the lance in the side of the Crucified—the door by which those who come to him enter in, in the sense that believers enter the church by means of the sacraments that issued from that wound. It was ordered that the ark be made out of squared timbers—a symbol of the foursquare stability of a holy life, which, like a cube, stands firm however it is turned. So it is with every other detail of the ark’s construction. They are all symbols of something in the church.

Source: City of God 15.26
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:14
Make for yourself, he says, an ark of smoothed wood. Not only the humans who were saved in the ark, but also the animals that entered it together; even the wood of which it was made mystically announces the faithful of the holy Church. Therefore, the wood of which it was made is commanded to be smoothed, because whoever is placed in the structure of the Church by coming to faith must first, being cut off from the root of his former lifestyle through the instruction or chastisement of those who have preceded in Christ, remove everything of harmful crookedness and deformity which he finds in himself, and direct his whole mind and action to the rule of the Catholic faith and truth, so that, in the order of the heavenly building, he may be fitly and opportunely placed for the creation of a new man in his proper place and time.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:14
However, for the smoothed wood, the ancient translation used the term squared wood, which equally refers to the same perfection of the elect. For wherever you turn a square, it will stand, nor can it be prone to falling in any way. Thus indeed, thus the mind of the elect remembers to maintain the inviolate state of holy intention, whatever temptations it may encounter.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:14
You shall make little rooms in the ark. All the mansions in the ark were arranged as receptacles for various animals that were to enter it, and in the Church there are many orders of institutions according to the diversity of those who come to the faith. For the same life or manner of living ought not to be that of the married and the continent, the sinners, and the rulers; and to this one it is said: If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness (Matthew 19:17), and other such things. But to another: If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor (Ibid., 21). Hence also, concerning the reward itself of eternal retribution, the Lord says: In my Father's house there are many mansions (John 14:2). Therefore, there are little rooms in the ark because not all have the same merit in the Church, nor the same progress in faith, although all are contained within one faith and washed in the same baptism.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:14
And you shall cover it inside and outside with bitumen, and you shall make it thus. Bitumen is the hottest and most violent adhesive, whose power is such that the woods which have been coated with it can neither be eaten by worms, nor can they be dissolved by the heat of the sun, or the blows of the winds, or the flooding of the waters; whence what else is mystically understood by bitumen than the constancy of faith? Moreover, the ark is covered inside and outside with bitumen, and thus it is completely perfected, while both the thoughts of the elect and their works, so that they may not be overcome or deceived by the incursions of vices, are fortified by the power of faith in all things.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:15
The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. The length of the ark signifies the long-suffering patience by which adversities are bravely endured; the width signifies the breadth of charity, which embraces even those who inflict adversities; the height signifies the sublimity of hope, by which the eternal reward in heaven is insinuated. Hence the length of the ark is commanded to be three hundred cubits, as this number, as we have previously noted, is represented by the letter T in Greek. This letter is written in the shape of a cross, because the holy Church, while remaining invincible and steadfast amid adversities, follows the footsteps of the Lord’s passion, remembering His word where He said: And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:38). The width extends to fifty cubits, in which number the Holy Spirit is sent, and under the law universal rest and remission are bestowed upon God’s people because the love of God is poured into our hearts, not by the merit of our actions but by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And this is rest and remission of our debts, when we love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and our neighbor in God as ourselves, and our adversary for the sake of God. The height is thirty cubits, because this is the only and unique hope of the elect, that through the observation of the Decalogue, which is perfected in the love of God and neighbor, they ascend to the contemplation of the Holy Trinity. For three times ten makes thirty.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:15
There is, however, another memorable mystery in the shape of the ark, which is found to be formed according to the measure of the human body. For the length of the human body from the top of the head to the feet is six times the height from one side to the other, and ten times the height measured from the back to the abdomen, as if you measure a lying man supine or prone; the length from head to feet is six times as long as the width from right to left or left to right, and ten times as high from the ground. Therefore, the ark was made three hundred cubits in length, fifty in width, and thirty in height; and because the Apostle says of the Church that it is one body and one spirit in Christ, rightly the ark, which bore the figure of this, was formed in the likeness of the human body, because Christ Himself, God, and our Lord willed to be incarnated for us and to wash us from sins and consecrate us through the sacraments of His humanity. Rightly, He commanded that the ark, in which He decreed to save the remnants of the human race while the wicked perished, be made in the manner of the human body, just as the temple which Solomon made for the Lord not only prefigured His Church, but also His flesh itself, which He took from the Virgin, as He Himself testified when He said to the Jews, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The evangelist said this, meaning the temple of His body (John 2:19). Thus also, the ark, which Noah made in the form of the human body, held our type, of whom the Apostle said, “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood” (Ephesians 4:13); and of the Lord Himself, who deigned to gather us into the unity of faith through the mystery of His Incarnation and to cleanse us from sins by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which the dove bringing the olive branch to the ark symbolized, and to save us from the destruction of the perishing world.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 6:16
(Verse 16.) Assembling, you shall make an ark, and you shall finish it with a cubit from above. As for the reason why it says, assembling, you shall make an ark, in Hebrew it has, 'you shall make the middle of the ark,' which Symmachus interpreted more clearly, saying 'transparent,' that is, making the ark clear, intending for a window to be understood.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:16
You shall make a window in the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above. A window is commanded to be made in the ark so that, after the rains ceased and the ark rested, Noah might release a bird through it to ascertain whether the waters had ceased, or whether the earth had dried or sprouted, so that he also, having opened it, might see the light of the sky; hence in Hebrew it is aptly translated as having the noon, because windows are usually illuminated more clearly by the midday sun; which also aptly accords with spiritual sacraments. For the window, which illuminated the inhabitants of the ark with the splendor of the midday sun only after the flood had passed, suggests that knowledge of heavenly mysteries which is more fully revealed to the baptized faithful. Moreover, the fact that the top of the ark is said to be finished in a cubit indicates that it had three hundred cubits of length and fifty cubits of width at the bottom; gradually narrowed at the corners, it was collected into the space of one cubit at the top, thus becoming shorter and narrower as it rose higher. And indeed, as far as the necessity of rains and the flood is concerned, no form could have been given to the ark more appropriate than that the downpour of rains should be dispersed from the narrow summit of the roof when, the floodgates of heaven having been opened, the rain fell for such a long time; but this form of the ark also mystically suits the state of the holy Church. For just as the ark was broader in the lower parts, where it is believed to have contained animals; it was narrower in the upper parts, where it contained men and birds until it reached the measure of one cubit at the top; thus the Church has more carnal than spiritual members, more who are inclined like quadrupeds by the whole gaze of their mind to desire earthly things than those who, like birds, seek heavenly things with the wings of virtues; and as the holier each person in it is, the fewer they are found to be, until they reach the Mediator between God and men, who appeared as a man among men, yet is above all, God blessed forever.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:16
You shall place the door of the ark on the lower side. This door, through which men and all the animals to be saved in the ark entered, signifies the unity of faith, without which no one can enter the Church; for there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, which is aptly commanded to be placed on the side of the ark, because it clearly designates that door, which was opened in the side of the Crucified Lord Savior by the soldier's lance, from which immediately flowed blood and water: through these sacraments, each of the faithful is received into the communion of the holy Church as into the insides of the ark. Moreover, the door of the ark is commanded to be made not only on the side but also below, so that the humility of either the Lord himself by which he died for us or ours, without which we cannot be saved, is signified. Also, the door of the ark was made below and near the ground, so that men or animals to be saved could enter it, and having entered, immediately ascended to the higher places to their respective seats, because the Lord, appearing in the depths of this mortality, was wounded for our iniquities, so that through the sacraments of his wounds, we being redeemed might be led to the heavenly mansions of virtues in the present and to the heavenly rewards with an invisible ascension. This is also well expressed in Solomon's temple, the door by which it was ascended to the upper parts, concerning which it is thus written: "The entrance of the middle side was on the right side of the house;" which some interpret as stating that the temple had an entrance from the southern part, which is far from the truth. For if it wanted to be understood this way, Scripture could briefly say: “And it had an entrance to the South or to the South.” But the temple itself actually had an entrance from the rising of the sun. What is said: “The entrance of the middle side was on the right part of the house,” the right part of the house is called the southern part, in whose middle side was the door by which it was ascended to the upper parts, with the entrance beginning from the eastern part of the same side, that is, from the very corner, and gradually proceeding to the upper rooms through the interior of the middle wall; hence it is subsequently added: "And they ascended by winding stairs to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third." Therefore, because the Lord, when he said to the Jews, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19), was speaking of the temple of his body, the door in the right side of this temple, is it not evident that it is the very door which was opened in his right side after the passion, as we said above, through the opening of which we transition from the present life of the holy Church to the eternal rest of souls in the future life, in the example of those who entered the right side of the temple and ascended to the middle chamber by winding stairs. But even after the most blessed rest of souls, we may ascend to the reception of spiritual bodies, as if from the middle chamber to the third, from which we may rejoice with God in the perpetual immortality of both, that is, the soul and the body.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:16
You shall make upper rooms and lower rooms in it. Lower rooms denote a triple roof. For "stege" in Greek means "roof"; hence ancient interpreters for this word used "tricamerata." Finally, in the Acts of the Apostles, where a young man, whom Paul the Apostle revived from death, is said to have fallen from the third roof or upper room, in Greek it is written that he fell from the "tristego." But upper rooms and lower rooms, as early translators said, were made two-chambered and three-chambered in the ark, such that in distinct seats they would house animals of various kinds. Beasts, indeed, as it is believable, in the lowest parts; clean animals in the higher parts; humans and birds in the highest. For it is certain that where man sat, there too were the raven and dove, and consequently other birds too, located near the window, which is believed to have been made in the highest parts of the ark. For through this window he sent out the aforementioned birds, to see how the land's face fared; in these roofs as well, various little chambers were made, as stated above, for the distinction of the same animals or birds, so that some might not harm others, the more violent not harming the gentler. It is not in vain that Scripture states upper rooms and lower rooms were made in the ark, or that it was made two-chambered and three-chambered, when it could have said in one word that it was arranged in five upper rooms or roofs; but it said it was two-chambered, to signify that in the Church the circumcised and the uncircumcised, Jews and Greeks, will be saved. And three-chambered to signify the triple yield of the evangelical seed, thirtyfold, sixtyfold, hundredfold; so that in the lowest resides marital chastity, above it widowhood, and above that virginity. Moreover, Origen says that in the lower parts the ark was made two-chambered, so that the lowest region would receive dung, the second would be assigned to storing feed; but in the higher parts three-chambered, so that in the first of these parts would be quarters for beasts, in the second stalls for gentler animals, in the highest the seat for humans.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 235] Hippolytus of Rome on Genesis 6:17
Hippolytus, the Targumist expositor, said: The names of the wives of the sons of Noah are these: the name of the wife of Sem, Nahalath Mahnuk; and the name of the wife of Cham, Zedkat Nabu; and the name of the wife of Japheth, Arathka. These, moreover, are their names in the Syriac Targum. The name of the wife of Sem was Nahalath Mahnuk; the name of the wife of Cham, Zedkat Nabu; the name of the wife of Japheth, Arathka.

Therefore God gave intimation to Noah, and informed him of the coming of the flood, and of the destruction of the ruined (wicked).

And God Most High ordered him to descend from the holy mount, him and his sons, and the wives of his sons, and to build a ship of three storeys. The lower storey was for fierce, wild, and dangerous beasts. Between them there were stakes or wooden beams, to separate them from each other, and prevent them from having intercourse with each other. The middle storey was for birds, and their different genera. Then the upper storey was for Noah himself and his sons-for his own wife and his sons' wives.

Noah also made a door in the ship, on the east side. He also constructed tanks of water, and store-rooms of provisions.

When he had made an end, accordingly, of building the ship, Noah, with his sons, Sem, Chain, and Japheth, entered the cave of deposits.

And on their first approach, indeed, they happily found the bodies of the fathers, Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kainan, Mahaliel, Jared, Mathusalach, and Lamech. Those eight bodies were in the place of deposits, viz., those of Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kainan, Mahaliel, Jared, Mathusalach, and Lamech.

Noah, moreover, took the body of Adam. And his sons took with them offerings. Sem carried gold, Chain myrrh, and Japheth frankincense. Then, leaving the cave of deposits, they transferred the offerings and the body of Adam to the holy mount.

And when they sat down by the body of Adam, over against paradise, they began to lament and weep for the loss of paradise.

Then, descending from the holy mount, and lifting up their eyes towards paradise, they renewed their weeping and wailing, (and) uttered an eternal farewell in these terms: Farewell! peace to thee, O paradise of God! Farewell, O habitation of religion and purity! Farewell, O seat of pleasure and delight!

Then they embraced the stones and trees of the holy mount, and wept, and said: Farewell, O habitation of the good! Farewell, O abode of holy bodies!

Then, after three days, Noah, with his sons and his sons' wives, came down from the holy mount to the base of the holy mount, to the ship's place. For the (ark) was under the projecting edge of the holy mount.

And Noah entered the ship, and deposited the body of Adam, and the offerings, in the middle of the ship, upon a bier of wood, which he had prepared for the reception of the body.

And God charged Noah, saying: Make for thyself rattles of boxwood (or cypress). Now r)m

Make also the hammer (bell) thereof of the same wood. And the length of the rattle shall be three whole cubits, and its breadth one and a half cubit.

And God enjoined him to strike the rattles three times every day, to wit, for the first time at early dawn, for the second time at mid-day, and for the third time at sunset.

And it happened that, as soon as Noah had struck the rattles, the sons of Cain and the sons of Vahim ran up straightway to him, and he warned and alarmed them by telling of the immediate approach of the flood, and of the destruction already hasting on and impending.

Thus, moreover, was the pity of God toward them displayed, that they might be converted and come to themselves again. But the sons of Cain did not comply with what Noah proclaimed to them. And Noah brought together pairs, male and female, of all birds of every kind; and thus also of all beasts, tame and wild alike, pair and pair.

Source: Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:17
Behold, I will bring the waters of a flood upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall perish, and I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons, and the rest. The waters of the flood brought upon the earth killed all flesh that was found outside the ark, but Noah and all that were in the ark were saved. Washing the world with the water of baptism saves whomever it finds faithfully abiding in the unity of the holy Church; but those who receive baptism outside the Church from heretics or schismatics die unless they repent by returning to catholic unity. Likewise, when the time of the final judgment comes, whoever is found persevering in faith and action in the holy Church shall be saved eternally; those separated from the Church by faith, action, or both, perish.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)
[AD 749] John Damascene on Genesis 6:17
From the beginning “the spirit of God moved over the waters,” and over and again Scripture testifies to the fact that water is purifying. It was with water that God washed away the sin of the world in the time of Noah.

Source: ORTHODOX FAITH 4.9
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Genesis 6:18
Every earthly thing dies with the deluge and only the righteous live forever. Thus the words “I will establish my covenant with you” are addressed to the righteous. He is the heir of divine grace, the recipient of the heavenly inheritance, a sharer of the very holy goods.

Source: ON NOAH 10.35
[AD 749] John Damascene on Genesis 6:18
When Noah was ordered to enter the ark and was entrusted with the safeguarding of the seed of the earth, he was given this command, which reads: “Come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives.” He separated them from their wives, so that with the help of chastity they might escape the ocean’s depths and that worldwide destruction.

Source: ORTHODOX FAITH 4.24
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 6:19-21
On that same day elephants came from the east, apes and peacocks approached from the south, other animals gathered from the west, and still others hastened to come from the north. Lions came from the jungles, and wild beasts arrived from their lairs. Deer and wild asses came from their lands, and the mountain beasts gathered from their mountains.When those of that generation gathered [to see] this novel sight, it was not to repent but rather to amuse themselves. Then in their very presence the lions began to enter the ark, and the bulls, with no fear, hurried in right on their heels to seek shelter with the lions. The wolves and the lambs entered together, and the hawks and the sparrows together with the doves and the eagles.

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.9.2
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 6:19-21
A further question asked by the curious concerns those tiny creatures, smaller even than mice and lizards, such as locusts, beetles, flies and even fleas. Were there not more of these in the ark than the number prescribed by God? Those who raise this difficulty must first be reminded that the words “that creep on the earth” imply that there was no need to preserve in the ark animals that live either in the water like fishes or on the water, as certain birds do. Second, the words “male and female” imply that there was no need to have in the ark such animals as are not born in the normal way but populate from putrid or inanimate matter. Or if they were in the ark, they could have been there as they are in our houses and not in any definite number. On the other hand, if the sacred mystery that was there being enacted demanded down to the last number of nonmarine animals the perfect accord of symbolic figure and historical fact, then God took care of this in his own way and did not leave it to Noah or his family.

Source: City of God 15.27
[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 6:21
Therefore, you shall take with you of all food that can be eaten, and gather it to yourself, and it shall be food both for you and for them. And the Lord has abundantly filled His Church with the nourishment of spiritual life in many ways, so that He might invite the multitudes of the faithful to the reception of heavenly rewards by the general precepts of His commandments, and call whomever is more perfect to the higher gifts of the same everlasting kingdom through the disciplines of stricter observance. But it is usually asked whether the ark, with the capacity described, could have carried all the animals said to have entered it along with their food? Origen tries to solve this question with the geometric cubit, asserting that it was not for nothing that Scripture mentioned that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, who loved geometry. He states that the geometric cubit is equivalent to the value of six of our cubits. If, therefore, we understand such large cubits, there is no question that the ark had such a capacity as to contain all these things. But it should be noted that although Moses had learned geometric cubits, the people for whom he wrote the book were ignorant of such arts, nor did he wish to deceive them by writing things that they would not understand in truth but that he alone, with the most skilled Egyptians, could comprehend. It must also be considered that Moses, when writing about the construction of the tabernacle, noted cubits of the same kind as those he used for the ark, not of a different mode. For neither could he place something different in the same work for the same readers or listeners. If, however, he was also following geometric cubits there, then the tabernacle was not made thirty cubits long, ten cubits high, and wide, as read, but by multiplying this number by one and a half, it had one hundred and eighty cubits in length and sixty in both height and width, thus being much longer and wider than Solomon's temple, which was only forty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width. And the boards of the tabernacle itself, which are said to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, would have been sixty cubits long and nine cubits wide, larger than would generally be produced by wood or suited for such a building or easily carried by human hands. The coverings, which are said to have been thirty cubits long each and four cubits wide, would have been one hundred and eighty cubits long and twenty-four wide. But Josephus, writing about the construction of the same tabernacle, also prohibits understanding it in this way. He says, "The ark was made, five palms in length, three in width," while Moses in Exodus wrote that the length of the ark was two and a half cubits and the width a cubit and a half, which, according to Josephus's testimony, are understood not as geometric but as ordinary cubits. Thus, regarding Noah's ark, it should be observed that all that happened within it or in relation to it was full of divine miracles. For if everything were done in the usual manner of men, how could eight people daily provide food and drink and other necessities to such a multitude of birds, beasts, and reptiles? Especially when Scripture does not recount any command from God regarding bringing drink into the ark? How could the waste and urine of so many creatures not render the place intolerable with stench for the animals themselves or corrode the floor of the ark, no matter how well it was pitch-sealed? How could they, remaining in one place for a whole year, neither the birds lose their ability to fly, nor the quadrupeds their ability to walk? The Lord Himself, who preserved the ark with all it contained, keeping it incorrupt, and who guided it so that it did not sink into the sea, but placed it in a location in the mountains where there was an easy and prompt exit to the land for all the animals within it from the door it had, also provided how they might be fed and kept safe within the ark. Nor is it unreasonable to believe, as some assert, that Noah prepared for the animals about to enter the ark food that would suffice for their daily use, and, having refreshed each one, they, to signify a mystery—that in the Church all are fed with the food of life according to the capacity of their nature—remained quiet or even in slumber by divine command until the day of their exit.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)