The question, Genesis Chapter 6 verse 6-7 says God “regretted” that he made man on earth, and it grieved him to his heart… If he is all-knowing, why does he regret something he knew would happen?
This is a good and honest question that I receive fairly regularly. This blog post is a response I wrote for a friend of mine, but I hope this personal conversation can be a help to you too.
The answer will feel a bit long, so I’ll give you an outline on the front end.
- What is “anthropomorphism,” and why would biblical authors use it?
- Context of all Moses’ writings helps give us perspective.
- Context of all scripture helps give us even more perspective.
“Anthropomorphism” is a term used in theology to describe the use of human attributes describing God in the Bible. In this question, the human attribute describing God that we are giving our attention to is the attribute of limited knowledge and regret. When the Bible uses anthropomorphisms to explain God to us, we learn something true about God, but we must not assume God is really like a human. Anthropomorphic language in the Bible makes sense because our human language is limited to human experience. We, therefore, find ourselves using human language to describe God honestly but incompletely. For example, we might talk about the hand of God working in miracles in the world. That’s another example of anthropomorphism. This way of speaking about God is symbolic and poetic. Imagine talking about a pregnant woman who was in a devastating car accident. Her car was totaled, and everyone at the scene assumed that she was dead on impact. However, to everyone’s shock and amazement, she was safe and without a scratch. The baby in her womb was perfectly safe and healthy despite the car accident that likely should have killed both the child and mother. Now, you have this story in your mind? We might say that the hand of God saved her and the baby. Now, what do we mean by “the hand of God”? We certainly do not mean God reached down with a physical hand and cradled the woman and child in his palm to deliver them from harm. We would mean that metaphorically or poetically, but not in a bare physical facts sort of way. This is how anthropomorphic language is meant to be understood of God. We learn in Genesis 6 that mankind is evil, and that isn’t God’s fault. Mankind is sinful (A), and God is “unhappy” (B). God plans to cleanse the excessive evil from his world (C). How are these truths described for us? Moses tells us (A, B, and C) in the helpful anthropomorphic words of God “regretted” that He made man.
Moses is the human author of the first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. As we read all the books he authored, we can see this paradox of Moses describing God in human terms and also denying these same human terms can be used to describe God. This paradox is because we’re “stuck” using human language to describe God, who is beyond all our experience and limitations. For time’s sake, let’s focus on the specific anthropomorphic description from another book Moses wrote. Maybe we can see a pattern in Moses’ writing.
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
Numbers 23:19 ESV
Moses is the author of Genesis and Numbers. Why would Moses describe God in one place as having “regret” and in another place as not being like men and therefore will never “change His mind”? Is Moses contradicting himself? No. Moses uses language metaphorically to describe God in Genesis 6 but uses language about God univocally in Numbers 23. How do we know that? In Genesis 6, God is described with terms that are true to human people, as if God is limited in His knowledge. In Numbers 23, God is expressly described as not being like a human person in these ways. The language of Genesis 6 tells a story, and the anthropomorphic language effectively says quite a lot in a short sentence. Still, in Numbers, the emphasis isn’t on telling a story but on describing God as truly unlike us.
The entire Bible, each book, is mysteriously inspired by God. Who is the author of Genesis? Is Moses the author, or God, or both? Both. How? That’s the mystery. God has never worked in and through me to write a sermon that can be called divine. While I have no personal experience with inspiration, I am convinced that the beauty, truthfulness, and impact of all 66 books from Genesis to Revelation are genuinely from God to us. I think you are also convinced, and that’s why you’re investing time to read the Bible. So when we come to Genesis 6 and have a question about using the term “regret,” we can look at other places in the Bible and find real help. Why? Because God is the author of Genesis and all the OT. The question we’re asking of Genesis 6 is one we might have for 1 Samuel 15. Let’s take a look at this paradox in 1 Samuel.
“And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”
1 Samuel 15:29 ESV
“And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.”
1 Samuel 15:35 ESV
Look at this paradox on the same page. Less than ten verses apart, God is described as incapable of “regret” because He is not a human person, but also “regretted” that He made Saul the king because he was an evil king. How can we make sense of this? Notice that verse 35 is the anthropomorphic language used by God to express God’s disapproval toward Saul’s evil. This is the same pattern that we read in Genesis 6. In Genesis 6, we read God as having “regretted” to express God’s disapproval of mankind’s evil. God is not like a human person, but in describing His displeasure toward our human sinfulness, the use of anthropomorphism is a helpful way for God to say a lot in a few words.
When you come to the Bible with the assumption that God is all-knowing, that is excellent! When you read the Bible saying something seemingly contradictory, and it raises a question, this is good. You’re paying attention to details as you read. The comfort I hope to offer you is that the Bible is not contradictory but is sometimes paradoxical. Why do we believe God is all-knowing, and we’re unwilling to compromise that belief? Let me give a few reassuring examples of why we should think God is all-knowing. In Genesis 1, God created everything perfectly good because He is All-Knowing. In Exodus 3, God explained to Moses in the beginning that Pharaoh would not allow Israel to go and worship until after God destroyed Egypt with miracles of judgment. God also predicted Israel would leave Egypt as wealthy people. In Leviticus, God gave detailed and exhaustive laws for Israel to become a nation of worshippers because God is All-knowing. In Numbers, God is said not to be like a man because He is all-knowing. In Deuteronomy, God is described as all-knowing and, therefore, explains to the new Israelite nation what God will do to judge them when they forsake His ways. I could go on and on, giving examples in every book, but I think you already believe God is All-knowing, and giving 66 examples would be major overkill. The Bible clearly describes God as being All-knowing from cover to cover, and therefore, when we read particular verses that sound like they teach God isn’t all-knowing, we should ask questions and take the time to investigate how we should understand these verses. That’s precisely what you’re doing here. Great Question!
Aaron Irlbacher 