What Does Genesis 6:2 Mean?
The sons of God saw the daughters of humankind, that they were good, and they took for themselves women from all whom they chose.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.THE KEY
The hidden sequence is seeing, judging as good, and taking: perception becomes possession when the chooser’s judgment sets the terms.
THE MEANING
The verse sets before you a stark sequence: the sons of God see the daughters of men, judge them fair, and take wives from among those they choose. Desire moves from perception to selection and then possession, with the chooser’s will controlling each step.
THE ROOT
טֹבֹת
tovot
GROWS FROM
טוב
tov
to be good, pleasing, or beneficial
The word translated “fair” is the feminine plural form of tov, meaning “good” or “pleasing,” so the verse presents not only appearance but a judgment of goodness. Genesis 3:6 uses the same root for what the woman sees as “good” before taking it.
ALSO GROWS
tov: good, pleasant, beneficial
טוֹב
The same adjective calls the tree “good” in Genesis 3:6, giving the two scenes a shared word of evaluation.
heitiv: to do good, benefit
הֵיטִיב
The root can describe doing good as well as judging something good, joining evaluation with perceived effect.
וַיִּקְחוּ
wayyiqḥu
GROWS FROM
לקח
laqach
to take, receive, or acquire
“took” in this verse is wayyiqḥu. The Hebrew verb carries the sense of taking or receiving, and here the women are the object of an action shaped by the takers’ own selection. The sequence does not stop at seeing or judging; it reaches an act of taking.
ALSO GROWS
laqach: take, receive
לָקַח
This is the verb’s basic range, which makes the verse’s movement from choosing to taking explicit.
leqaḥ: instruction, teaching
לֶקַח
This related noun can mean what is received or taken in, showing another branch of the root’s range.
וַיִּרְאוּ
wayyirʾu
GROWS FROM
ראה
ra'ah
to see, look at, or perceive
“saw” in this verse is wayyirʾu. Seeing stands immediately before finding the women fair and taking wives from among those chosen. Genesis 3:6 repeats the roots for seeing and taking, placing sight within a recurring sequence rather than leaving it as an isolated observation.
ALSO GROWS
ro'eh: one who sees; a seer
רֹאֶה
The root can name the one who sees, bringing the perceiving subject into focus.
mar'eh: appearance, sight, vision
מַרְאֶה
This branch names what is seen or appears, linking perception to the evaluation that follows.
THE PATTERN
When perception is judged good and the chooser’s desire sets the terms, seeing can move into taking.
And the woman saw that the tree was good for eating, and that it was a craving for the eyes, and a tree to be desired for making one wise. And she took of its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.And it came to pass in the evening, that David rose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very good to look upon. And David sent and sought out the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" And David sent messengers, and took her, and she came in to him, and he lay with her. For she was setting herself apart from her uncleanness, and she turned back to her house.But each one is tested by his own craving, dragged out and lured. Then craving, when it has conceived, gives birth to falling short; and falling short, when it is full-grown, bears death.THE THREAD
And the woman saw that the tree was good for eating, and that it was a craving for the eyes, and a tree to be desired for making one wise. And she took of its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.Genesis 3:6 repeats the same Hebrew roots for “saw” (ראה, ra’ah), “good” (טוב, tov), and “took” (לקח, laqach). Their recurrence makes Genesis 6’s sequence part of a pattern already visible in the first human act of taking.
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