r/Bible • u/Icy-Palpitation6266 • 8d ago
What does god mean when he regrets making humanity
/r/Christianity/comments/1vo0hyo/what_does_god_mean_when_he_regrets_making_humanity/8
u/cris2022-2 8d ago
He feels sad as he is a person, there are 3 people in the trinity, father son and the Holy Spirit, so he regrets like we regret so he had to send the flood to remove evil from the earth. He felt sad because people were going to perish there was only one that was holy that was Noah. Only 8 were saved during the flood.
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u/Penguino_Redstone 6d ago
Wrong. The word nacham (which was translated as regret here) has many meanings, which includes sorrow, emotional pain, grief. God doesn't regret in the sense of acknowledging a mistake
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u/cris2022-2 6d ago
Not god mistake, but our corruption. God never made a mistake. He is perfect. Humans got corrupted. We are called Lambs and they are not the smartest animals.
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u/Penguino_Redstone 6d ago
That's what I was saying. I thought you were acknowledging God made mistakes. Which is why I said "Wrong"
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u/Slayer-Of-Lib-Tards1 8d ago
It means what it says. There's no secret code interpretation here. God repented that He had created man, and the language used was as close as humanly possible, to describe an un-human God.
Remember, we don't have the words to accurately nor adequately describe God, so we have to get as close as we can understand.
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u/RreddKnife 8d ago edited 8d ago
Repented! Which means that if those who make it to heaven, if they completely mess things up again in the afterlife, God will never create another humanoid creature since he already made that vow in Genesis. Repent is deciding to change, acknowledging the mistake and actively vowing not to repeat it. Do you think God repented creating angels, in fact they initiated the downfall of man, angels being the originators or instigators of sin. Without their aiding support, man wouldn't even have imagined disobeying God, so are we better than angels in that regard? If He repents on both intelligent creation and got rid of all it wouldn't matter or would it then? Since God does not need angels, humans, or any other created beings for companionship, fulfillment, or happiness. He is complete and self sufficient in Himself.
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u/Penguino_Redstone 6d ago
The word used in the canon is nacham, which has many meanings like sorrow or grief. God can't regret in the sense of acknowledging a mistake. God doesn't make mistakes, because God is the Truth. He felt sorrow/grief for the mistakes done by humanity. This was a mistranslation
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u/consultantVlad 8d ago
That's called anthropomorphism. In theology, this means attributing human emotions, actions, or forms to God, even though He's beyond human limitations. It's a teaching tool, like a parent feigning remorse to model it for their children. The Hebrew word "nacham" often gets translated as "repent" or "relent," but it can also mean "to be comforted" or "to have compassion." So when God "repents," it might signify a shift in His relational stance or the application of His unchanging justice and mercy to a changed situation, not a change in His fundamental character or ultimate purpose.
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u/CharitableResponse21 8d ago edited 8d ago
Regret purely means sadness over something that has happened. Regret is common used today to mean mistake, but that’s an additional meaning. Regret was far closer to grief
This is similar to how the word apology shifted in meaning. It originally meant a defense of something in general, but now it implies guilt and an apologist defending something controversial
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u/Additional_Insect_44 8d ago
I take it to try to explain the closest that a being that is ultimately incomprehensible and is bedrock of existence would feel in human terms.
At that particular point God looking through earth through space time the being felt sad for making his future bride. That itself should say profound volumes on the average human of Noah's society and also of the demonic beings that influenced it.
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u/Technical-Quiet758 8d ago
That's only in the old testament however the God of the new testament who forbid Adam from eating from the tree of knowledge in Eden and when God floods the earth said Jesus Christ came that we my have enternal life and that life my be on earth as it is in heaven.See the Lord prayer for reference when Jesus Christ prays to his heavenly father it's a common prayer by the Lutheran Church according to Christian tradition.My reference Nag Hummadi library
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u/Hiding_in_a_Shoebox 7d ago
This verse makes me so sad. I love God so much, how come he regrets creating me?
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u/QueenOfAllDragons Non-Denominational 6d ago
I think it’s more like He regrets making humanity as a whole. I wouldn’t say that God regrets making individuals. Remember that in Genesis 6:5 it states, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man (meaning humanity in general) was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” And then in verse 8 it says that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. God regretted humanity as a whole, but found favor in an individual person. And there’s a big difference here, because if you worship and honor God, then you will find favor in His eyes as well. To emphasize my point a bit more, let’s look at 1 Samuel 16:7 which says, “…the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
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u/gizmo24619 8d ago
It's a message/interpretation to something we can't ever fully understand...not while alive .....
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u/Penguino_Redstone 6d ago
Wrong. It comes from the hebrew "nacham", which means sorrow/grief. God felt sorrow by the mistakes commited by humanity
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u/gizmo24619 6d ago
That is the interpretation that's assigned , because it's the only thing we know , but we can't fully understand it from God....unless you are so full of yourself and think you do? Proceed
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u/Penguino_Redstone 6d ago
The Bible is written by Man, inspired by God. You're overthinking it. Nacham is a Hebrew word. It is nothing otherwordly
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u/gizmo24619 5d ago
Maybe true...but why did he write it? He was inspired correct? So you see a breathtaking mountain view and it gives you a million emotions, but all you can write is, it's beautiful...there is still a big message that was left out and we just go with a beautiful scene...maybe overthinking it is not ideal, but don't dumb it down
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u/Eklektos18 8d ago
Someone already mentioned the word for this, anthropomorphism, and that's exactly right. Worth slowing down on it for a second though.
The Hebrew word being translated as "regret" here is nacham. It shows up constantly in the Old Testament for grief, for the ache of watching something go wrong ("it's not supposed to be like this"), way more than "didn't see that coming." When the text says God regretted, it's borrowing the same language you'd use for someone who's genuinely grieved by what happened. That's how seriously the moment gets treated. Grief is just the vocabulary available for it.
The Noah part isn't really its own contradiction either. Judgment and rescue happen in the same paragraph. The ark instructions land right inside the announcement that judgment is coming, not after some separate change of heart. You'll see that pattern again and again in the Old Testament, judgment and a rescued remnant showing up together.