What was Noah doing when Genesis says God found him righteous before the flood?

Genesis says Noah was walking with God before the flood.

Genesis 6:9 describes Noah as a righteous man who was blameless among the people of his time and says that he walked with God. The wording introduces Noah before the instructions to build the ark and explains why he is singled out in the narrative.

“Walking with God” is biblical language for a faithful relationship with God, not a claim that Noah was literally taking a physical walk beside a visible deity. The phrase also appears in the pre-flood genealogical material for Enoch, creating a literary connection between the two figures.

The statement is part of the story’s theological characterization of Noah. It should not be confused with later details about Noah’s vineyard, his drunkenness, or his family after the flood. Those episodes occur after the ark narrative and are separate from the description that precedes the flood.